New Study Suggests There May Be a Link Between Arthritis Pain and Mental Health

(Newswire.net — September 1, 2017) Orlando, FL — One of the most painful and debilitating conditions that impacts millions of people today is arthritis. This condition may reduce the quality of life of sufferers. This is why more and more researchers and experts are trying to learn how to put an end to the pain by simply determining what causes it.

A new study suggests that there may be a link between arthritis pain and mental health. There are many factors believed to contribute to the development and severity of pain. One’s mental health is found to be associated with the level of pain that sufferers feel, especially those with degenerative joint disease.

According to the researchers from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, individuals with better mental health often experience less pain. People with deteriorating mental health, on the other hand, tend to suffer more pain.

Barton L. Wise, the study’s lead author and Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine, revealed that increased pain levels are linked with poor mental health. There, the study suggests that addressing a sufferer’s mental health problems may potentially help reduce arthritis pain.

The study “Psychological Factors and Their Relation to Osteoarthritis Pain,” is published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. Wise also added that pain flares were linked with poorer mental health a week before the pain flare occured.

Wise is a researcher from the UC-Davis Center for Healthy Aging. He reveals that the research was conducted by both him and his colleagues due to the episodic nature of osteoarthritis pain. The pain levels in their arthritic hip or knee may change. However, these specific changes may not be associated to the joints’ structural changes.

According to Wise, the pain may vary over time, over extended and shorter periods. A sufferer may not feel any pain at all and they experience severe pain later on.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals there is an estimated number of 27 million people in the United States with osteoarthritis. It is the most common form of arthritis, and causes symptoms such as joint stiffness, tenderness, and pain, especially in the hips, knees, and spine.

Staying positive and mentally healthy is thought to be extremely important in helping to reduce pain and improve one’s quality of life. There are certain measures that sufferers often take to reduce pain, and one is using fish oil supplements.

Fish oil contains omega-3 fats, which are healthy fats essential for brain and body functioning. They are also thought to contain strong anti-inflammatory properties, and thus, are found to be potentially helpful for arthritis pain and inflammation.

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