The role of medication and arthritis is twofold. One is to prevent the progression of the disease the other one is to treat the symptoms of the disease which are pain, stiffness, and swelling of the knee.
The first category of medication is to prevent the progress of the disease there are several types of medication that some of the common ones are glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and diazepine all these are supposed to increase the collagen glycosaminoglycan synthesis within the cartilage which makes the cartilage quality better so that further progress becomes slower.
The second category in this is another very very popular and common and more effective medication is called collagen peptides these are a newer class of nutraceuticals or nutritional supplements which provide the basic building blocks which are required for collagen synthesis.
You may be aware collagen constitutes 98 percent of the material in the cartilage apart from water which is the major component so ah when we increase the synthesis of collagen it will imbibe more water so it will obviously become stronger and so the further wear and tear will be reduced.
The third category of medication is injectable medications which again has various elements that will stimulate the cartilage to synthesize more collagen to synthesize more glucosamine like guns and also will lubricate the joint more so the quartile is quality will become better and the friction will become less.
All this will also have some effect on the symptoms of the disease which is basically pain and stiffness so this is the first category. The second category of medication is for symptomatic treatment which is essentially either simple analgesics or painkillers or anti-inflammatory medication which are both pain killers as well as reduce inflammation which means swelling redness and stiffness around the joints.
So you have several classes of drugs in that paracetamol is one of the safest and probably the first and probably also the mildest then we have some drugs which are derivatives like tramadol these have good pain relief but may not be as strong as anti-inflammatory agents. Then our orthopedic hospitals in Hyderabad have medication such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which are you would have heard of ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen, and ketorolac all these medications will reduce the pain swelling stiffness around the joints so that the sim there is good symptomatic pain relief.
While none of these will actually regenerate on the cartilage that is lost these will give good relief and will also can also stop the progression not completely stop but slow down the progression of the disease.
Contact orthopedic doctor at Landmark hospitals in Kukatpally, Hyderabad for more details.
