specific hormones which are involved in the inflammatory process. These are the most common medications used in the fight against rheumatoid arthritis. Another treatment is using heat from a heating pad or a hot pack to relax the muscles, and reduce joint pain and soreness. Cold from an ice pack will help lessen the swelling in the joints. Sandra says,” I fine that if I use heat on my shoulders it helps quite a bit but, the rest of me my knees, or my hands, or my wrists ice packs help me the most” (Appendix A). Another treatment is exercise. Three major forms of exercise are appointed for people with rheumatoid arthritis: range of motion, muscle strengthening, and endurance (Sholtzhauer & McGuire, 1993). Another treatment is surgery where the doctors may cut the bones that are growing in a deformed manner and causing pain. Surgery may be performed on joints that have caused the patient’s significant loss of function (Dequense University, 1995). Relaxation is a treatment used by some patients, relaxing the muscles around the inflamed joints to reduce the pain (the Arthritis Society, 2001). Some people go outside of the medical community and search for alternative therapies including: as acupuncture and acupressure, used to stimulate the energy points; bee venom therapy using live bees to sting the inflamed joints; and copper bracelets may be worn, to ease arthritis pain. Little improvement is shown with these treatments, so there has to be more research done on them to prove their beneficial effects (Horstman, 1999). How will rheumatoid arthritis affect your lifestyle? Every time you experience pain you will be reminded that you have rheumatoid arthritis, so you will have to make changes in your lifestyle. In Coping With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Dr. Phillips suggests six changes that will help you live a better life: plan activities in advance so you can avoid excessive physical and emotional fatigue and s...
