By Dave Warner

Kia Redding, 44, remembers back in 1996 when she was popping over-the-counter medications for chronic pain in her shoulder.

“It took them awhile to diagnose the rheumatoid arthritis,” said the Philadelphia resident who had to quit her job in 2001 because of the disease.

“It has been a constant battle.”

Redding is one of an estimated 1.3 Americans who have her form of arthritis, making it the second biggest form of arthritis in the county.  The biggest, by far, is osteoarthritis, with an estimated 27 million who have it.  Juvenile arthritis hits the fewest number of people, with some 294,000 people under the age of 18.

She had to leave her secretarial job because of the pain she felt when typing, filing, and answering the phone.

Since then, she has learned several ways to cope, in addition to seeing her doctor. She has, for instance, found an herbal tea called feverfew that she believes helps her control her migraine headaches, which she said go along with her arthritis. “It’s a bitter, tart taste, so I mix it with a little peppermint tea,” she said.

She also keeps her weight down, which she thinks helps with another symptom, fatigue, and she swims twice a week, which she believes helps her to sleep.

“It took me a long time to listen to my body,” she said.

“When I eat a little healthier, my mood is a little better.”

Many believe too that meditation can help people cope with this chronic disease. Among its attributes: improved concentration, decreased muscle tension, relaxation and overcoming depression.

Those symptoms and more can be signs of rheumatoid arthritis. Others include: joint pain or swelling, red and puffy hands, stiffness in the mornings that can last for hours, and fever.

It is typical, too, that more women get the disease, considered an autoimmune disorder, than men.  What that means is that your immune system attacks your own body, and damages the membrane that lines your joints. Fluid then builds up, and the result is pain and inflammation.

Aside from the self-help kinds of things that Redding practices, doctors tend to suggest such treatments as over-the-county anti-inflammatory drugs containing ibuprofen, and a class of drugs known as disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Some believe that if the disease is detected earlier enough those drugs can put the disease into remission and avoid joint damage.  

People who have the more common osteoarthritis have some things in common with those with the rheumatoid type.

For one thing, both types are incurable, so learning to cope is the main issue. For another, medications like ibuprofen can be helpful.

People who have osteoarthritis can also suffer from some of the same effects – depression, job limitations and anxiety. They can also be limited on what they can do in their regular personal and professional responsibilities.

Osteoarthritis, which can strike any joint, tends to appear slowly, sometimes after starting as aches after exercise of physical work. And while it can appear in any joint, the most common places are hands, knees, hips and spine.

Its cause is that cartilage that sits at the end of bones, to form a joint, wears away, meaning the bones can then rub together. That’s what causes the pain.
There are a variety of drugs that can help you cope with the pain of this type of arthritis, from over-the-counter types to more serious prescription drugs like Tramadol.

Some believe in alternative medical treatments as well. Mostly commonly, researchers have found that some patients had less pain when taking glucosamine/chondroitin supplements. A clinical trial has also found acupuncture can relieve pain in osteoarthritis of the knee. And other studies have shown that higher than usual doses of vitamins D, C or E may slow the progression of the disease.

But many experts say a real key to helping yourself with this disease is exercise. Many advocate simple walking, swimming or water aerobics as big helps to feeling better, reducing pain, and improving your mood.

Indeed, the professional organization that deals with arthritis says plainly, “The Arthritis Foundation believes moving is the best medicine when it comes to fighting OA.”

That is also the case for juvenile diabetes – experts urge that children remain physically active. At the same time, pain can sometimes limit what children can do.

Most cases of juvenile arthritis are prompted by an autoimmune disorder, meaning the body attacks healthy cells.

Treatments are essentially similar to adult medications – anti-inflammatory pills like ibuprofen, and the more sophisticated disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs.

Alas, as with adult arthritis, there is no cure. Medical science can ease the pain, make people with arthritis feel more comfortable. But the disease in its three main forms in chronic, which is to say it is incurable.  

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