There are so many medications out there for joint pain. Even with the best of medications, joint pain is still going to happen. There are a lot of things you can do to decrease and maybe even prevent the pain.
The first thing you need to do to prevent joint pain is to protect your joints, even the ones that are pain free. Instead of lifting a heavy pot, slide across the counter; you can open some doors with your shoulder instead of using your hands and never hold a book with your fingers, let the book rest in the palms of your hands while you read or better yet, lay it flat and only use your hands when turning the pages.
rather your hand; and hold books in the palm of your hands, not with your fingers.
Exercise is a great too to use for reducing your joint pain. Not only that, but, it will also give you more energy and put you in a better mood. Some good exercises for people with joint pain include walking, bicycle riding, swimming, light weight training. Exercise two or three times a week for 30 minutes can bring desirable results. As always, check with your physician before starting any exercise program.
If you have joint pain for more than a half hour after exercising, decrease your exercise time until you find the right regimen for yourself. Overdoing it can do more harm than good. Also, you shouldn’t exercise when your joints are inflamed; take a break if you start to feel pain.
Stretching your joints each day is a great way to fend off joint pain. Since joints are usually stiffer in the morning, take a warm shower to soothe and warm up your joints before stretching. The stretching will help keep your joints loosened up the rest of the day.
Rest is important to relax your mind, ease your joint pain and decrease fatigue. Do try to rest when you need to throughout the day but be careful not to become sedentary, this could increase your joint pain.
Moist heat is another great reliever of joint pain. Moist heat penetrates well and relieves joint pain quite well. A warm soaking bath or soaking your hands in warm water will provide a good sources of moist heat. You may also want to try soaking a dish towel in warm water and wrap it around your hands after wring it out. You can also purchase commercial moist heat pads at almost any pharmacy.
Hot wax has been used for many years for relieving joint pain in the hands and feet. It not only relieves the pain, but it also decreases inflammation. This technique is used a lot for sports injuries. You can purchase a hot wax bath at drug stores.
A walking can may seem like a good choice at first because of the fact that many people feel like it makes them look disabled, but it can go a long way to relieve your joint pain. Walking canes are simple to use and can reduce the amount of body weight from your legs, hips, knees and ankles.
You probably knew this one was coming, lose weight. Excess weight places a lot of stress on all of your weight-bearing joints. Not only that, but fat tissue may produce chemicals that increases inflammation. And let’s face it, you don’t need more inflammation in those achy joints.
Choose your pens, knives, can openers, zipper pulls, etc. wisely. There are many products available with larger handles and more ergonomic shapes to provide a better grip and more stability, which will help protect your joints.
Sources:
http://www.nutralegacy.com/blog/general-healthcare/what-are-some-good-tips-for-relieving-arthritis-joint-pain/
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32231.asp
http://www.livestrong.com/article/9870-need-relieving-big-toe-joint/
