Dealing with arthritis can negatively impact your quality of life, making it harder to complete regular day-to-day tasks. Our team at Nirvana Healthcare Management Services understands that most, assisting you in getting the care you need in an environment you trust.

Learn more about arthritis treatment in East Orange and Newark, NJ at Nirvana’s primary care locations: Salerno Medical Associates, Metropolitan Medical Group, Roseville Medical Society, and North Ward Medical Arts. Treatments are also available through CHOP/SHOP which provides house visits to eligible patients.

What Is Arthritis?

Arthritis is a disease that causes swelling and pain in your joints. The most prevalent symptom of arthritis is stiffness, but it can also cause redness, decreased range of motion, and more. You may be more susceptible to arthritis symptoms depending on aspects such as:

• Family history
• Age
• Gender
• Previous joint injury
• Obesity 

Before receiving treatment for arthritis symptoms, it’s important to understand the different kinds of arthritis you may have. The most common types of arthritis include:

• Osteoarthritis: Joint cartilage will start to deteriorate, causing bone to rub directly against bone. This is what causes pain and stiffness in that area. This can occur over time or through joint injury or infection.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: Your immune system starts to attack your joints, starting at the joint’s lining. This can lead to the destruction of bone and cartilage, causing inflammation and pain.

Additional types of arthritis include psoriatic arthritis, septic arthritis, thumb arthritis, and more. If left untreated, arthritis symptoms can seriously start to take a toll on your everyday life. This is especially true if you are experiencing symptoms in your hands, wrists, or arms, as it can make daily tasks like writing, typing, or general mobility even more difficult to accomplish. It can even make walking or sitting increasingly more uncomfortable.

Diagnosing Arthritis

There are a couple of methods providers may use to diagnose which kind of arthritis you have. First, they will do a physical exam of the area, looking out for swelling, redness, and warmth. They will also check to see how well that joint functions through a series of exercises. Then, your provider can determine which method would be best in diagnosing your symptoms. Testing methods include:

• Fluid testing: Arthritis can be found by analyzing certain fluids in your body like blood, urine, or joint fluid.
• Imaging: To get a closer look at your bone, joint, cartilage, and tissue, your provider may suggest various imaging techniques. This could include X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, or ultrasounds to see a more detailed image of what could be causing your arthritis symptoms.

Treatment Options in New Jersey

Once the cause of your arthritis symptoms is determined, we can then create a treatment plan that works best for you. There are a variety of treatment options we may suggest, including:

Medication

Depending on which type of arthritis you have, we can prescribe medications that will help with managing your symptoms. This may be through over-the-counter prescriptions, creams, gels, ointments, pills, or injections.

Physical Therapy

We may suggest physical therapy services to help restore strength and mobility to the affected area. We also encourage exercising areas of your body like your legs, hips, or arms to improve your range of motion and increase function. In some cases, your therapist may suggest wearing a splint or brace to heal the joint.

Surgery

If symptoms don’t improve with medication or physical therapy treatment, surgery may be your next option. Procedures may include joint repair, joint replacement, or joint fusion.

Lifestyle Changes

To help relieve arthritis symptoms, we may suggest making certain changes to your lifestyle. Some aspects that could help to improve function in areas presenting arthritis include:

• Weight loss
• Regular exercise
• Heating pads and ice packs
• Devices like canes, shoe inserts, or walkers

Learn More about Arthritis Treatment in NJ

Our family-owned practices are dedicated to providing families in the Newark and East Orange, NJ areas with health care services they can rely on. We have a team of highly skilled care providers who are here to make life a little easier for you, starting with your health. To learn more about how we can help manage your arthritis symptoms, contact us today.