Managing the symptoms of arthritis can have a huge influence on the quality of your life. This joint issue can be extremely painful and can lead to limited mobility if issues go untreated. A lot of people believe that arthritis is not a serious health problem, but it is something that requires treatment and places a lot of stress upon the health care community. In fact, there are almost 1 million arthritis related hospital admissions each year.
More than 50 million Americans have arthritis, and only about one third of them are above the age of 65. There are many different kinds of arthritis, but the biggest two are rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). Rheumatoid arthritis involves an inflammation of the membranes around joints, while osteoarthritis is characterized by the breakdown of cartilage in joints so that bones are not protected during movement. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis.
One way to help alleviate arthritis pain is through exercise. Both strength building exercise and endurance exercises have a valuable benefit when it comes to managing arthritis symptoms. This goes for both OA and RA. Exercise also helps with weight management, and having less pounding on joints can only reduce pain. For example, losing one pound of weight takes about four pounds of stress off of each one of the knees. Exercise can be tough in some cases, but when you are able to find something that works for you, you will find that it benefits you quite a bit. Consulting with a doctor will be a valuable step as well. They may prescribe pain medications, or refer you to a physical therapist that is well versed in working with people that have arthritis. Everyone’s body reacts to arthritis and the pain it causes a little differently, so there may be some experimentation before you and your medical team find what works best for you, so patience is going to be a virtue here.
Pain management can go a long way toward both helping you stay comfortable, and allowing you to be able to exercise so that pain is lessened in the future. Like arthritis itself, pain is one of those things that is often not taken seriously. However, when pain is controlled effectively, it can have a serious boost when it comes to your quality of life. Having a caregiver that’s able to understand this and is also able to take steps toward helping with some light rehabilitation will be a great step to take to fight this disease on a daily basis.
Finally, listen to your body. Pain–even arthritis pain–is your body’s way of letting you know that something is wrong. An in-home caregiver will allow you to get off your feet when you need to by taking over the duties that you would otherwise need to do. Things like making meals, getting the mail, and doing your laundry can all be handled effectively when you have the right care team helping you out. Arthritis is manageable in the majority of cases, but easing stress and dealing with pain can be an ongoing battle and can wear away at you if they are not dealt with quickly.
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