The traditional treatment of arthritis is based on relieving pain and increasing mobility. Since the drug therapies have been around for at least fifty years and surgery has a fairly high success rate the conservative medical community tends to treat arthritis with painkillers and exercise. However, the recent trend is to go for other remedies like dietary supplements.

However, this type of traditional treatment can cause just as many problems as the arthritis itself, unfortunately. Since painkillers are used to combat the painful effects arthritis has on joints, they will also hide any side effects that the treatment is causing. This can be something like something seemingly as harmless as diarrhoea, which can be a nasty addition to arthritis treatment. This is because if the medication causes the wall of the stomach to function less in any way, it can lead to antigens entering the bloodstream that affects joints, therefore inflaming the arthritis even more.

Once they reach the joint, they will trigger an attack by the white blood cells that are the body's defense system. The end result is that this causes more pain and inflammation as the white blood cells release prostaglandins and leukotrienes in an attempt to dispose of the enemy. They also release digestive enzymes that begin to attack and digest the actual cartilage, bone, ligament and muscle that are supposed to be saved. This can then become a chronic problem, which is what happens in rheumatoid arthritis especially.

Other drugs like aspirin rob the body of essential vitamins ? especially the B group - and minerals. Loss of these bodybuilding nutrients can cause the very same symptoms that arthritis causes. That is, pain and inflammation due to the breakdown of cartilage, bone and other important tissues.

Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs like indomethicin (Indocid) and ibuprofen and others, give pain relief and reduce joint swelling, but cause stomach problems with long-term use, while the Cox ?2 inhibitors like celecoxib (Celebrex) while safer for the stomach, may cause cardiovascular problems.

Steroid medication causes a loss of potassium, but retention of sodium, while penicillamine, often used to treat RA, causes a lack of copper. Gout, the only form of arthritis scientifically shown to have a direct link to diet, is often treated with colchicine, which can cause a loss of vitamin B12. One long-term effect of steroid use is osteoporosis. To prevent this and other problems, steroids such as cortisone can be injected into the painful joint.

If you are receiving any kind of suppressive drugs, such as Matrex or anti-malarial medication, you will need to be closely watched as these can have serious side effects, whether the drugs are administered orally or via injection.

Doctors recommend surgery when drugs fail to work, or the side effects are too serious. Knee and hip replacements have become very common since the success rate is about 95%, and most patients become pain-free. Replaced joint can last for up to fifteen years and when they start to give trouble can be replaced. However, there are a few cases of unsuccessful operations and the artificial joint has to be removed. Their condition becomes worse than before.

Since there are various types of surgery available, from the simplest bone shard removal to releasing trapped nerves, arthritis can be a treatable malaise. However, due to the after-effects that can happen, be sure to speak to your physician first.