Arthritis can be an excruciatingly painful and hard to deal with disease that makes accomplishing simple day-to-day tasks, such as buttoning your shirt in the morning, quite difficult.
Arthritis can cause debilitating pain in the affected joints, oftentimes hindering your mobility. While treatment options are limited, there are a few important steps you can take to make dealing with arthritis easier. Here are 5 important tips to help you cope with arthritis symptoms:
Stretch
Sitting down for a period of time may cause fluid build-up in your joints, and increase the pain felt. Instead take walking breaks every hour, and stretch every morning and night, this will get the blood flowing and help decrease stiffness throughout the day.
Adapt Your Home
Adjust the height of your furniture, or add extra cushioning so that it is not painful to attempt to sit down or get back up. Utilizing devices that may help will also go a long way, for example, if you have arthritis in your hands and you can no longer easily open jars or other lids, there is a product to help you do exactly that without agitating your arthritis.
Quit Smoking
Smoking may prove harmful to the connective tissues in your joints. Quitting smoking will help to reduce the rate of deterioration of these tissues in joints affected by arthritis.
Exercise
While it may be painful to move your joints now, if you slowly work out the stiffness on a regular basis, you will eventually have less stiffness overall. Greater range of motion and mobility only comes to those who are consistent.
Be Mindful of What You are Eating
Arthritis is an inflammatory disease, therefore, it may prove beneficial to cut out foods that cause further inflammation. While there is currently no particular diet considered best for sufferers of arthritis, there have been several claims of the following foods having negative impacts on individuals with rheumatoid: dairy products, refined sugar, caffeine, meat, and sometimes gluten.
If you, or a loved one, is suffering with arthritis; or if you have any questions about this debilitating disease, the experienced physicians at Intercoastal Medical Group are here to help. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors today, click here!
