How to Protect Joints for People with Arthritis
What is Arthritis?
Arthritis is an autoimmune disease which when strikes; can make us realize the importance of each and every limb that makes us move.
In this disease, the joints get inflamed, and that puts pressure on the muscles surrounding it, which causes pain and stiffness to move around. Arthritic joints are weak and the cartilage surrounding it is swollen thus, moving with this kind of joint is painful. Efforts should be taken to avoid stressing out such joints.
Arthritis has been classified into various forms depending on where this disease strikes. Some of the known diseases that classify under arthritis are:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Gout
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Symptoms
Arthritis disorders usually involve swelling, joint stiffness and pain around a particular joint.
An individual ailing from this disease suffers from poor sleep cause of the constant pain and muscle aches and tenderness.
There is a constant feeling of tiredness and difficulty moving the joint cause of the pain.
If this disease is not treated, it could cause disability and loss of income. Since such individuals are considered disabled if not able to move around.
Treatment
There is no cure yet for Arthritis since technically the cells of an individual are attacking his own body.
It is one of the Auto immune diseases.
However, relief can be found by physical therapy, diet control, medications that help reduce inflammation in the joint, which decreases pain, which can help a person move around freely.
What do Experts say?
Experts recommend movement!
As long as you move your affected joints in a reasonable way that it does not give striking pain.
Movement is highly recommended since; as the minutes tick away; the stiffness and pain will decrease, and an individual ailing with arthritis will not have thoughts before moving.
Ways to protect your joints
- Good Posture
Use good body posture to avoid straining the ailing joint by trying to put equal pressure on your muscles and joints. If joints are swollen, then try using muscles to move around. Example: getting up from a chair, use thigh muscles instead of using your hands to get up. This will avoid straining the gentle joints of your hands and wrist while trying to bring up the weight of your body.
- Movement
Move around and do not stay in one position for long. This will just burden the particular joint. Example: sitting for long? Get up and take a stroll around the house or around the work place.
- Kill the pain
If pain persists; do not hesitate to take ibuprofen. This will help reduce the inflammation around the joints, and give better movement to an individual ailing with arthritis.
- Protective Gear
Arthritic joints are weak thus, an individual doing gardening or biking or indulging in any kind of sport needs to wear protective gear around his/her knees, elbows. Be smart and wise to prolong the age of your ailing joints.
- Healthy Weight
Keeping a healthy weight is extremely crucial for an individual ailing with arthritis. That will help reduce the impact on those debilitated joints. Keep a tab on your diet, and try to move around to increase mobility and also burn some calories.
- Warming up
Since joints are ailing and weak. Warming up prior to exercising is recommended for such individuals. Swimming is gentle to the joints, and if doing it in a heated pool, it can add comfort to the joints, ligaments, and muscles.
- Strengthen the muscles
Strengthen the muscles around the weak joints. Usually arthritis strikes in the knees or the hips. Strengthening those muscles around those joints will help take off the stress from the joint.
- Core of the body
Strengthen the core of your body. This will help balance your entire structure and prevent you from falling and injuring yourself. Include strengthening exercises in your routine that include stretching out the abdominal, back and hips.
- Improve the Diet
Improve your diet by consuming fish or taking supplements that contain omega-3. Omega-3s help keep joints healthy by reducing inflammation. Milk consummation is also recommended since it helps in strengthening the bones. Supplements such as Vitamin D are also considered essential. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli should be included in one’s diet.
- How to have a Healthy Immune System?
Health is Wealth but, do we take notice of our health at all times? What can help preserve our good health? How can we help keep our immune system in balance to avoid falling sick and get out of the rat race? Read on to learn that the secret to a goo
How do you protect your joints?
Conclusion
The increase in autoimmune diseases is a BIG example of the stress level in our lives.
We have allowed stress to come and sit around us, which ultimately has engulfed us, and we see our body respond to various diseases, which are prevailing in abundance around us, such as Arthritis, various forms of Cancer etc.
Solution?
Exercising of any form can help reduce stress, ward off anxiety. Thus, helping to improve sleep and boost self esteem in an individual.
Result: A person is fit and healthy as exercising has helped him/her ward off all health issues.