I have a good acquaintance who struggles with osteoarthritis: constant pain, especially in the back, even when he is sitting. Many doctors passed, had MRIs made, had injections in the back, with the result: nil. It now seems that doctors can determine through blood tests that someone is struggling with osteoarthritis. Is that correct? And which medicines are most effective? The pain mainly occurs on the left side of the lower back. At first people thought it was a hernia, but the treating specialist does not give a definitive answer. He recently sent the patient to a physiotherapist for specific exercises, again without results. Your valued advice please
PS. My acquaintance is 70 years old.
Answer
Dear Arsene,
Osteoarthritis is caused by wear and tear of the joints and can be very painful for the patient. However, do not confuse osteoarthritis with (rheumatoid) arthritis. This is an autoimmune disease in which the body produces antibodies against its own joint tissue. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be detected in the blood (one measures the so-called rheumatoid factor (RF) or nowadays better the cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP)). Both are markers for RA.
Unfortunately, there are no such markers in the blood for osteoarthritis, you can only determine this on radiological recordings. Treatments for osteoarthritis consist of pain and anti-inflammatory drugs, but surgical procedures and physiotherapy can also be options. Which therapy is chosen depends on the affected joint and the extent to which the joint is affected (or therefore also on the pain/burden that the patient experiences).
Osteoarthritis can be banal, but it can also cause severe chronic pain, and should therefore never be dismissed as a simple old-age ailment! After all, in case of severe arthritis, supervision in a so-called ‘pain centre’ may be necessary.
Answered by
Dr. Glenn Van den Bosch
Medicine: microbiology, blood diseases, immunology
Prinsstraat 13 2000 Antwerp
http://www.uantwerpen.be
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