Aches and stiffness are day-in, day-out realities for people with arthritis. Some have it worse than others, but even those with mild arthritis have to accept the fact that their joints are going to be ‘not right’ from here on out through the rest of their lives. The good news is that while there is no cure for arthritis, it’s possible to reduce the severity of that aching and joint stiffness. An arthritis relief medication like Mobic or Indocin is going to be a default choice, but there are other tips for living successfully with arthritis. So that’s what we’ll look at here, along with effects of arthritis on the body.
The reason that there’s no cure for arthritis is because it’s entirely rooted in the function of immune system. The inflammation is caused by it, and unless it were possible to deactivate the immune system – something you would NOT want to do – there’s no way to shut down the inflammation that causes arthritis pain and immobility. The most problematic for people is when arthritis is in the hips, knees, or ankles, and that’s because those joints are essential to standing upright and moving around.
Many people who are suffering disproportionately from arthritis may be in that situation because they also have cartilage degeneration on the joint, which is worst when it applies to the knees and essentially means there is much less of a shock absorber between the two bones that meet at the joint. Tips for living successfully with arthritis may be even more of a need here. Plus this is more problematic for someone who needs to be on their feet most of the day for work, and unfortunately some level of cartilage loss is pretty standard for those with rheumatoid arthritis.
Alright, let’s get to those tips for living successfully with arthritis. The first thing that will help you if arthritis is wreaking havoc on joints in your lower body is to focus on losing weight and getting to a healthier body weight. The pressure caused by too much body weight is not a cause of arthritis, but it can contribute to it in a big way. Knowing how to overrule food cravings can be a part of addressing that, and other people will want to also use a medication like Contrave or another effective weight loss drug.
Many people who struggle with arthritis and need tips for living successfully with arthritis will be ones who are seated for long periods of the day. Sitting down for long periods of the day has been shown to be harmful for your health, and in addition to making joint arthritis worse it can actually also promote insulin resistance and increase the likelihood of prediabetes onset. If you sit down at work all day it may be a good idea to use a standing desk, but generally speaking one of the best ways to counter arthritis is just to use the joints more often and don’t allow them to become more stiff because of inactivity.
Improving your posture can also help with arthritis, and this can apply to posture when sitting, standing, or walking. Posture improvements go an especially long way for helping people with osteoarthritis in their hips, as the spine and hips are obviously always working in concert with each other. Exercising more is a smart idea too, but be sure to do low-impact exercises. For example, plyometrics (jump training) is great for functional fitness but probably not the best choice for someone with knee osteoarthritis. If that applies to you though there is a lot to be said for the Synvisc knee pain injection. These are the best among exercise and posture ones for tips for living successfully with arthritis.
Acupuncture has really made a name for itself as a natural cure for pain relief, and it is interesting how TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) identifies and works with energy meridian pathways in the body to reorient energy so that pain is decreased. Acupuncture for arthritis is one of the many applications for it and there are so many people who rave about how it can reduce arthritis pain and also restore some mobility. Although admittedly this is one of the tips for living successfully with arthritis that will come with a cost paid to the service provider. But you may find it is well worth it!
Some folks who have been dealing with worsening arthritis for years will find that the constant pain and stiffness has taken a toll on their mental well being too. If that applies to you then the last of our tips for living successfully with arthritis is to use CBT for arthritis (cognitive behavioral therapy) to overcome self-defeating thoughts related to your inability to avoid the chronic pain of arthritis.