Managing the pain of arthritis

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Although everyone should pay attention to bone health, extra care may be needed to ease the onset of arthritis. Arthritis, an inflammation of joints, is an “extraintestinal manifestation” of both Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Translation: An extraintestinal manifestation is a problem caused by IBD not involving the gastrointestinal tract.

Arthritis can cause pain and swelling in joints such as the knees, ankles, wrists and lower back, and may increase with a flare-up and disappear as the flare-up is treated. Morning stiffness in affected joints is the most common complaint. Limiting morning stiffness to 30 minutes or less per day and decreasing pain at other times is a good goal.

For relief try:

• Hot baths or showers

• Pressing a heating pad to the hurt joint

• Changing high-impact exercise for lower-impact activities

• Stretching

• Medication

  • Over-the-counter drugs: Acetaminophen, naproxen, ibuprofen and aspirin

  • Prescription drugs: Vioxx, Celebrex, Naprosyn, Prednisone

  • During a flare-up, the safest drug to take is acetaminophen. Avoid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, drugs that can worsen intestinal inflammation while helping joint inflammation. Ask your doctor which drugs you should take during a flare-up.

If you have persistent, recurrent or severe stiffness or swelling in joints for several weeks, see your doctor for a more comprehensive treatment.
 

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