A rather painful condition to manage, arthritis can be a handful to deal with. It primarily involves an inflammation in the joints which can lead to stiffness and pain – and it tends to grow worse with age. Your safest route to keeping arthritis at bay, or to manage it better if you do have it, would be to create room for a few healthy lifestyle changes. Here are some of the things you can do:

1. Keep your weight under control. Sometimes, the amount of pain you feel as a result of arthritis can be mitigated significantly with weight loss, as the pressure on the joints is lessened.

2. Exercise regularly, and ensure that you remain focused on keeping active. When you move your joints regularly, and indulge in exercises that are not weight bearing and are low impact, you tend to stay healthy and avoid arthritis – and if you do have it, mitigate it.

3. Use hot and cold treatments to manage arthritic pain. Take long showers, especially in the mornings, so that the stiffness in your joints is prevented or taken care of. If you can, invest in and use an electric blanket or a heating pad at nights in order to keep your joints loose and use moist heating pads.

PC: www.talarmade.com 4. Use cold treatment if you have joint pain. Either use gel ice packs or ice in towels or cloth bags on and around the joints for relief.

PC: www.heatlth.harvard.edu

5. Take to acupuncture if you can find a good therapist around you. The ancient Chinese medical treatment simply involves inserting thin needles into specific meridians and points on your body, and this helps re-route energies and restore the balance in your body.

PC: www.drweil.com

6. Supplements in your diet are vital – whether they are fatty acids or vitamins, there are many resources in the form of nutrients that can help reduce the extent of joint stiffness that you experience.

7. Include natural food in your diet. Start with turmeric and spinach, which help keep your body in check. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory qualities, and spinach is enriched in iron and calcium and help keep your body supple. Use herbal supplements through fruits, vegetables and naturally occurring foods.

PC: www.thetherapy.co.uk

8. Go for massages as regularly as possible. Massage, especially of arthritic joints, can help reduce pain and stiffness and can also help improve the range and extent of motion. Self-massage is good if you’ve learned it properly – otherwise, do visit a therapist.

References:

http://worldarthritisday.org/

http://www.healthline.com/health/osteoarthritis/arthritis-natural-relief#Overview1

http://everydayroots.com/arthritis-remedies