More Than a Hurt: A Journey Inside Arthritis Pain and How to Reclaim Your Life

I remember the day my world started to shrink. It wasn’t a sudden event, but a slow, creeping foreclosure on the life I knew. It began with a stiffness in my hands in the morning that I dismissed as a sign of aging, even though I felt too young for it.¹ Soon, it was a deep, grinding ache in my knee that turned my favorite hiking trail into a landscape of dread. The diagnosis, when it came, felt both monumental and strangely dismissive: “You have arthritis.”

The doctor pointed to an X-ray, a ghostly image of my own bones, and talked about “wear and tear,” “cartilage loss,” and “degeneration”.² The explanation was mechanical, logical, and utterly inadequate. It didn’t capture the reality of the pain—the way it could be a dull throb one day and a sharp, searing fire the next. It didn’t explain the profound fatigue that felt like a lead blanket, or the low-grade fever that sometimes accompanied it.⁴ Most of all, it didn’t explain why the standard advice—a bottle of over-the-counter pain relievers—barely touched the edges of the experience.⁵

This was the beginning of my core struggle, a frustrating and isolating journey that I now know millions of people share. It was the chasm between the clinical diagnosis and the lived reality. My world was defined by a pain that seemed to have its own malevolent intelligence, dictating what I could do, where I could go, and how I would feel. I started turning down invitations, avoiding activities I once loved, and found it harder to focus at work.⁶ I was living in a state of constant, low-level fear, wondering how much more of my life this condition would claim.⁷ My world was shrinking, and I felt powerless to stop it.

The standard advice had failed me because it was based on a flawed premise. It treated the pain as a simple symptom of a mechanical problem. But the real turning point, my epiphany, came from a place I never expected: the science of how our brains and nervous systems process information. I discovered that chronic arthritis pain isn’t just a signal from a damaged joint. It’s a complex, self-perpetuating feedback loop involving the body, the brain, and even our emotions.

This report is the culmination of that journey. It is the guide I wish I’d had when I was lost in that shrinking world. We will move beyond the simple question of “does arthritis hurt?” to explore the much more important questions: Why does it hurt in the way that it does, and how can we learn to quiet the pain and take back our lives?

Part I: Deconstructing the Pain Signal – Why “Hurt” is the Wrong Word

For years, I operated under the assumption that my pain was a direct and accurate report of the damage in my joints. More pain meant more damage. It was a terrifying equation that left me feeling fragile and afraid of movement. My epiphany came when I encountered an analogy from pain neuroscience that shattered this belief and gave me a new framework for understanding what was happening inside my body.

The Over-Sensitive Alarm System: My Epiphany

Imagine your body’s pain system is like a sophisticated security alarm. In a healthy state, it functions like a fire alarm: it only goes off when there’s a real, immediate threat, like an injury. The alarm is loud, it demands attention, and it serves a clear purpose—to protect you. Once the fire is out, the alarm stops. This is acute pain.

But with chronic arthritis, the system changes. It begins to behave less like a fire alarm and more like a hyper-sensitive car alarm.⁸ This alarm is so finely tuned that it doesn’t just go off for a break-in. It shrieks when a leaf lands on the windshield, when the wind blows too hard, or when a cat brushes against the tire. The noise is real, the flashing lights are real, and it’s incredibly distressing. But the alarm is no longer a reliable indicator of actual danger. The problem isn’t that the car is constantly being broken into; the problem is with the alarm system itself.

This was the key that unlocked everything for me. My pain was real, but it was not an accurate measure of ongoing damage. My nervous system had become sensitized. It had learned to be in pain. This reframing was profoundly empowering. It shifted my goal from a hopeless quest to “fix the damage” to an actionable mission: “recalibrate the faulty alarm system.” To do that, I first had to understand what was making the alarm so sensitive.

The Mechanics of the False Alarm: Osteoarthritis (OA) Pain

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions and often described simply as “wear and tear” arthritis.¹⁰ This description is what leads to the most damaging misconception: that the pain comes from bones grinding together because the cartilage has worn away.

The truth is, articular cartilage—the very tissue that wears away in OA—has no nerves. It cannot, by itself, be a direct source of pain.¹¹ This is a critical piece of information. It means that the amount of pain you feel is not directly correlated with the amount of cartilage loss shown on an X-ray. People can have severe cartilage loss with little pain, while others can have significant pain with only mild changes on their imaging.¹³

So, if it’s not the cartilage, what are the “faulty sensors” in the joint sending out these initial distress signals? Research points to several culprits within the joint structure that are rich in nerve endings:

• Bone Marrow Lesions (BMLs): These are essentially areas of stress injury or microfractures in the subchondral bone, the layer of bone just beneath the cartilage. Visible on an MRI, BMLs are strongly associated with pain in OA.¹¹ Think of these as sensors that have been repeatedly struck and are now sending out constant “error” messages.
• Synovitis: This is inflammation of the synovium, the soft tissue lining that encloses the joint. Once thought to be exclusive to inflammatory types of arthritis, we now know that synovitis is present in roughly half of people with painful knee OA and is a major driver of pain.¹¹ This is like a sensor overheating and triggering a persistent alarm.
• Other Joint Structures: The joint capsule, ligaments, periosteum (the outer layer of bone), and menisci (in the knee) are all innervated and can become sources of pain signals when the joint’s mechanics are compromised.¹¹

These “faulty sensors” are only the beginning of the story. The real problem—the reason the alarm becomes so hyper-sensitive—lies in the “wiring” of the nervous system. This process is known as sensitization.

• Peripheral Sensitization: This happens at the level of the joint itself. The constant distress signals and inflammatory mediators (like cytokines and Nerve Growth Factor, or NGF) released by tissues like the synovium and bone change the behavior of the local nerve endings.¹⁴ They lower their activation threshold, making them fire off pain signals in response to stimuli that wouldn’t normally be painful, like simple movement or light pressure. This is the equivalent of turning up the sensitivity dial on the car’s motion detectors to its maximum setting.¹⁵
• Central Sensitization: This is the most crucial piece of the puzzle. The relentless barrage of pain signals from the periphery travels up the spinal cord to the brain. Over time, this constant input actually rewires the central nervous system. The neurons in the spinal cord and brain become hyperexcitable and more efficient at transmitting pain signals, a phenomenon known as “wind-up”.¹⁶ They start to amplify the signals they receive. This is the “central processor” of the alarm system learning to interpret even minor inputs as major threats. Central sensitization explains many of the most confusing aspects of arthritis pain: why it can persist even when the joint isn’t being used, why the pain can feel disproportionately severe, and why it can spread to affect a wider area around the initial site.¹⁴

When the Body Attacks Itself: The Firestorm of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Pain

While OA can be understood as an alarm system with faulty sensors and over-sensitive wiring, Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a different beast altogether. In RA, the security system has fundamentally malfunctioned. It has misidentified the car itself as a threat and has launched a full-scale, system-wide attack to neutralize it.

RA is an autoimmune disease. For reasons that are still not fully understood but involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors, the body’s own immune system mistakenly targets the synovium, the lining of the joints.⁴ This triggers a massive inflammatory response.

The key players in this response are a family of proteins called proinflammatory cytokines, with names like Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and Interleukin-6 (IL-6).¹⁷ These cytokines are like inflammatory messengers broadcast throughout the body. They orchestrate the attack on the joints, leading to the characteristic swelling, warmth, and eventual damage to cartilage and bone.⁴

But these cytokines do more than just damage the joint; they are powerful drivers of pain. They directly activate and sensitize the nerve endings in the joints, contributing to the same process of peripheral sensitization seen in OA, but with much greater intensity.¹⁷ This explains why RA pain is often so severe and accompanied by prolonged morning stiffness that can last for hours.²⁰

Furthermore, because these cytokines circulate throughout the body, RA is a systemic disease. The “firestorm” of inflammation affects the entire body, leading to symptoms like profound fatigue, low-grade fevers, and a general feeling of being unwell.⁴ This systemic inflammation provides a powerful and relentless input that drives the central nervous system into a state of high alert, making central sensitization a prominent feature of RA pain.¹⁷ The “alarm system” isn’t just sensitive; it’s actively under attack from within, making the pain experience pervasive and all-encompassing.

This fundamental difference between OA and RA is why understanding the specific type of arthritis is crucial. While both result in painful joints and share the final pathway of nervous system sensitization, their origins and the nature of their “alarm” are distinct. Treating OA is about managing the signals from faulty sensors and recalibrating the system, while treating RA requires extinguishing the autoimmune firestorm that is driving the entire process.

Feature	Osteoarthritis (OA)	Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Primary Trigger	Mechanical stress, joint injury, aging, and low-grade inflammation.2	An autoimmune response where the body’s immune system attacks the joint lining (synovium).4
Key Biological Drivers	Breakdown of cartilage, bone marrow lesions, and localized inflammation (synovitis) in the affected joint.11	Systemic inflammation driven by proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF-α, IL-6) that attack joints throughout the body.17
Typical Pain Pattern	Pain often worsens with activity and is relieved by rest. Stiffness after periods of inactivity is common but usually brief (under 30 minutes).11	Symmetrical joint involvement (e.g., both wrists). Prolonged morning stiffness lasting an hour or more. Pain can occur even at rest.4
Systemic Involvement	Primarily localized to the affected joints. Systemic symptoms are not a feature.2	A systemic disease. Can cause fatigue, fever, weight loss, and may affect organs like the skin, eyes, lungs, and heart.3
Core Analogy	A Faulty Alarm System: The joint’s “sensors” (bone, synovium) are damaged and sending faulty signals, and the nervous system’s “wiring” has become overly sensitive.	The Alarm System is Attacking the Car: The body’s own security system has misidentified the joints as a threat and launched a full-scale inflammatory attack.

Part II: The Ripple Effect – How Pain Rewrites Your Life

My initial belief was that arthritis was a disease of the joints. I was wrong. It’s a disease of the whole person. The constant, unpredictable nature of the pain creates ripples that spread far beyond the physical, touching every aspect of life—our thoughts, our emotions, our work, and our relationships. It’s not enough to understand the biology of the joint; we must understand the experience of the person living with the pain.

This holistic view is captured by the biopsychosocial model of pain. This model recognizes that the experience of pain is not just a biological event (the “bio” part, which we’ve discussed). It is profoundly shaped by our psychological state (our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs) and our social environment (our work, family, and support systems).²¹ These three domains are in constant interaction, creating a feedback loop that can either amplify or dampen the pain experience.

The Brain on Pain: The Emotional and Cognitive Toll

Before my diagnosis, I considered myself a resilient person. But living with chronic pain began to change me in ways I didn’t understand. I felt a persistent “brain fog” that made concentration difficult. I became more irritable and anxious, and a low mood seemed to follow me like a shadow. For a long time, I blamed myself, seeing these as signs of personal weakness. It was a relief to learn that this is a well-documented and biological consequence of living with a sensitized nervous system.

There is a powerful, two-way street connecting chronic pain with mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.²³ Studies show that people with arthritis have rates of depression and anxiety that are two to ten times higher than the general population.²³ This isn’t just a reaction to having a difficult disease; it’s a deeply intertwined cycle:

1. Pain Creates Negative Mood: Living with a “constant alarm” is exhausting and stressful. This chronic stress state alters the levels of key neurochemicals in the brain, such as cortisol (a stress hormone) and serotonin (a mood regulator). This chemical disruption can directly trigger anxiety and depression.²³ The physical limitations and loss of enjoyable activities further contribute to feelings of hopelessness and isolation.²⁴
2. Negative Mood Worsens Pain: This is the other, crucial direction of the feedback loop. Depression, anxiety, and stress are not just consequences of pain; they are amplifiers of it. These psychological states make the central nervous system even more sensitive, effectively lowering the pain threshold.²³ When we are anxious or depressed, our brain is already on high alert for threats, and it interprets the signals from our joints as being more dangerous and therefore more painful.

For those with inflammatory arthritis like RA, there’s another layer to this connection. Emerging research suggests a phenomenon called cytokine-induced depression. The same inflammatory cytokines (like TNF-α and IL-6) that attack the joints can also cross the blood-brain barrier and directly impact brain function, causing symptoms of depression.²³ This provides a powerful biological explanation for why the fatigue and low mood in RA can feel so physical and overwhelming. It validates the experience that the emotional toll is not “all in your head” but is an integral part of the disease process itself.

The Social Contract: Navigating Work, Relationships, and a World Not Built for Pain

The “social” part of the biopsychosocial model refers to how our environment and interactions shape our pain experience. Arthritis pain can make navigating the world incredibly challenging, straining our ability to work, maintain relationships, and perform the simple tasks of daily life.

The disability caused by severe arthritis can be profound. It can make it difficult to walk comfortably, sit up straight, or perform daily tasks we once took for granted, from cooking a meal to getting dressed.³ As Barbara Ford described, even the short walk from her bedroom to the kitchen became an ordeal, and the walk to her car after work often ended in tears.²⁶

The workplace, in particular, can become a source of immense stress. Many, like Isobel Morris, find it difficult to explain an invisible illness to employers and colleagues.⁶ The anxiety of not being able to keep up, combined with the physical challenges of an unaccommodating environment like hot-desking, can make work feel like a daily battle. This can lead to a loss of confidence and, for some, the difficult decision to leave the workforce entirely.⁶

Relationships can also come under strain. Because the pain is often invisible, friends, family, and even doctors can sometimes fail to grasp its severity. This can lead to feelings of being disbelieved or misunderstood. As Matilda, who was diagnosed with RA at 23, shared, she sometimes felt like she “must be going mad or imagining my pain” during her long journey to a diagnosis.⁷ When those around us don’t understand, it can lead to social withdrawal and deep feelings of isolation, which in turn feed the psychological distress that amplifies the pain.

It becomes clear that the “hurt” of arthritis is not confined to the joints. It is the sum total of the biological signals, the psychological distress they cause, and the social disruption that follows. Any approach to managing this pain that only focuses on the joint—the “bio” part of the equation—is addressing only one-third of the problem. To truly find relief, we must adopt strategies that address the whole person and the complex feedback loops that keep the pain system on high alert.

Part III: Recalibrating the System – A Holistic Toolkit for a Quieter Life

Once I understood that my pain was the product of a sensitized alarm system, influenced by my body, my mind, and my social world, my entire approach to treatment changed. I stopped searching for a single “magic bullet” to fix my joints and started building a comprehensive, personalized toolkit to manage the entire system.

I learned another powerful analogy from the world of physical therapy: relying solely on painkillers for chronic pain is like being given a mop to deal with a leaking sink.⁹ The mop helps you clean up the water on the floor (the symptom), but it does nothing to fix the faulty plumbing (the underlying cause). A holistic approach is about fixing the plumbing. It’s about using a combination of strategies to calm the “faulty sensors” in the periphery, rewire the “over-sensitive processor” in the brain, and build a supportive environment that stops the system from being constantly triggered.

Calming the Periphery: The Role of Modern Medicine and Lifestyle

This first set of tools is aimed at the “bio” component of the pain experience. The goal here is to reduce the number and intensity of the distress signals being sent from the joints to the central nervous system. This is like turning down the sensitivity of the sensors on the car and ensuring the car’s chassis is strong and stable.

Conventional Medical Treatments

Modern medicine offers powerful tools for managing the biological drivers of arthritis. It’s crucial to work with a healthcare team, including a rheumatologist, to find the right combination for your specific condition.²⁷

• Medications: The pharmaceutical arsenal is diverse. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen can reduce both pain and inflammation, but long-term use carries risks of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular side effects.²⁸ For RA,
  disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and newer biologic agents are essential for slowing the autoimmune attack and preventing permanent joint damage.³¹
  Corticosteroids can be used for short-term relief of severe flares but have significant side effects with prolonged use.²⁸
• Physical and Occupational Therapy: This is a cornerstone of management. A physical therapist can design an exercise program to strengthen the muscles that support your joints, which acts as a natural shock absorber.³⁴ They can also help improve your range of motion and teach you proper body mechanics to reduce joint strain.³⁵ An occupational therapist can help you find new ways to perform daily tasks and recommend assistive devices to protect your joints.³⁶
• Injections and Surgery: For severe, localized pain, corticosteroid or hyaluronic acid injections can provide temporary relief.¹³ When joint damage is severe and all other measures have failed, joint replacement surgery can be a highly successful option for restoring function and eliminating pain.¹³

Foundational Lifestyle Interventions

Lifestyle choices form the foundation of any effective pain management plan. They are not alternatives to medicine but powerful partners that can reduce the overall burden on the system.

• Anti-Inflammatory Diet: While no diet can cure arthritis, a growing body of evidence shows that certain eating patterns can significantly reduce inflammation and pain.³⁷ The Mediterranean diet is often recommended, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and oily fish rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids.³⁸ Conversely, highly processed foods, sugar, and some saturated fats may promote inflammation and are best minimized.⁴¹ Many people, like the author who resolved a decade of RA pain, find profound relief by shifting to a whole-foods, plant-based diet.⁴²
• Movement as Medicine: The myth that exercise harms arthritic joints is one of the most damaging. In reality, regular, appropriate exercise is essential. It strengthens supporting muscles, maintains joint flexibility, helps with weight control, and boosts mood.³⁶ The key is to choose low-impact activities like walking, swimming, cycling, or water aerobics that don’t jolt the joints.³¹ As Helen, who put her RA into remission, discovered, starting a strength training program can build muscle that supports the joints and dramatically reduces pain.¹
• Weight Management: Every extra pound of body weight puts four extra pounds of pressure on the knees.³ This makes weight management one of the most effective non-drug treatments for OA of the weight-bearing joints. Even a modest weight loss can lead to a significant reduction in pain and improved function.¹³

Rewiring the Central Processor: Mind-Body Interventions

This set of tools is perhaps the most revolutionary for many people living with chronic pain. These techniques directly target central sensitization and the psychological component of the pain loop. They are the methods we use to manually turn down the volume on the over-sensitive alarm in our brain and change our relationship with the pain signals.

• Mindfulness and Meditation: Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment without judgment. For pain, this is a game-changer. Instead of reacting to a pain sensation with the usual cascade of fear, tension, and catastrophic thoughts (“This will never end!”), mindfulness teaches you to simply observe the sensation as it is.⁴⁴ This practice helps to uncouple the physical sensation from the emotional suffering that usually accompanies it. By calming the nervous system’s stress response, it can reduce the intensity of the pain experience.⁴⁵
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is a well-researched form of therapy that helps people identify and change the negative thought patterns and behaviors that perpetuate chronic pain.³⁵ A therapist can help you challenge thoughts like “I can’t do anything because of my pain” and replace them with more balanced and adaptive ones, and help you gradually re-engage with activities you’ve been avoiding out of fear.
• Guided Imagery and Visualization: This technique uses the power of the mind to create a state of deep relaxation. By vividly imagining a peaceful scene or visualizing your joints as healthy and pain-free, you can calm the body’s “fight-or-flight” response, lowering levels of stress hormones like cortisol and reducing the perception of pain.⁴⁶
• Yoga and Tai Chi: These ancient practices are ideal holistic therapies for arthritis. They combine gentle, low-impact movement (addressing the “bio” component) with breathwork, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques (addressing the “psycho” component).⁴⁵ They have been shown to improve flexibility, strength, balance, and mood, while reducing pain and stiffness.

Building a Support Network: The Power of Community

Finally, we must address the “social” domain. Isolation and misunderstanding are major amplifiers of chronic pain. Building a strong support network is not a passive activity; it is an active and essential part of treatment.

Connecting with others who truly understand what you’re going through is incredibly validating. Patient communities, whether online forums or in-person support groups, provide a space to share experiences, exchange practical tips, and combat the loneliness that so often accompanies a chronic illness.⁴⁸ They remind you that you are not alone on this journey. This sense of community helps to buffer the stress and anxiety that can make pain worse, completing the biopsychosocial approach to care.⁵⁰

A truly effective treatment plan is not a single prescription, but a personalized portfolio of these strategies. Success comes from the synergy of calming the signals from the body, retraining the response in the brain, and building a supportive life that promotes well-being.

Domain / Analogy Component	Goal	Specific Strategies	Level of Evidence Summary
Biological / “Calm the Sensors”	Reduce inflammation, protect joints, and decrease the intensity of peripheral pain signals.	Medications: NSAIDs, DMARDs, Biologics.31	Therapy: Physical & Occupational Therapy.34	Lifestyle: Anti-inflammatory diet, low-impact exercise, weight management.13	Strong: For DMARDs/Biologics in RA. Moderate to Strong: For exercise and weight loss in OA. Growing: For anti-inflammatory diets.
Psychological / “Rewire the Processor”	Change the brain’s interpretation of pain, reduce central sensitization, and break the pain-stress-pain cycle.	Mind-Body Practices: Mindfulness meditation, yoga, tai chi.44	Therapies: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), guided imagery.35	Relaxation: Deep breathing, heat/cold therapy.35	Moderate to Strong: For CBT in chronic pain. Growing & Promising: For mindfulness, yoga, and tai chi in improving pain and function.47
Social / “Strengthen the Support System”	Reduce isolation, gain validation, and build a supportive environment that buffers against stress.	Community: Patient support groups (online or in-person).48	Education: Self-management programs, learning from trusted sources.55	Relationships: Educating family and friends.24	Strong: For improving quality of life, self-efficacy, and reducing psychological distress associated with chronic illness.21

Conclusion: Living with a Quieter Alarm

The journey with arthritis often begins with a sense of betrayal by one’s own body and a feeling of powerlessness. My world shrank because I believed a simple, terrifying story: that my pain was a direct reflection of irreversible damage, and that my future was one of inevitable decline.

The transformation began when I found a new story. The understanding that chronic pain is not just a symptom but a learned response of a sensitized nervous system—a faulty alarm that can be recalibrated—changed everything. It replaced fear with agency. It showed me that while there may not be a “cure” for the underlying condition, there are countless ways to manage the experience of it.

Does arthritis hurt? Yes, profoundly. But the “hurt” is so much more than a simple sensation in a joint. It’s a complex experience woven from biology, psychology, and the circumstances of our lives. By embracing this complexity, we open the door to a new way of living.

Today, my world is no longer shrinking. The alarm hasn’t been removed entirely, but I have learned how to turn down its volume. Through a portfolio of tools—from diet and exercise to mindfulness and community—I have learned to quiet the system. Some days are still challenging, but they no longer define me. I have learned to distinguish between the sensation in my joint and the story my brain tells about it. I have learned to move with confidence instead of fear. The goal is not a life without pain, but a life that is no longer ruled by it. It is a life where the alarm is quieter, and the world, once again, feels full of possibility.

Appendix: Arthritis Fact vs. Fiction

Navigating arthritis is made more difficult by a sea of misinformation. Here is a quick guide to separate common myths from evidence-based facts.

• Myth: All joint pain is arthritis.
• Fact: While arthritis is a common cause of joint pain, other conditions like tendonitis (inflammation of a tendon), bursitis (inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs that cushion joints), and soft-tissue injuries can also cause pain in and around the joints.⁵⁶ A proper diagnosis is essential.
• Myth: Arthritis only affects older people.
• Fact: Arthritis can affect people of all ages, including children and young adults. While osteoarthritis becomes more common with age, inflammatory types like rheumatoid arthritis often begin in people aged 30 to 60, and juvenile arthritis affects those under 16.⁴³
• Myth: You should avoid exercise if you have arthritis because it will wear out your joints faster.
• Fact: This is one of the most harmful myths. Regular, appropriate exercise is a cornerstone of arthritis management. It strengthens the muscles that support and protect joints, improves flexibility, reduces stiffness, and can significantly decrease pain. The key is to choose low-impact activities and listen to your body.⁴³
• Myth: Cold and damp weather causes or worsens arthritis.
• Fact: While many people with arthritis report that their symptoms feel worse with changes in barometric pressure or humidity, there is no scientific evidence that weather causes arthritis or changes the long-term course of the disease. People in warm, dry climates still get arthritis.⁵⁶
• Myth: Special diets, like avoiding nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant), can cure arthritis.
• Fact: There is no diet that can cure arthritis. However, an overall anti-inflammatory eating pattern, such as the Mediterranean diet, can help manage symptoms by reducing systemic inflammation. While a small number of people may have sensitivities to specific foods like nightshades, this is not a universal trigger, and there is little scientific evidence to support avoiding them for everyone.⁵⁶
• Myth: There’s nothing you can do for arthritis except take pain medication and wait for surgery.
• Fact: This is completely false. A comprehensive management plan that includes lifestyle changes (exercise, weight management, diet), physical therapy, mind-body practices, and appropriate medication can effectively manage symptoms, slow disease progression, and allow people to live full, active lives for many years, often without ever needing surgery.⁴³

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