Easing Painful Points

Drug makers are taking the “ouch” out of biologic injections.

- Jennifer Davis

Biologic medications have revolutionized the treatment of autoimmune types of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile arthritis. But the injections can be painful. That’s a problem because they need to be taken regularly – sometimes as often as weekly, or even daily.

“Getting an injection is hard enough. The needle stick alone is not fun. But then, if you have a medication that causes burning at the injection site or as it’s going in, that can make injections pretty traumatic for patients,” says Cara M. Hoffart, DO, a pediatric rheumatologist and pain clinic director at Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, Missouri.

Dr. Hoffart understands all too well; she gets injections to manage her ankylosing spondylitis. “Pain has factored into me thinking about trying different medications,” she admits.