Managing Pain

Pain is one of the hallmark symptoms of arthritis. It may come and go as your arthritis goes into a flare or subsides in remission, but for most people with the disease it will never entirely disappear.

We understand a little of how pain works, but not all by any means. We have words to describe its effects, yet they can never entirely convey to someone else what you are feeling. And almost any two people will experience different levels or intensities of pain from virtually identical causes. Because your pain is entirely your own, you may never fully understand exactly what the someone else is going through.

Persistent, severe pain from arthritis requires a combination of therapeutic strategies; no one pill or management technique is enough to provide non-stop pain relief safely. Arthritis medications are only one part of an overall strategy that will help you reduce and cope with your pain, improve joint function and daily-living activities, and learn to deal with the emotional stresses that arthritis can impose. Maintaining that multi-part strategy successfully is only possible if you understand as much as you can about pain, how it can be treated, and what role you can play in its relief. Not every strategy will be equally effective for everyone; you need to discover what works for you, combining different approaches to prolong pain relief.

There's a lot to learn, but the more you understand about every aspect of your treatment plan, the more likely you are to benefit from it. Knowledge really is power. Learn to wield that power as an active participant of your own treatment team. Learn as much as you can about all the strategies available to you — whether they're medications or non-medicinal techniques. That understanding is an important step toward your becoming an arthritis self-manager.

This page was last reviewed/updated on : 07/16/2008