Arthritis- Lifestyle Changes That Will Help You Improve It!

Arthritis is a common musculoskeletal condition that affects elderly men and women. Joint pain, stiffness and inflammation are the most common symptoms of this condition. This pain can get so bad as to affect your movement and leave you unable to do simple things like walking up stairs or even simply turning a doorknob.

People living with arthritis are often dismayed by how much the disease steals from their lives. If you have arthritis, physical limitations caused by  chronic pain chronic fatigue, stress and more can narrow your world and interrupt living a "normal life."

With arthritis, energy is consumed just trying to accomplish ordinary tasks and usual daily activities. Your focus may be limited to just "getting through the day." Arthritis starts to take control of your life, rather than you taking control of the disease. How can you better manage your illness? What modifications can you make to your lifestyle to make living with arthritis easier? What actions can you take to gain and maintain control over the limitations imposed by arthritis?

 

1 - Stay Positive

Arthritis is an unpredictable disease, as is the future. Accepting new realities and redefining life within the limitations imposed by disease is important for people with arthritis. A positive attitude can help you manage life with chronic arthritis.

2 - Trust Your Doctor-

Doctors play an essential role in the treatment of arthritis. Choosing a doctor is one of the most critical decisions you make when it comes to your condition. It is imperative that your needs are being met. Find a compassionate, communicative doctor you can trust.

3 - Accept Your Situation

Don't fight reality. Don't deny that you have arthritis, nor underestimate its impact. Once you accept that you have a chronic illness and that it is a part of your life for the rest of your life, the decisions you make will be better for you and will ultimately improve your life. You must internalize the acceptance -- feel it, don't just say it.

 4 - Set Realistic Goals

Set realistic goals for yourself. Through reflection and contemplation, you can assess what you are not happy with and work to change those circumstances. Be sensitive to your innermost feelings. You can focus and begin to make necessary changes and adjustments in your life.

5 - Be Informed

If you have been diagnosed with arthritis, it's important to learn all that you can about the disease. The importance of knowledge and understanding your health condition cannot be overstated.
  
6 - Protect Your Joints

Joint protection can reduce stress on arthritic joints and decrease pain. There are several joint protective principles which, if followed, will help to conserve energy and preserve joint function.

7 - Manage Your Medications

When your doctor hands you a new prescription, it becomes your responsibility to know what the medication is for, how to take it, and what possible side effects might occur. Medication errors have many causes, but usually, have one thing in common -- they could have been prevented.

8 - Keep Active

The benefits of exercise, as part of a treatment program for managing arthritis, are well-known and documented. Despite the known benefits, many people with arthritis avoid exercising regularly.

9 - Watch Your Weight

Being overweight, even moderately, impacts weight-bearing joints and can increase joint pain. As you walk, your hips, knees, and ankles bear three to five times your total body weight. For every pound you're overweight, the equivalent of three to five pounds worth of added pressure is added to each knee as you walk. The flip side of that is good news: losing just 10 pounds causes 30 to 50 pounds of extra stress to be relieved from the joints.

10 - Seek Support

Arthritis not only affects people who have the disease, it impacts the people around them, especially family and friends. People living with arthritis and those who have loved ones with the disease can gain insight and draw inspiration from others facing similar challenges.

11.- Assistive devices-
 Arthritis can make a person knock kneed or bow legged. Wearing unloading braces, shoe inserts or walking with a cane or shoe inserts can help redistribute your weight and take the pressure of your joints. It can also help relieve pain and prevent arthritis from worsening.

12-Eating right-
 Some types of food can worsen arthritic symptoms. This includes processed foods like white flour and  sugar yeast, chemical additives, gluten, hydrogenated and trans fats, milk products, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. Hence, avoid consuming these foods and instead have a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grain. You could also try alkaline foods like green leafy vegetables, wheatgrass and aloe vera. 

13-Massage therapy-
 A massage not only de-stresses the body, but can also relieve muscle and joint pain by improving blood circulation. Massages also help break up muscular waste deposits and increase the amount of oxygen circulated in the body. This helps transport nutrients to tissues and carries toxins away. Ideally, an arthritic patient should have a massage 2-3 times a week in the beginning and at least twice a month once the condition has stabilised. 

14-Supplements-
 Along with eating healthy, including a few supplements in your daily diet can also help alleviate arthritic symptoms. When it comes to rheumatic arthritis; the anti-inflammatory properties of vitamin C help fight arthritis by promoting bone and cartilage growth and reducing infection. Fish oil is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids that help reduce inflammation, vitamin D is another supplement that helps relieve arthritic pain by helping the bones absorb calcium faster and preventing further loss of cartilage.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/   

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4 - Set Realistic Goals

Set realistic goals for yourself. Through reflection and contemplation, you can assess what you are not happy with and work to change those circumstances. Be sensitive to your innermost feelings. You can focus and begin to make necessary changes and adjustments in your life.

5 - Be Informed

If you have been diagnosed with arthritis, it's important to learn all that you can about the disease. The importance of knowledge and understanding your health condition cannot be overstated.

6 - Protect Your Joints

Joint protection can reduce stress on arthritic joints and decrease pain. There are several joint protection principles which, if followed, will help to conserve energy and preserve joint function.

7 - Manage Your Medications

When your doctor hands you a new prescription, it becomes your responsibility to know what the medication is for, how to take it, and what possible side effects might occur. Medication errors have many causes, but usually, have one thing in common -- they could have been prevented.

8 - Keep Active

The benefits of exercise, as part of a treatment program for managing arthritis, are well-known and documented. Despite the known benefits, many people with arthritis avoid exercising regularly.

9 - Watch Your Weight

Being overweight, even moderately, impacts weight-bearing joints and can increase joint pain. As you walk, your hips, knees, and ankles bear three to five times your total body weight. For every pound you're overweight, the equivalent of three to five pounds worth of added pressure is added to each knee as you walk. The flip side of that is good news: losing just 10 pounds causes 30 to 50 pounds of extra stress to be relieved from the joints.

10 - Seek Support

Arthritis not only affects people who have the disease, it impacts the people around them, especially family and friends. People living with arthritis and those who have loved ones with the disease can gain insight and draw inspiration from others facing similar challenges

With arthritis, energy is consumed just trying to accomplish ordinary tasks and usual daily activities. Your focus may be limited to just "getting through the day." Arthritis starts to take control of your life, rather than you taking control of the disease. How can you better manage your illness? What modifications can you make to your lifestyle to make living with arthritis easier? What actions can you take to gain and maintain control over the limitations imposed by arthritis?