Ways to Manage Your Arthritis Pain
A number of different specialists may be involved in the care of an arthritis patient—often a team approach is used. The team may include doctors who treat people with arthritis (rheumatologists), surgeons (orthopaedists), and physical and occupational therapists. Their goal is to treat all aspects of arthritis pain and help you learn to manage your pain. The physician, other health care professionals, and you, the patient, all play an active role in the management of arthritis pain. Read more
How Do Arthritis Patients Perceive Exercise?
Stiffness of the joints is a major symptom in any type of arthritis and particularly in RA. Frequently, RA is accompanied by “morning stiffness.” Other inflammatory conditions, such as polymyalgia rheumatica and ankylosing spondylitis, also may be accompanied by morning stiffness. The severity of stiffness may better differentiate a primary inflammatory process from other joint processes. Edema of the synovium and periarticular structures contributes to stiffness in RA by mechanically interfering with the usual biomechanics of the joint.
How Do Arthritis Patients Perceive Exercise?
Regular exercise and weight control is the route to better health. That’s common advice for the general population. For people with arthritis, exercise can exacerbate pain. Gentle, range-of-motion exercise helps arthritis but it doesn’t burn enough calories to lose weight. Is there advice with regard to weight loss for people with arthritis, living a sedentary lifestyle? How can arthritis patients lose weight when exercise triggers more pain?
To identify the perceived barriers to and benefits of exercise among people with arthritis, 68 people with arthritis were divided into 12 focus groups. To help participants feel more comfortable and willing to talk openly, the groups were segmented by exercise status, socioeconomic status, and race. Each focus group came together and discussed their perceptions of exercise, as well as their experiences. Each discussion was transcribed and coded by two people.
Exercise Advice for All People
In the general population, weight loss has been shown to lower blood sugar and cholesterol, decreasing the incidence of cardiovascular disease. In the arthritis patient, weight loss is the most important way to decrease the risk of osteoarthritis in the knees and hips. While exercise is an important aspect of weight control, diet (i.e. watching calories and fat intake) is the most important factor.
Physical activity is essential to optimizing both physical and mental health and can play a vital role in the management of arthritis. Regular physical activity can keep the muscles around affected joints strong, decrease bone loss and may help control joint swelling and pain. Regular activity replenishes lubrication to the cartilage of the joint and reduces stiffness and pain.
Pain was the most commonly mentioned barrier to exercise and limited exercise participation for nonexercisers and insufficiently active individuals. Paradoxically, insufficiently active individuals also identified exercise-related reductions in pain as a potential motivation for increasing exercise. Likewise, exercise-related reductions in pain were a motivation to continue exercising for the exerciser groups. Non exercisers expressed that a reduction in pain was a possible outcome of exercise but were skeptical of its occurrence. Receiving tailored advice from a health care provider was consistently identified as an exercise enabler across the groups.
Safe and Natural Cures for Arthritis Pain Relief
Ginger is a fantastic herb. It has been used for the treatment of many aliments. Studies show it is very beneficial in relieving arthritis. Its anti-inflammatory properties make it a well know arthritis treatment. Ginger contains zingibain, a special proteolytic* enzyme. Research shows that proteolytic enzymes have anti-inflammatory properties. Taken as a tincture, capsule, as a tea or fresh, it does not have any reported side effects to high dosages. A dish prepared with ginger will actually give you a medicinal dose of the herb. Read more
Arthiritis Pain relief with Hypnosis,
Arthiritis relief:
Millions of people suffer from some form of arthritis. Pain relief medications such as Vioxx, Celebrex and Alleve may produce dangerous side effects. Read more
Arthritis Pain Relief
Arthritis is the first word that comes to mind when you have joint pain and stiffness, especially if spurs show up on X-ray. Even with such “proof,” it can be a mistake to automatically assume that the trouble is in the joint. Read more
