A Blog About Arthritis Pain Relief

Chronic inflammation is thought to be the culprit for both Type II diabetes and osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. When inflammation gets out of control, it can eat away cartilage, causing arthritis, or attack the pancreas, causing diabetes.

Thus, it became obvious that Alabama, which ranks No. 3 in the nation for its rate of diabetes, also ranks No. 2 in its rate of arthritis, according to recent surveys from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors must take extra care when managing arthritis in people with diabetes, said Dr. Fernando Ovalle, a top endocrinologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Many prescription medications used to control chronic pain caused by arthritis also contribute to kidney failure, something that diabetics are susceptible to.

Steroids, powerful drugs that doctors sometimes use to fight the inflammation and pain of rheumatoid arthritis, also pose serious risks to people with diabetes, Ovalle said.

“Frequently we see people like that,” said Ovalle, who also directs UAB’s Multidisciplinary Comprehensive Clinic. “We tell them to tell their doctor who is treating them for arthritis to use it as little as they can. It totally throws out their diabetes.”