Every age, race, and sex can struggle with arthritis, and symptoms can vary each day. While the condition can start off mild, it may become difficult to complete simple tasks over time. Yet, there are various strategies arthritis sufferers can embrace to improve their quality of life.
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with the condition, or you’re struggling with intense pain as it progresses, look for tactics to reduce your discomfort and improve mobility. Read these five top tips for living with arthritis.
A Healthy Diet
People living with arthritis must follow a healthy, balanced diet to consume many nutrients. To do so, you will need to add a variety of the following foods to your plate:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Meat, fish, eggs, and beans
- Starchy foods (e.g., potatoes, pasta, rice, and bread)
- Milk and dairy foods
- Foods that contain sugar and fat
If you’re overweight or obese, you could relieve arthritis pain by losing weight. Excess pounds can place extra pressure on various joints, which can lead to unnecessary pain and mobility issues.
Make Time for Exercise
Exercise might be the last thing you want to do when living with arthritis. However, inactivity can lead to unwanted stiffness and pain that can damage your quality of life. For this reason, you must make time for exercise each day to improve your range of motion, ease pain, increase your energy levels, and prevent stiffness.
If in doubt, talk to your doctor about the different activities to suit your health. They could recommend:
- Walking
- Swimming
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Stretching
- Tai Chi
- Weight lifting
- Cycling
Try CBD
One option you could try is CBD. While further research is needed, many believe it is an effective arthritis treatment option. Some studies have found that CBD has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects. While further research is needed to prove its effectiveness, it might ease the condition’s painful symptoms. Plus, you can take it in different forms to match your preference, such as CBD drops, gummies, or e-liquid.
Look for Aids
Everyday tasks can become a big challenge when living with arthritis. Thankfully, there are various aids you can incorporate into your lifestyle to improve your quality of life and prevent pain.
For example, if you struggle to open jars or cans, there are gadgets that can perform the actions on your behalf, such as electric can openers and jar openers. If you can’t open packets or cut meat with a knife, use a pair of kitchen scissors instead.
Make Home Adjustments
A few tweaks and changes to your home could make your daily life much easier. People living with arthritis often benefit from:
- Installing a handrail to walk up and down the stairs with ease
- Using long-handled tools to pick up objects
- Fitting easy-to-turn faucets
- Keeping everyday items within reach
- Adding a mattress topper onto a bed
- Installing a ramp to the entrance of your home
If you follow the above tips, you could make living with arthritis much more manageable each day.
Leave a Reply