Lower Back Pain Can Be A Symptom Of Arthritis

Many forms of arthritis can contribute to back pain including rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and osteoarthritis. Arthritis pain is a hard ailment to treat and some types of arthritis, including those that cause back pain, continue to get worse as we age.

Other Symptoms

Back pain is one of the most common and difficult to treat ailments. And many times back pain is directly related to arthritis. The pain can slowly become more and more noticeable with time and be worse in the evening or when trying to relax. Morning stiffness and pain in other parts of the body are other symptoms. Of course back pain can be related to diseases other than arthritis, so a trip to your doctor is definitely warranted.

Treatments

The treatments for arthritis pain whether in your back, shoulders, neck, knees or hands is basically the same. Heat therapies have always been exceedingly popular, now more than ever. New continuous low level heat therapy has been found to be very effective in reducing pain and increasing flexibility. These heat sources consist of the over-the-counter large bandage type patches containing chemicals that offer up to eight hours of 104 degrees of continuous heat.

Other common treatments include physical therapy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid injections and even dietary therapies. Chiropractics and acupuncture are some other very helpful treatments. Pain management techniques for arthritis can be used alone, but most likely will be used in multiples. Some treatments will stop working in time and new methods will have to be found to control pain effectively.

Support

Arthritic back pain can be debilitating and can lead to emotional stress and psychological support may become necessary. A professional therapist should be consulted if serious problems arise.

It may even become necessary to change your profession depending on the type of work that you do and the seriousness of your disease. Back pain, whether arthritis related or not, is the number one cause of disability today. Depend on friends and family members for support and reassurance. Having loving people around you can make all the difference when facing these life-changing decisions.

If you experience any recurring pain in your back or other joints or muscles make an appointment to see your doctor. Back pain is a symptom not a disease and the root of the pain must be discovered before any effective treatment method can be prescribed.