5 Ways to Reduce Arthritis Pain
By Brian Acton
The best way to successfully manage your arthritis pain depends on many different variables, including the type of arthritis, the medical treatment you receive from your physician, your age, gender, and other factors. But there are many common methods you can use to help manage your pain and get around easier.
Here are five ways to help reduce arthritis pain.
- Maintain a Healthy Weight
Being overweight puts a lot of extra pressure on your knees, which anyone with knee arthritis or general knee pain can tell you is a problem. Maintaining a healthy weight will take some of that pressure off, and a healthy weight has also been linked to reduced inflammation, reduced severity of arthritis, and a greater chance of remission.
On top of that, overweight people who lose weight may experience less overall pain from their arthritis, better mobility, and an improved quality of life.
- Get Some Exercise
Regular exercise is important for anyone with arthritis. It helps maintain your body’s strength and mobility and can help you avoid other ailments. While the thought of moving around with stiff or painful joints may sound unappealing, the long-term benefits may outweigh any short-term hesitations.
A moderate exercise routine, which can include range-of-motion exercises, strength training, and aerobic exercise, can lead to long term pain relief. You don’t even need to do anything strenuous - low impact exercises like walking, stationary biking, or swimming can be extremely beneficial. Just avoid overdoing it, especially if you’re just getting started.
- Use Heat Therapy
Hot and cold therapy packs have many uses, including recovering from sports injuries, help to relieve migraines, and moistening dry eyes. But with heat therapy, they also can be used to help relieve recurring joint pain. Heat can improve circulation and lubricate your joints, reduce stiffness, and help you relax as an added bonus. It’s a great way to warm up joints before you start exercising!
Check out our line of hot and cold therapy packs here. Our MicroBeads Moist Heat Therapy Mitt is designed to aid with joint lubrication and easing joint stiffness.
- Follow a Healthy Diet
There’s no miracle food that relieves joint pain, but you can manage your symptoms better with a healthy diet. According to the Arthritis Foundation, a diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and fish and low in processed foods and saturated fat is good for your joints, curbing inflammation and potentially even lessening joint pain when combined with weight loss.
- Wear Products That Ease Pain
Certain products can be worn as you go about your day, providing support or pain relief to stiff and painful joints. For example, knee braces provide support and mobility for knee pain, helping the wearer walk, climb stairs, and perform many other common movements that require mobile knees. Other products, like the Swede-O® Thermal Arthritis Gloves, retain your body heat and provide light compression to your joints so you can maintain hand mobility.
Sources:
https://www.coreproducts.com/blogs/news/6-ways-you-can-use-hot-and-cold-therapy-packs-for-relief
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arthritis/in-depth/arthritis/art-20047971
