Arthritis is a common disease that attacks the joints and cartilage, resulting in pain and moderate to severe localized inflammation. It is a condition which affects millions of men and women every year and can even show up in children. Learn how to fight back and live with arthritis with these tips and tricks.

Arthritis sufferers have had some successes in easing pain by participating in low-impact exercises, like swimming and walking. Ask your doctor if you question your ability to exercise.

Low impact exercises, such as cycling, swimming and walking, can ease arthritis discomfort in your joints. You should consult a doctor before starting an exercise program to help with your arthritis.

If you have arthritis, try to optimize your sleep during the night. Lack of sleep makes it impossible for the body to fight painful arthritis effects. Try to sleep at least eight hours a day, ten on a particularly stressful day. Your body will respond very favorably when you get enough sleep.

Non-weight bearing activities like water aerobics are best for arthritis sufferers. These activities will stretch your muscles and joints. In addition, warm water is known to alleviate chronic arthritis pain. If you don’t feel comfortable in the water, consider taking a swimming class.

The best way to deal with arthritis is to become knowledgeable about the condition. There are numerous resources available for arthritis sufferers where you can find helpful tips on nutrition, exercise and pain management. By learning more about arthritis, you could find certain foods, workouts, and treatments that reduce your symptoms.

If you have arthritis, don’t wear heels or uncomfortable shoes. Regardless of the actual location of your arthritis, shoes that don’t fit properly will change your gait, which can have painful effects. Rather get a pair of shoes that give you plenty of support.

If you can help it do not take pain-killers to deal with your pain. They are at best a temporary fix and can lead to addiction. Pain killers have their place, but make sure to only use them as prescribed by your doctor. Look for other methods that can help with pain without the use of medication.

Begin a daily habit of doing stretching exercises. Arthritis will quickly take your flexibility away from you if you neglect stretching. Losing flexibility can be slowed or even prevented if you take the time to stretch every muscle on a daily basis. Begin by stretching your feet, slowly moving all the way up to your neck muscles.

Increase your consumption of vegetables, and eat less meat. There are cases where people with arthritis who are vegetarian do not experience as much pain as other arthritis sufferers do. If you are not going to be able to not eat meat, make sure half of your plate is filled with vegetables to get almost the same benefits.

One of the oddest remedies for arthritis is actually soothing music. This kind of music helps to relax your body and ease some of the aches and pains that arthritis may cause. Also, by listening to relaxing music, it can relax you to the point of being able to fall asleep if you’ve been having trouble due to arthritis symptoms.

Though it may seem improbable, the truth is that soft music actually has the ability to alleviate arthritis symptoms. This sort of music will help your body relax which in turn, will relieve some pain associated with arthritis. Relaxing music is also a great way to fall asleep if the pain from arthritis is keeping you up.

Regular visits to a sauna can be an effective means of reducing pain from chronic arthritis. The warmth and humidity of a sauna may reduce arthritic inflammation. Reducing inflammation reduces the pain. Visiting the sauna regularly is the key to effectiveness.

Feel Bad

For an arthritic knee, see how a knee brace works for you before opting for surgery. Surgery should always be your last option since a knee brace can reduce your pain and swelling from arthritis. You can even wear one when sleeping.

Never get yourself to feel bad about arthritis or let others feel bad for you. If arthritis symptoms are bothering you, you might be uncomfortable with different activities. Feelings of guilt only serve to make things worse, rather than helping the situation. You may have to stop doing some of the things you love, but that’s still no excuse to allow guilt to settle in.

If your pain causes you fatigue, heat treatment should work. Contrary to conventional wisdom, heat treatments are more effective for people who have arthritis than cold packs. A heating pad or other form of hot treatment is best for arthritic pain, because it gets rid of the pain and also provides you energy.

Sleep in the right bed. People who suffer from arthritis should talk to their doctor to find out the kind of bed that would be beneficial for people who have this condition. Since your condition and your pain issues are always a unique combination, soliciting expert medical advice is the best, if not the only, way to learn what you really need in the bed department.

Pay attention to the level of protein in your body. People with arthritis actually need more protein in order to keep symptoms at a minimum. If meat is not typically in your diet, then make an extra effort to compensate for the lack of good protein, in order to avoid inflammatory and painful flare-ups or arthritis.

If you need to perform a strenuous task, use assistant devices. Get protective pads to keep your joints safe if you are going to do some physical work for instance. If you have further damage to joints, it will cause pain, so do not overexert yourself.

Try losing weight. If you are overweight and you have arthritis, you will experience a greater amount of inflammation and swelling. Joints have to work harder to support excess weight, and this makes flare-ups more common and more painful. Having less excess weight will make the pain less intense and the swellings less common.

With so many different types of arthritis, it can be difficult to find your own ideal approach to coping with the disease. Fortunately, the advice from this article is intended as a general resource for those who are dealing with the pain and inflammation of arthritis. Following these guidelines will offer relief from the disease and its effects.