When the amount of cartilage around the bones is reduced through deterioration, it causes arthritis. Once the cartilage wears away, bone-on-bone contact can occur, and the inevitable results will be inflammation, swelling, and pain. In this article, we will provide some advice that will help you to gain control over your arthritis symptoms.
You should do your best to manage your weight in order to reduce the amount of strain that you feel on your joints if you suffer from arthritis. Even if you are a little bit above your ideal weight, the extra stress on your joints can be considerable and increase the amount of pain and inflammation you experience. Obviously, this also results in a healthier lifestyle all the way around and keeps you from suffering through any additional turmoil.
Simply relaxing is a very effective method of getting rid of fatigue that comes from dealing with your arthritis. There are many ways to calm yourself down and relax, including meditating, doing some yoga or taking a hot bath. If you put aside time to relax, you will feel rejuvenated throughout the day.
Take the time to catch yourself when you think about your pain, and then practice thinking about something else instead. Allowing yourself to spend too much time thinking about pain has a direct link to how you feel.
When engaging in strenuous activities be sure to use assistant devices. When you're dealing with arthritis, your joints are especially susceptible to the kind of strain that long periods of standing or heavy lifting places on them. Take steps to protect yourself in these situations. If you further damage your joints, you will experience a lot of pain, and the most effective way to prevent this is to avoid strenuous activity.
If you get hot, you will notice that your joints will hurt more. Ensure that you properly cool down if this happens to you. Stop exercising and sit down in a cool shaded spot.
Lose weight. Someone with arthritis can suffer from swelling and uncomfortable inflammation when they are overweight. When a person weighs too much it can cause the joints to have flare ups because they are under a lot of pressure. Losing these excess pounds can calm the flare ups and prevent them from happening so frequently.
Be sure to pay close attention to your diet. In some cases people with arthritis are really dealing with food sensitivities, but are not aware of it. Keep detailed notes about the foods that you eat and what symptoms you experience. Note what foods make your symptoms worse. This will have you to discover the foods responsible for the flare-ups.
If your arthritis is causing you pain and swelling, you should cut back or quit smoking. Studies have proven that those who don't smoke, have less problems with joints than those that do. Consider giving up smoking to improve your symptoms. If you cannot quit by yourself, your doctor can prescribe you something to help you stop.
Acupuncture is a great way to relieve arthritis pain. For someone who has never had acupuncture, it may seem like a frightening prospect. Educate yourself about it, and find a competent doctor. Acupuncture, if applied in certain spots, can help to relieve pain and tension.
Good posture can significantly strengthen your joints. This can help to lessen the amount of arthritis pain. Try to stand up straight without slumping your shoulders, and avoid slouching while sitting. Your legs should both be supporting your weight equally. You will immediately feel the benefits of proper posture in all areas of your body, and may also experience a significant reduction in arthritis related pain.
If you don't want arthritis to control your world, you need to learn all you can about it. If you learn how to reduce and prevent symptoms, you can make a big difference in your life quality. This advice can help learn more about your arthritis and how you can deal with it.
