Got Arthritis? There May Be Options

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) - Arthritis causes pain in millions of adults and hundreds of thousands of children.  It hurts your joints and your quality of life, but there is good news.  Doctors say they can almost always make a difference.

You see Alan Lee smiling weekday mornings on FOX 2, but what you don't see is his pain.  A college injury triggered knee pain and then arthritis that has only been getting worse.  It has even affected Alan's ability to play basketball and baseball.

In fact, for Alan and the millions of others who deal with arthritis, just every day tasks can be painful. 

However, Beaumont orthopedic surgeon Rachel Rohde said for dozens of types of arthritis there are options.

"There are oral anti-inflamartory medicines that can help.  There are creams that can help.  There are injections, different substances we can inject to calm arthritis.  There's physical therapy, and when everything else has sort of ceased to be effective, that's when you consider surgery," she told us.

Alan has tried just about everything and is considering surgery, but until then, he is playing through the pain.

"Exercise is really tough because sometimes you may have to fight through the pain if you really want to do it.  You just have to put it in your mind and say it's going to hurt," he explained.

Thousands will gather at the Detroit Zoo to walk with the Arthritis Foundation on May 14.  Click here for details on that event.