Do physical activities reduce or cause more arthritis pain? Find out how to exercise as well as other concerns common to dealing with symptoms of arthritis and pain from arthritis.
Arthritis is the most common cause of disability and pain across the globe. There’s plenty of information on how to ease the discomfort of arthritis as well as other diseases by exercising, taking medication, and stress management. What do you know can work best for you?
Here are some must-knows and don’ts to help to figure it out.
Basics
No matter what the situation, it will be more easy to keep a step ahead of your pain if
- Find out all possible about your condition, such as the type of arthritis you suffer from and if your joints have been damaged.
- Involve your doctor, your family and friends in managing your pain.
- Tell your doctor if your pain changes
Everyday routines
Take note of your joints, whether you are sitting on a stool, standing or participating in an activities.
- Keep your joints in motion. Perform daily, gentle stretching that allow your joints to move throughout their entire movement.
- Maintain a healthy posture. A physical therapist will show you how to stand, sit and move in a correct manner.
- Know your limits. Find a balance between rest and activity and don’t go overboard.
Furthermore the lifestyle modifications are essential to ease discomfort.
- Control the weight. Being overweight can cause the severity of arthritis and contribute to pain in arthritis. Making gradual, long-lasting lifestyle changes that lead to the gradual loss of weight is typically the most efficient method for managing weight.
- Stop smoking cigarettes. Smoking can cause stress to connective tissues. This could cause arthritis pain to increase.
Exercise
If you suffer from arthritis, moving can ease stiffness and pain, increase the range of motion you can perform and strengthen your muscles and improve your endurance.
What to do
Select the appropriate exercises that strengthen your muscles surrounding your joints, but do not harm your joints. A occupational or physical therapist will assist you in creating an exercise plan that is right for you.
You should focus on stretching, range-of-motion exercises and gradually increasing strengthening exercises. Include aerobic exercises with low impact like cycling, walking or water exercise to improve your mood and manage your weight.
Read More about 9 essential tips to avoid strain, sprain, or injury during yoga.
What should you be aware of to
Beware of activities that require the use of force and repetitive motion, for example:
- Running
- Jumping
- Tennis
- Aerobics that are high-impact
- Repetition of the same move for example, tennis serves, repeatedly and repeatedly
Medications
There are a variety of drugs offered to relieve arthritis pain. They are generally safe, but none can be guaranteed to be free of negative side consequences. Discuss with your doctor how to develop a treatment plan to address your specific pain issues.
What to do
Pain medications available over the counter like Acetaminophen (Tylenol and others) Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, other) as well as naproxen sodium (Aleve) can ease occasionally-inspiring pain caused by activities that your joints and muscles aren’t used to , like gardening after winter indoors.
Capsaicin-based creams can be applied to the skin over an injured joint to alleviate the pain. Apply it on its own or in combination along with oral medication.
Consult your doctor or Best Knee Replacement Surgeon if over-the-counter medications don’t relieve your pain.
What can you do to do to
- Overtreatment. Consult your physician when you are frequently taking over-the-counter pain relief.
- Undertreatment. Do not ignore the serious or prolonged arthritis discomfort. It is possible that you have joint inflammation or injury that requires regular medication.
- Concentrating solely on the pain. Depression is more prevalent in those with arthritis. Doctors have discovered that treating depression using antidepressants, along with other therapies, decreases symptoms of depression but also the pain associated with arthritis.
Integration of emotional and physical aspects
It’s not a surprise that arthritis-related pain can have a negative effects upon your mental state. If your daily activities cause you to feel pain, you’re likely feel depressed. However, if these ordinary thoughts become an endless stream of anxious negative thoughts, you’re suffering can become more severe and more difficult to control.
What to do
Therapies to stop destructive mind-body interactions comprise:
- Cognitive behavior therapy. This well-studied and effective combination of therapy for talk and behavior modification will help to identify as well as break the cycles of self-defeating behaviors and thoughts.
- Relaxation therapy. Yoga, meditation or deep breathing and listening to music relaxing in nature, or writing in a journalDo whatever you can to help to relax. Relaxation isn’t a bad thing and can even help alleviate discomfort.
- Acupuncture. Certain people experience pain relief through acupuncture therapies, in which an experienced acupuncturist inserts thin hair needles in specific areas of your body. It may take up to a few weeks before you can notice an improvement.
- Cold and heat. Utilizing warmth, like using heating pads for pain-prone joints, bathing in hot water in showers soaking joint pain in paraffin can ease discomfort for a short time. Make sure that you don’t burn yourself. You should not use heating pads for more than 20 mins at an time.
The use of cold, like applying cold packs of ice to muscles that are sore will ease discomfort and inflammation following intense exercise. - Massage. Massage can ease stiffness and pain for a short time. Be sure that your massage therapist is aware of how your arthritis is affecting you.
What should you do to
- Smoking. If you’re addicted smoking, you may employ it as a strategy to deal with stress. However, the toxic substances from smoking cause stress on connective tissue, which can lead to more joint pain.
- A negative attitude. Negative thoughts will continue to recur. When you focus over them they can escalate to the point of increasing your discomfort and increase the risk of developing a disability. Instead, you should be able to distract yourself by activities that you like, and be with those who are supportive of you, and think about seeking out therapy.
