Joint pain is typical, especially as you age. One study found that 70% of older adults reported experiencing joint pain!
Adults have about 350 joints — any places in your body where two bones meet — but the most common areas of joint pain are hips, knees, and hands. Arthritis is the most likely reason for joint pain.
Joint pain can range from mild to severe. It can be a temporary issue or a chronic health condition. Fortunately, there are many treatment options to manage joint pain. At Midwest Sports and Interventional Spine, with offices in Kenosha and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, board-certified interventional pain medicine specialist Cyril Philip, MD, develops nonsurgical personalized joint pain treatment plans that don’t rely on opioids to help you engage in an active pain-free lifestyle. Dr. Philip explains the most common and effective ways to treat joint pain.
It may sound counterintuitive that moving more helps you get around with less pain, but exercise is one of the best ways to treat and prevent joint pain. Exercise strengthens the muscles around the joints, taking pressure off them. Low-impact exercises like walking, swimming, and biking are the best activities for healthy joints.
When in pain, apply a heat or ice pack to the affected area. Additionally, a nice soak in a warm bath with or without Epsom salt is an old-fashioned but good treatment for sore, achy joints.
Excess weight adds pressure on your joints, especially weight-bearing joints such as your hips and knees. One study found that losing one pound of body weight relieves four pounds of pressure on your joints. So, losing just five pounds can help reduce pressure on your joints by 20 pounds.
When in pain, you can always turn to over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen (Tylenol ™) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - NSAIDs like ibuprofen (Advil ™), or naproxen (Aleve ™). If OTC medications are not strong enough, Dr. Philip may suggest prescription-strength pain relievers.
For those with more severe and long-term pain, injections into the joint can help reduce inflammation, swelling, and pain. At Midwest Sports and Interventional Spine, Dr. Philip offers steroid injections and Viscosupplementation, which include hyaluronic acid, a lubricating substance.
If your joint pain interferes with your quality of life or ongoing pain, contact Midwest Sports and Interventional Spine to make an appointment with Dr. Philip for an effective treatment plan.
