No one has to tell you how agonizing arthritis can be. Thankfully, there are prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs that can help you cope with the daily pains and worst flare-ups. But there may be other ways to deal with the pain of arthritis that you can find right in your own home.
Here are some techniques proven to offer temporarily relief for many arthritis sufferers:
Use heat. When you warm tissues arthritis pain is eased because it increases the blood flow to the inflamed areas. This helps the inflammation to decrease. It also relaxes tight muscles and eliminates the waste products like lactic acid that are responsible for causing stiffness as well as soreness in your joints. There are several ways to apply heat:
Use a pad- When the pain is primarily in an isolated area, reach for an electric heating pad. But theres a downside to this home treatment. More than 100,000 Americans burn themselves each years for using heating pads. Why? Because they fall asleep with the pad on high and still in place or use them along with heat-inducing creams. A better idea is to use a microwave pad (which naturally loses its heat) or pads with automatic off-switches for when you fall asleep.
Take a warm bath. But if youre older than 70 years or have a heart condition, check with your doctor first before taking a warm bath.
Put it under wraps. There are now continuous heat wraps that you can put on various parts of your body such as the elbow, lower back, knee even the neck all areas commonly effected by arthritis. They work for approximately eight hours and you can use them safely while you sleep. Try wax. If your hands or feet are affected by arthritis, melt paraffin on those sore joints. Leave it on until it hardens and while it cools off then you can peel it off. Theres bonus too. Wax not only provides heat to ease arthritis pain, but the treatment will leave your skin soft.Be chill. Cold therapy, also called cryotherapy, can involve cold packs, ice packs, ice massage, cold compression wraps or fluids that cool the skin as they evaporate. Cold works by decreasing blood flow to reduce swelling, slowing the transmission of pain signals through nerves and inhibiting inflammatory chemicals. For pain and swelling after exercise, during a flare or for 48 to 72 hours after an injury, ice massage can be done for seven to 10 minutes; cold packs and wraps can be used for 15 to 30 minutes.Take it easy. Exercise is good for arthritis suffers but so is rest. Dont overuse a specific joint and if you do, give it time to rejuvenate by using a splint or brace. And, its always a good idea to relax for both your mental and physical health.Robin Westen is ThirdAges medical reporter. Check for her daily updates. She is the author of Ten Days to Detox: How to Look and Feel a Decade Younger.See what others have to say about this story or leave a comment of your own.
