It is possible to manage the pain of arthritis naturally, and staying active is crucial as it can actually help with pain relief. In this article, an arthritis sufferer tells how he has the condition under control by making changes to his diet and taking moderate exercise.

If you suffer from arthritis, the last thing you may feel like doing is taking any kind of exercise or playing sport. Nevertheless, it is possible to resume an active life despite arthritis pain. In fact physical activity can actually work as a pain reliever.

A recent study published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research concluded that regular exercise can help to significantly improve and manage arthritis pain.

According to Patience White of the US Arthritis Foundation, even small lifestyle changes such as taking a 10-minute walk three times a day can reduce the impact of arthritis on a person抯 daily activities and help to prevent developing more painful arthritis.

But what if your arthritis is too severe to tackle even this amount of exercise? Where do you start?

John Stout is one of many arthritis sufferers who have discovered it is possible to manage one抯 arthritis naturally and return to an active life. A keen golfer, in 2003 John was starting to get pains in his feet which made playing a round of golf painful. Before long he was getting pains in his knees, hands and wrists, and starting to feel more and more tired. He was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Although John was prescribed Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate tablets, he wanted to try to and find a way of managing his arthritis naturally.

So in 2007 John became a member of The Arthritic Association and started on the Home Treatment Programme for arthritis, originally devised over 60 years ago by Charles de Coti-Marsh. The programme comprises three elements ?dietary changes, the taking of certain natural supplements, and (when the person reaches the appropriate stage in the treatment), physical therapy. After an assessment from a suitably qualified practitioner, for example a remedial massage therapist, a course of gentle manipulative treatment is for many arthritis sufferers the final piece of the jigsaw which allows them to resume a more active and pain-free life.

For John, there抯 no doubt the programme worked. Once on the diet and supplement programme the improvements to his health were almost immediate. Since then, he has enjoyed a steady easing of his aches and pains and an increase in energy levels which enabled him to start exercising again. He still sticks to the dietary changes he made when starting the programme (which for the most part simply follows current guidelines for healthy eating, with its emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, wholegrains and polyunsaturated fats.)

揑 took the Arthritic Association抯 advice to exercise regularly and most days I can manage a 30 minute brisk walk in my lunch break,?reports John, 揂nd most importantly I抦 back playing golf!?/P>