If you are experiencing pain and inflammation in the joints you may be suffering from arthritis. There are basically two types of arthritis including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis results when a wear and tear of cartilage causes bones to rub against each other, this leads to inflammation and damage.
Whereas, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the healthy joint tissue of a person. Your physician will prescribe medications to mitigate the pain caused due to arthritis along with it they often recommend few lifestyle changes to reduce the discomfort. These recommendations mainly include:
Getting Enough Exercise
Exercise can help you to a great extent if you have been diagnosed with arthritis. Low-impact exercises such as walking, cycling, swimming can help in keeping your joints flexible, strengthening muscles around your joints, which offers more support.
Managing your Weight
If you are overweight or obese, it can have a huge impact on arthritis symptoms. Extra weight will result into putting more pressure on your joints, especially on your knees, hips and feet. Your doctor might design an exercise program for you to lose weight. Reducing weight will help in improving mobility, decreasing pain and preventing further damage to your joints.
Follow a healthy diet
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables can help in the production of anti-oxidants, these anti-oxidants can help in reducing inflammation by eradicating free radicals from the body. On the contrary consuming a diet rich in saturated fats, sugar and salt may increase the inflammation and worsen joint pain. These food articles may also increase the risk of other health conditions including obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Get Physiotherapy
Besides medication your doctor may refer you to a physiotherapist to put an end to that nagging pain. Physiotherapist will assess your muscle strength and the range of movement in your joints and advise on techniques and exercises. Your physiotherapist may offer other treatments including massage that will help muscles to relax and make joint movement more comfortable. Some physiotherapists are also trained to give acupuncture to reduce joint pain.