Healthcare Case Study: Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatments and Strategies

This case study examines rheumatoid arthritis, focusing on the case of Mrs. Martin. The report explores the disease's impact, alternative treatments like Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), acupuncture, and balneotherapy, and the factors contributing to a patient's powerlessness, such as medication side effects and lifestyle changes. It discusses actions and strategies, including regular check-ups and finding home remedies, to support individuals and families affected by rheumatoid arthritis. The study highlights the importance of understanding the disease's causes, effects, and the need for comprehensive care to improve patient outcomes. The case study uses academic databases to support its findings and recommendations.

CASE STUDY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
1. Danger or an Opportunity.......................................................................................................1
2. Alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.......................................................................1
3. Alternative treatments as per academic database....................................................................2
4. Factors contributing to Mrs. Martin's powerlessness..............................................................3
5. Actions and Strategies.............................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
The below identifies the causes and sufferings caused from the disease rheumatoid
arthritis. The report discusses in what ways one can find a cure a for the disease and the
necessary measures that needs to be taken for the one suffering from it (Burmester and Pope,
2017). Along with it, the report explores the alternative treatments of the disease and the kinds of
actions needs to be taken to support the suffering individuals.
MAIN BODY
1. Danger or an Opportunity
Uncertainty in Chronic illness in Canada
As per Michel (1999), The dynamic nature of chronic illness makes uncertainty a part of
an individual's life. In the situation of acute illness a person act to decrease his uncertainty.
Individuals with chronic condition often manages uncertainty. Although, as per the findings it
has been seen as uncertainty is experienced in the present, it is also based on the experiences of
the past and related assumptions for the future. Fixed within the illness the experiences are
ambiguity, inconsistency, vagueness, unfamiliarity and unpredictability. These unknown
experiences often creates situation of uncertainty.
The uncertainty of the disease which Mrs. Martin had is a danger for her. The symptoms
which she is facing included swelling in knee and ankles and reoccurring pain. This made her
trouble in walking and maintaining day to day activities. This uncertainty caused her troubles in
being active and earn a living. When the disease is not diagnosed well that it caused troubles to
Mrs. Martin in maintaining a strong and healthy life (McInnes and Schett, 2017). Along with it,
she was in pain for a long period. Not having the right treatment for the kind of problem she was
facing made her suffer from severe symptoms such as aching joint pains and difficulty in
walking.
This uncertainty is a danger because when a patient is not aware of the disease which she
is suffering from, it can put her in more trouble. The disease if not identified soon can rapidly
start growing and causing pains that can hinder one's health and wealth both. Also, the
medications which Mrs. Martin was taking to deal with the pain and problems which she was
facing can cause her problems in actively doing her duties and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
This can cause her serious troubles in living a good life.
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It is important that the disease is treated well in order to provide her satisfaction and
relieve her from pain which she is facing. This would also help her in maintaining a good
lifestyle and start earning a living again. Proper instructions needs to be taken in order to ensure
that she is coping with the disease and her family members also need to take well care of her
(Malmström, Catrina and Klareskog, 2017). These all measures can help Mrs. Martin for the
danger which she is into and would also keep her safe and secure.
2. Alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis
Below mentioned are the alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and in what ways
these treatments can help an individual: Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatments: This treatment helps an
individual suffering manage chronic pain and joint inflammation. This is one of the
effective treatments that is being used by the physicians worldwide to cure the problems
related to rheumatoid arthritis. CAM treatments most often includes therapies and
massages but sometimes they include medications as well. The CAM treatments is
mostly used by doctors in countries like United Kingdom and United States. Also, it
helps the individual suffering from the disease to maintain a strong and healthy lifestyle.
CAM treatments is one of the effective approaches towards curing rheumatoid arthritis Acupuncture: Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese practice (Skeoch and Bruce, 2015).
The practice of curing arthritis is rooted in a belief that everyone has an energy force in
their body called Chi or Qi. It is said that this force flows freely in the body. When Chi is
blocked, it can cause symptoms such as pain and other RA symptoms. In order to
promote a smooth flow of this energy force Chi, acupuncturists tends to insert very fine
type of needles to free up the channels of Chi in the body. This helps the patients to get
relief from the pain which they are receiving from rheumatoid arthritis
 Balneotherapy: This is also one of the most effective technique used in order to relieve
the pain and the symptoms of arthritis. In this approach, the water is used therapeutically
in order to address the symptoms (Koenders and van den Berg, 2015). From the help of
this treatment, the patients pain gets relieved when he is made to bathe in warm mineral
water. This treatment has reported some benefits but they are not effective ones. Also,
there's not much research has been done to prove that this approach is effective in treating
RA.
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From the above treatments it can be observed that Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (CAM) and Acupuncture are the most effective treatments of rheumatoid arthritis.
3. Alternative treatments
Below mentioned are the alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis: Massaging: From the ancient times massaging has been seen as one of the most effective
approaches in relieving pain and arthritis related symptoms. Massaging involves
techniques such as stroking, manipulation of soft tissues (ligaments and muscles) and
kneading (Friedman and Cronstein, 2018). When an individual is facing troubles related
to arthritis, massages are provided to him in order to relieve pain and pressure in the area.
Along with it, it is a safe and side effect free treatment. There are more than a hundred
types of massages and massage techniques are available. For example, massage such as
Swedish Massage makes use of long strokes in order to impact the superficial layers
present in the muscles. This helps the patient to retain the pain free effect for a long
period and maintain a healthy lifestyle during his disease (McGonagle, Watad and Savic,
2018). Along with it, it relaxes the entire body and provides relief in the major pain areas.
 Herbal Remedies: The herbal supplements are proven to ease the symptoms of
rheumatoid arthritis. Herbal treatments such as devil's claw, white willow bark, borage
seed oil and boswellia are one of the most effective treatments of arthritis. These
treatments are inexpensive and decrease the pain and inflammation caused. Along with it,
the herbal treatments are one of the most effective treatments as they cure the disease fast
and does not require too much attention from the patient and the physician. In some
cases, herbal treatments does not work when the disease is severe. At the initial stages of
the disease, these treatments can reduce its effect and eliminate the overall disease.
4. Factors contributing to Mrs. Martin's powerlessness
Powerlessness in Chronic illness in Canada
The diagnosis of the illnesses which are chronic comes with uncertainties of the future,
feeling related to lack of control and vulnerability. It was the case with Mrs. Martin as well. At
some point, while the course of the chronic illness Mrs. Martin experienced powerlessness. This
powerlessness was absolute in the sense of inability of an outcome; which can also be termed as
the inability to have an agency in an individual's own life. (Miller, 2015)
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The factors which contributed to Mrs. Martin Powerlessness included taking large
dosages of medicines. Mrs. Martin after being identified from rheumatoid arthritis started taking
12 aspirins a day prescribed by his physician. This made it hard for her to maintain a healthy
lifestyle (McInnes and Schett, 2017). Taking heavy dosages was one of the major reasons why
Mrs. Martin started experiencing powerlessness early in her life. The side-effects of these
medicines made her weak and not able to work.
The other factor was her movement for rural to urban area. She used to work as a full-
time secretary where she had to make a lot of efforts in earning a living. This made her manage
between job and home on a daily basis and lack of rest was another reason making her weak and
less supportive. Later, when the disease started growing she left the urban and went back to the
old rural life.
Over time Mrs. Martin started facing troubles in her wrists, fingers, elbows, feet etc.
These parts of her body started developing joint deformities and contractures. This made her
weak and troubled in managing day to day life functions (Burmester and Pope, 2017). At the age
of 35, her symptoms became so severe that she became unable to do any of her work was
bedridden for entire 6 months. These factors were the most responsible one that made Mrs.
Martin face powerlessness in her early life. Also, these challenge continued for a long time and
made her face troubles throughout her lifetime.
5. Actions and Strategies
As being a member of the health care, in order to support the family going forward the
below mentions actions and strategies can be used:
Actions To make a schedule for regular check ups: In order to help Mrs. Martin with her
problem of rheumatoid arthritis (Skeoch and Bruce, 2015). The first action which can be
taken is to make a schedule in which she will be regularly taken for the check-ups to
experienced physicians.
 Provision of required medications: After ensuring regular check ups are being taken,
required medications would be provided to Mrs. Martin in order to make sure that the
disease is being properly treated by proper medications.
Strategies
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 Understanding its cause an effect by researching: The causes and effects of rheumatoid
arthritis can be researched order to gain a proper understanding as in what ways the
disease can be cured and resolved (McGonagle, Watad and Savic, 2018).
 Finding home remedies: Looking for home remedies is another effective approaches that
can be used by the health care team. Home remedies can be cost effective for Martin
family and would be healthy too. Also, home remedies can help an individual suffering
from rheumatoid arthritis to gain a better health in easy ways.
CONCLUSION
The above report explores the effects of the disease rheumatoid arthritis. The report
discusses in what ways the disease impacts a human being and what necessary measures and
treatments can be taken in order to ensure it is being treated properly. Along with it, the report
puts light on the necessary measures that needs to be taken and the strategies which needs to be
adopted in order to help the individuals suffering from it.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Burmester, G. R. and Pope, J. E., 2017. Novel treatment strategies in rheumatoid arthritis. The
Lancet, 389(10086). pp.2338-2348.
Friedman, B. and Cronstein, B., 2018. Methotrexate mechanism in treatment of rheumatoid
arthritis. Joint Bone Spine.
Koenders, M. I. and van den Berg, W. B., 2015. Novel therapeutic targets in rheumatoid
arthritis. Trends in pharmacological sciences. 36(4). pp.189-195.
Malmström, V., Catrina, A. I. and Klareskog, L., 2017. The immunopathogenesis of seropositive
rheumatoid arthritis: from triggering to targeting. Nature Reviews Immunology. 17(1).
p.60.
Michel D. L., 2017. Uncertainty of chronic illness in Canada: Impact and Intervention. 13(5).
p.360.
Miller R. 2015. Phenomenon of Powerlessness in chronic illness. 324(12300). pp.7838-1145.
McGonagle, D., Watad, A. and Savic, S., 2018. Mechanistic immunological based classification
of rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmunity Reviews.
McInnes, I. B. and Schett, G., 2017. Pathogenetic insights from the treatment of rheumatoid
arthritis. The Lancet. 389(10086). pp.2328-2337.
Skeoch, S. and Bruce, I. N., 2015. Atherosclerosis in rheumatoid arthritis: is it all about
inflammation?. Nature Reviews Rheumatology. 11(7). p.390.
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