When people that you love, or even yourself, have arthritis pain, you may feel helpless. Understanding the nature and symptoms of your arthritis is the first step in treating it properly.
Be sure to get sufficient sleep whenever arthritis flares occur. Your body will not have the strength to fight the pain associated with arthritis without proper sleep. The optimum amount of sleep is eight hours per night, and up to ten hours if your stress level is high. Your body will respond very favorably when you get enough sleep.
Use the heel of your hand and press down on your leg. This will make it easier to clip your nails without using your fingers.
Sit back, close your eyes, relax and take a couple deep breaths. This keeps your mind from focusing on the pain and gets you to think about something happy.
Take an active role in managing your arthritis by learning as much as you can about the disease. Resources for arthritis patients are plentiful, helping with advice on nutrition, activities and managing pain. By thoroughly researching your arthritis, you can learn some new treatments, and be introduced to some exercises and foods that can help reduce some of your pain.
Maintaining a healthy body weight reduces the stress placed on arthritic joints. Your joints can become strained, making your arthritis symptoms worsen by being overweight. Kill two birds with one stone by losing weight with a good diet that also improves the way you feel.
Moist heating pads can offer relief for arthritis discomfort. If you find that you constantly have nagging pains from arthritis that is interfering in your body’s ability to move around, the purchase of a heating pad that features moist heat could be a good investment. These pads will give you a quick burst of pain relief, but you should still make an appointment with your physician.
Fish Oil Supplements
Try taking fish oil supplements if you are arthritic. Report after report indicates that fish oil reduces arthritis pain and joint inflammation, thanks to the fatty acids (omega-3s) it contains. Supermarkets and health food stores carry a variety of fish oil supplements.
It is important to plan ahead of time. Arthritis symptoms could occur anywhere at anytime so make sure you have a plan of how to deal with the situation if it arises. Take the time to rest while doing physical work, and know your limitations.
Though it sounds non-intuitive, you can reduce the pain you feel in your joints by building up your abdominal muscles. Scientific studies have shown that strong ab muscles lead to better posture, which reduces the incidence of joint pain. Know your limitations and avoid overdoing it with your workouts.
Plan your activities and tasks so that you donât make your arthritis pain worse by putting unnecessary stress on your joints. If you’re standing for long periods of time or lifting large objects, make sure your joints are protected from more joint damage. More joint damage will increase pain, so avoid any sort of long-term exertion if you can.
Don’t let your arthritis get the upper hand. Instead, educate yourself about your condition so you will be better able to manage it. This information is a great place to start coming up with a good treatment plan so you can rid yourself of pain associated with arthritis.