Millions of people suffer from a form of arthritis and there are many different treatments and pain relievers being advertised as specifically developed to relieve their suffering. With osteo arthritis being the most common form, most sufferers rely on masking the symptoms of this degenerative disease. While osteo arthritis is more commonly found in older patients, it should not be classified as an old person's disease, mainly because it is a slowly developing process that eventually leads to the diagnosis.

The symptoms of osteo arthritis include pain in the joints, most common the knees, shoulders and ankles as well as difficulty in movement in the affected joints. The joints are protected by cartilage and lubricated by synovial fluid to allow the different joints free movement. Once osteo arthritis begins, the cartilage slowly degrades until the bones in the joint are rubbing painfully together. If the body stops producing the fluid, which has the consistency of an egg, the degenerative process can be quicker.

Unfortunately, once the process has begun there is little patients can do to reverse the process. While many medications have been developed to slow the degenerative process, none have been found actually to help osteo arthritis sufferers begin to develop replacement cartilage in their joints.

Research Continues On Finding Common Cure

Alternative medicine approaches are being more widely sought by osteo arthritis sufferers as they are turning away from synthetic medicines to avoid some of the associated side effects. While pain relief may be their number one concern, eliminating the stiffness and in some instances, the locking up of the joints, is also a priority. Some of the most common alternative treatments include consuming ginger root or gelatin. These treatments claim to help reduce the stiffness as well as the pain often associated with osteo arthritis.

In extreme cases of osteo arthritis surgery to replace cartilage may be necessary and in rare instances joint replacement may be necessary if the joint damage is so severe that the bones have been damaged. Bone spurs not only cause debilitating pain but also speed up the process of damaging the cartilage in the joints.

With the cartilage disappearing, simple functions such as walking can be painful and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are often recommended by doctors. However, osteo arthritis patients may also be looking for alternative, more natural pain relief products to help them deal with the pain and stiffness associated with osteo arthritis.