Ten Healthy Habits for Arthritis Management
With arthritis comes joint pain. By changing some simple habits anyone can make small changes to for big impact over time. Not sure where to start? Let us help you by outlining some tips that you can instill in your daily life to deal with arthritis.
1. Reduce Stress
Negative stress has never been beneficial to anyone. In terms of health, stress exacerbates the symptoms of arthritis. Many people have felt the joint pain worse because their muscles tense up due to stress. So reduce stress to minimize arthritis symptoms.
2. Get Organized
Organize yourself and your home. Create a special place for your medical documents, analysis of results and treatment update in your home. Write on a chart the number of visits to the doctor, levels of pain experienced and medications.
3. Anticipate and Take Precautions
Prevention is the key. You need to get ahead of the pain. Be prepared and anticipate the pain before it occurs. Once the pain begins, it may be difficult to control it. Many people report having pain while waking up in the morning or after exercising. Take a pain med before bed or before exercising. Consult your doctor before taking pain-relieving medications.
4. Be Creative with Exercise
You can exercise every day while playing with your dog or use a yoga video. Pay attention to the benefits of exercise on your body. Decide the type of exercise that suits you and your body. Make sure you move around as much as possible during the day rather than resting most of the time. Pushing yourself too hard while exercising can put your joint injury at risk and increase your pain as well. You may choose exercise therapy under the guidance of a therapist.
5. Snack Every Three Hours
You blood sugar drops if you do not eat for more than three hours. You need to consume a healthy snack if your arthritis is sapping your energy away. Fruit is some of the best snacks to eat for blood glucose.
6. Take Supplements
Healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are the best way to get proper nourishment for your body, but it is advised by many to include multivitamins and supplements as well.
7. Simplify Household Chores
Make sure that you simplify your household chores to reduce unnecessary stress on your joints.
8. Walk Barefoot
Most shoes increase force exerted on the knees more than when going barefoot. If possible, try going without them and see if there is benefit for your joints.
9. Control Weight Gain
Being overweight or obese can be the cause of your aching knees too. Some weight loss may make a difference to your joint pain.
10. Get Good Sleep
Sleep is surely a challenge for people with arthritis, as joint pain can wake them up in the middle of the night. Lack of sleep combined with arthritis pain can create a vicious circle. Talk to your doctor to know how to control the arthritis pain. Better management of the pain will help you sleep better.
If you are stressed try massage therapy for relaxation. Book an appointment with InHome Physical Therapy. We provide in-home services to people located in Calgary, Edmonton and Halifax.
