Autoimmune diseases like psoriatic and rheumatoid arthritis often cause severe long-term pain. If you suffer from autoimmune disease pain, visit board-certified pain specialist Asher C. Goldstein, MD, and his team at Zephyr Medical in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. They specialize in reducing pain caused by autoimmune disorders using advanced treatments. Call Zephyr Medical today or book an appointment online to learn more about the benefits of expert autoimmune disease pain treatment.
request an appointmentWhat is autoimmune disease pain?
Autoimmune diseases develop when your immune system goes wrong. The immune system protects you from disease by identifying dangerous microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses. It creates antibodies to find and destroy the invaders. This system works well, keeping you safe from many illnesses.
Unfortunately, some people’s immune systems go into overdrive. They identify normal, healthy cells throughout the body as dangerous and attack them just like they would a virus.
The result is autoimmune diseases, many of which cause chronic (long-lasting) or recurring pain.
What autoimmune diseases might cause pain?
Many kinds of autoimmune disorders exist, affecting every system in your body. Some of those the Zephyr Medical team sees include:
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis affects your joints. The immune system targets the tissues lining your joints and damages them, resulting in inflammation and pain. The joints also swell and distort, causing severe disability in many cases.
Psoriatic arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis is another joint disease. In this case, patients usually develop a severe skin disorder (psoriasis) that causes excessive skin growth. The skin cells build up to form plaques, and joint pain often follows.
Lupus
Unlike most other autoimmune disorders, systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) affects many organs and tissues. It can cause widespread pain and disability, affecting everything from your kidneys to your joints.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
The main IBD conditions are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Both affect the gastrointestinal system. Crohn’s can cause inflammation and pain anywhere along your digestive tract, while ulcerative colitis affects the colon and rectum. The inflammation IBD causes can result in severe pain.
How is autoimmune disease pain treated?
Autoimmune disorders are usually incurable, so treatment focuses on relieving the symptoms. The treatment you need for your autoimmune pain varies depending on your disorder. The Zephyr Medical team works with your autoimmune specialist to ensure that you receive first-class treatment with appropriate pain relief.
For example, if you have rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis, you might benefit from disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that calm the immune system response. Your doctor might recommend additional treatments like steroid injections into the arthritic joints to tackle treatment-resistant pain.
Steroids have potent anti-inflammatory properties. Injecting them into your joints helps to ease the inflammation and reduce pain.
Call Zephyr Medical today or book an appointment online to find the most effective relief of autoimmune disease pain.