Easy Ways to Manage Osteoarthritis Pain
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Loading ...Philosophy says that proper understanding is the remedy to any pain. We can use the same thumb rule to deal with the pain caused by Osteoarthritis as well. There are so many ways to manage your arthritis pain, but you can choose the most effective one’s by understanding your arthritis only.
If your arthritis is caused by obesity, then you need to loss weight and your set of regular exercises vary greatly from those with normal body weight. If your joints are damaged by an accident and you get arthritis, then you may have to wear braces and focus on different pain reducing methods. So the first steps in dealing with Osteoarthritis pain are
Recognize early symptoms of Osteoarthritis such as prolonged joint stiffness/pains and consult with a doctor you trust, you may not need specialist advice at first. Don’t go after unproven home remedies or over the counter pain killers.
If your doctor advises some preliminary treatment, be compliant with your treatment plan and don’t skip medications.
The most important part of maintaining Osteoarthritis pain is regular physical exercise. Regular exercise prevents the muscle atrophy and helps to decrease joint pain. Walking, tai chi, yoga, water exercise, and bicycling may be good forms of exercise for people with arthritis. You need guidance of a qualified personal trainer with regard to exercise when you have Osteoarthritis. Over-doing or straining wrong joints and muscle may result if you do not have proper guidance.
Pain relief is associated with two basic types of exercise: You can stay flexible while preventing stiffness and joint deformities by stretching or range-of-motion exercises. You can reduce the joint pain by making the muscles, ligaments and tendons that support your joints stronger. A variety of strengthening exercises will help you to do that.
Tips for beginners:
- Do these exercises slowly, without bouncing or jerking.
- Start with no more than 5 repetitions of each exercise, and take at least 2 weeks to increase to 10 repetitions.
- Do the exercises in an order that does not require you to get up and down a lot.
- Always do the same number of exercises for both sides of your body.
Eating well and maintaining ideal body weight is another key to manage pain. Losing weight can prevent extra stress on weight-bearing joints and there by reduces pain. Protecting joints helps to reduce pain. The following precautions can help you to have healthy joints. Stop any activity that causes ongoing pain. Replace heavy tasks with easy tasks and associate repeated tasks with intervals. Change tasks often. Pay attention to joint positioning. Use larger, stronger joints to carry loads. Don’t remain still for a long time; walk around often. Relaxation and distraction helps to ease pain. Getting enough sleep, breathing exercises, self-talk and stress reduction are some useful techniques of relaxation.
Applying heat or cold to sore joints can temporarily relieve the pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis. Heat helps to relax aching muscles. Cold can numb the area to reduce pain.
Acupuncture and bioelectric therapy may be able to provide some pain relief. Some medical research has shown that some supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin can relieve pain in some people with osteoarthritis.
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