Exercise To Help Prevent Arthritis
Exercise In Alignment And Avoid Injury
Just 30 minutes of exercise five times a week helps joints stay limber and strengthens the muscles that support your knees and hips. Focus on low-impact exercises like walking, cycling, or swimming. Do not forget to stretch! Gentle stretching can even help improve your range of motion and keep your joints limber.
An injured joint is more likely to develop arthritis than one that was never injured. Therefore, wear protective gear when playing sports and always lift with your knees and hips, not your back.
How To Prevent Arthritis Naturally With Diet And Exercise
Medical Perspectives | Lifestyle & Wellness
Did you know that in 2010, 22.7% of adults reported physician-diagnosed arthritis? And that arthritis has a slightly higher prevalence in women than in men ? The high number of arthritis cases may have you wondering how to avoid this chronic illness.
Read on to learn how arthritis affects your body and what you can do to treat or prevent arthritis naturally.
You May Like: How To Help Someone With Arthritis
Ways To Help Prevent Arthritis
Article Featured on Michigan Hand & Wrist
While it may not be possible to completely get rid of your risk of developing arthritis, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk and delay the onset. Arthritis happens when cartilage wears away, causing your bones to rub against and damage each other, which is why you feel pain. There are some tips you can follow that may help arthritis from developing, which include:
What Type Of Hand Surgery Is Most Commonly Performed On The Specific Joints Affected By Arthritis
- Base of the thumb: Where your thumb and wrist join. Common surgical options include removing part or all of one of the trapezium bone , tendon transfer or joint fusion.
- Knuckles : Joint replacement is almost always considered for this repair. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause serious damage and disability to your knuckles.
- Second joint of your finger : Osteoarthritis commonly causes stiffness and loss of motion. Joint replacement or fusion are considered for these joints. Because you use these joints frequently, there is a chance your implant could wear out. In this case, your provider may recommend further surgery.
- Top of finger joint : Joint fusion is commonly used to treat arthritis in this joint.
Don’t Miss: Overcome Arthritis
Give Hand Injuries Time To Fully Heal
Avoid High Impact Exercise
Avoid exercises such as running, plyometrics, and contact sports. Instead, try biking, walking, swimming, or low impact options on exercise videos to protect your joints. Sticking to low impact exercises can also help you prevent major injuries such as a ligament tear, which can contribute to arthritis.
Read Also: How To Relieve Arthritis Pain In Hands
Treat Hand Injuries Promptly And Correctly
How To Diagnose Arthritis
Arthritis is usually diagnosed by a physician once they have done physical exams and blood tests. Once you report to a hospital with joint pain, the doctor will ask about your symptoms, such as where the pain is, when it started, the level of the pain, and health and lifestyle habits such as smoking. They then have to conduct a physical exam to see if the joint has any swelling, stiffness or redness. The doctor will also check for any fluid in the affected joint.
An imaging test, mostly X-ray, is done to visualize the joint. This is done to check for any structural changes in the joint, any joint erosions, inflammation, any fluid in the joint , presence of loose tissue fragments, cartilage loss, and soft tissue tears. Blood tests are done to check for the presence of antibodies and the level of inflammation. If there is fluid in the joint, some of it will be drawn for tests.
Diagnosing arthritis involves eliminating any other conditions that are not arthritis that may have similar symptoms. Once the type of arthritis is diagnosed, the doctor them advises you on the best treatment method to use.
Read Also: Serum Negative Inflammatory Arthritis
Arthritis Risk Factors And Symptoms
Risk factors for arthritis include aging, genetics, obesity, trauma to the joint and abnormal anatomy. There are also secondary symptoms that occur after developing arthritis. For example, after developing lower-body arthritis, people typically become more sedentary. After developing upper-body arthritis, people commonly refrain from using the affected limb or appendage.
In both cases, this lack of use can lead to reduced muscle development. Once chronic arthritis sets in, it can lead to severe pain and loss of function of the joint.
Strengthen Joints With Easy Exercises
Don’t Miss: Best Remedy For Arthritis In Hands
What Outcome Can I Expect If I Have Arthritis In My Hands
There is no cure for arthritis. However, you can usually manage mild to moderate symptoms with a combination of medication and non-medication approaches. Surgery may be an option if other treatments fail or the arthritis in your hands is severe. Your healthcare provider will explain what outcome you can expect for your type and severity of arthritis, your age, other existing medical conditions and other factors.
Take Your Dog To The Vet Regularly
Dr. Morrison recommends dog parents partner with a veterinarian they trust so they can provide guidance throughout the course of the dogs life. Regular visits to the veterinarian, including twice-yearly comprehensive examinations, are recommended to ensure early detection, diagnosis and treatment planning for any signs of arthritis or conditions that could lead to arthritis, she says.
Your veterinarian will also inform you on ways to recognize pain or discomfort in your dog in the early stages. Your pet may exhibit subtle signs or behaviors at the onset of a condition like arthritis, and by the time signs like limping are noticed, there may already be irreversible joint damage, says Dr. Morrison.
Also Check: Psoriatic Arthritis Hives
Hand Exercises To Ease Arthritis Pain
We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Heres our process.
Painful hands
Arthritis wears away at the cartilage of a joint, which is the cushioning material between bones.
This can cause inflammation and irritation of the synovial lining, which produces the synovial fluid that helps protect and lubricate the joint.
When arthritis affects the joints of the hands, it can cause pain and stiffness. That pain can get worse whenever you use your hand a lot for repetitive tasks.
For example, typing on a computer keyboard or gripping utensils in the kitchen can cause discomfort. You may also lose strength in your hands.
Weakness in your hands can make it hard to do even the simplest everyday tasks, such as opening jars.
Ask Your Veterinarian About Dog Joint Supplements
While theres no current data supporting the use of supplements to prevent arthritis in dogs, they do play a role in supporting the joints.
Joint supplements with glucosamine and chondroitin can help slow the loss of cartilage and keep your pet comfortable longer, says Dr. Ennis. Omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA found in fish oil are powerful antioxidants. They will help scavenge free radicals, reducing toxic damage and fight inflammation in the body, she says.
Read Also: Pain From Ra
Fight Back Against Arthritis
So what can you do? The good news is that there are risk factors for osteoarthritis that women can target for arthritis prevention. Start with these important steps.
How Is Arthritis Treated
For many types of arthritis, there are treatments available that can help control symptoms and prevent damage to the joints.
The most appropriate treatment will depend on which type of arthritis you have, which joints are affected, and the symptoms you have.
Treatment might include:
- medicines, such as painkillers, anti-inflammatory medicines or medicines to slow down the disease
- pain management techniques, such as meditation
In severe cases, surgery may be needed to replace or repair damaged joints.
You May Like: Is Rheumatoid Arthritis Reversible
How Exercises Help Prevent Arthritis
- Helping in weight loss. Exercises and workouts, when done consistently over time, help reduce weight. This, in turn, reduces the stress on hip and knee joints, reducing the risk of arthritis.
- Supporting healthy cartilage. Joint cartilage needs motion and some stress to stay healthy. Synovial fluid, stored in the cartilage, is excreted whenever the joint is used to deliver nutrients and lubrication. It also reduces inflammation of the joint.
- Reducing pain. Exercise strengthens muscles, which then provide better support and stability to joints. This stability helps prevent bones from dislocating, and protect them from impact and friction, therefore reducing pain. Endorphins released by the body during exercise are the bodys natural painkillers.
- Increasing motion and function. Exercises keep the joints and muscles agile and flexible, increasing their range of motion. This also reduces the chances of stiff muscles, which can lead to arthritis.
- Increasing strength. Exercises increase the strength of muscles, which reduce the amount of stress that would have been placed on joints.
Ways To Manage Arthritis
There are a lot of things you can do to manage your arthritis. The day-to-day things you choose to do to manage your condition and stay healthy are self-management strategies and activities. CDCs Arthritis Program recognizes five self-management strategies for managing arthritis and its symptoms.
Practice these simple strategies to reduce symptoms and get relief so you can pursue the activities that are important to you. These strategies can even help you manage other chronic conditions you have.
Use these 5 strategies to manage your arthritis at any age.
Join a self-management education workshop, which can help you learn the skills to manage your arthritis and make good decisions about your health.
How can a self-management education workshop help me?
Learning strategies to better manage your arthritis can help you:
- Feel more in control of your health.
- Manage pain and other symptoms.
- Carry out daily activities, like going to work and spending time with loved ones.
- Reduce stress.
- Improve your mood.
- Communicate better with your health care provider about your care.
Learn about CDC-recognized self-management education programs that improve the quality of life of people with arthritis.
Stay as active as your health allows, and change your activity level depending on your arthritis symptoms. Some physical activity is better than none.
Unsure about what kind of activity is safe?
The focus of arthritis treatment is to
Read Also: What Is A Good Rheumatoid Factor
What Can You Do To Prevent Arthritis
Arthritis is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States, according to the Arthritis Foundation. Some 23% of all adults in the U.S., more than 54 million people, have arthritis. The annual direct medical costs are at least $140 billion. The disease affects senior citizens, working-age adults and even children, with 300,000 children under the age of 18 diagnosed with the condition.
Thomas P. Obade, M.D., and the medical staff at Advanced Orthopaedic Centers offer a variety of treatments for pain management to help patients who have severe arthritis.
The pain from arthritis can make simple daily tasks, such as walking and opening doors, seem nearly impossible. It can also limit the type of job tasks working-age patients with arthritis can perform. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 8 million working-age adults report their arthritis limits their ability to work.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to try to prevent the pain and limited range of motion arthritis can cause.
Consider Following A Mediterranean Diet
There’s no diet that can prevent arthritis . That said, a healthy diet will help you manage your weight.
And there’s one diet that might be particularly helpful to follow: “The Mediterranean diet has been shown consistently to be helpful for reducing inflammation,” Dr. Tariq says. That’s key, since both RA and OA involve inflammation in the joints.
Following the Mediterranean diet means eating lots of vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains and healthy fats, while limiting red meat, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s linked to weight loss and a lower BMI, per a March 2019 review published in Nutrients.
Related Reading
The Mediterranean diet was helpful for managing symptoms in people with RA, but there wasn’t enough evidence to support that the diet prevented RA in a December 2017 systematic review published in Rheumatology International.
But this diet may help to prevent RA in former and current smokers, according to a September 2020 study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. And, while acknowledging some limitations in studies, an August 2018 review published in the journal Nutrients noted that OA prevalence is lower in people with high levels of adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
Dont Forget About Fish
You May Like: What Does Rheumatic Pain Feel Like