Can Diet Help Treat Arthritis
Research suggests that following an anti-inflammatory diet can reduce osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. A healthy diet can also lead to weight loss, which reduces stress and strain on joints. Gout, a form of metabolic arthritis, can be relieved by avoiding purines that can trigger gout flares.
Natural Supplements For Arthritis
If youre worried about diet and getting the right amounts of joint-health substances, supplements can be an option. However, Dr. Starz says, Although they are taken by many people, their role in treating arthritis is still uncertain and is under investigation.
Dr. Starz recommends talking to your doctor about adding:
- Vitamins K and C.
What Is Manual Therapy
Manual therapy is the part of physical therapy that involves hands-on treatment. This kind of treatment both pampers arthritis patients and eases their discomfort. Pain relief treatment in manual therapy often forms a large portion of a physical therapy session for someone with arthritis. Heating pads, ice packs, massage, and even certain kinds of machines all play a crucial role in relieving aching joints.
As mentioned above, your physical therapist may alternate between heating pads and ice packs to naturally relieve your pain. They might also use ultrasound machines to send soothing heat waves deeper into your painful joints. Targeted massage techniques also boost circulation and create a warming sensation for areas affected by arthritis.
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How To Use Pain Medications Properly
There are two types of over-the-counter pain medications that can be used for osteoarthritis. Acetaminophen is a pain reliever but not an anti-inflammatory. It may help with mild knee pain.
NSAIDs can be more effective because they both relieve pain and reduce inflammation. However, they come with potential side effects and risks. NSAIDs can irritate the lining of the stomach, which may lead to an ulcer or other stomach problems. They also can impair kidney function. Some NSAIDs can increase blood pressure. And theyve been linked to an increased risk for heart disease.
Because of the risks, Dr. Day cautions against using NSAIDs regularly over long periods of time. Instead, she uses NSAIDs for her patients in two ways. First, people who have a flare-up of pain can take them regularly for three to five days and then stop. Second, they can be used over the long term, but only occasionally, maybe a couple of times a week as needed.
If youre taking NSAIDs several times a day for long periods of time, Dr. Day advises reducing their use by maximizing the other treatment strategies. She also suggests trying a topical NSAID, such as diclofenac , which has fewer potential side effects.
Opioid pain relievers are discouraged for long-term treatment of chronic knee pain. The milder narcotic tramadol might be appropriate for occasional use in some people, says Dr. Day.
Use Hot And Cold Therapy
Heat and cold treatments can help relieve arthritis pain and inflammation.
- Heat treatments can include taking a long, warm shower or bath in the morning to help ease stiffness and using an electric blanket or moist heating pad to reduce discomfort overnight.
- Cold treatments can help relieve joint pain, swelling, and inflammation. Wrap a gel ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables in a towel and apply it to painful joints for quick relief. Never apply ice directly to the skin.
- Capsaicin, which comes from chili peppers, is a component of some topical ointments and creams that you can buy over the counter. These products provide warmth that can soothe joint pain.
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Apple Cider Vinegar For Arthritis
Apple cider vinegar is believed to be anti-inflammatory, so this could be helpful for those who live with arthritis. Try adding a spoonful to your next glass of water.
The advice in this article is for information only and should not replace medical care. Please check with your GP or healthcare professional before trying any supplements, treatments or remedies. Food supplements must not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
: 9 August 2021
Other Natural Remedies For Toe Arthritis
Lose weight: Any added stress on your feet can make toe arthritis symptoms worse. If youre overweight, try making some lifestyle changeslike eating healthier and getting more activityto help you lose some of the extra weight. It can also help improve circulation to the area.
Add healthy fats to your diet: Fatty acids, particularly omega-3s, can help reduce inflammation and may help limit the symptoms of arthritis. Some studies have also shown that these acidsDHA and EPAmay suppress the immune system to limit arthritic flare-ups. Salmon and other fatty fish are the best sources and supplements are widely available.
Try some turmeric:Turmeric is a plant native to India and Indonesia and is a common ingredient in curries. Curcumina notably active compound in turmericmay be able to reduce pain, inflammation, and stiffness related to RA, OA, and bursitis. You can supplement or try adding more turmeric to your diet.
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Medications Used To Treat Arthritis Symptoms
Arthritis medicines are generally very effective in helping people with arthritis to manage joint pain and other symptoms. Find out what types of arthritis medicine are available, and how they can help with your arthritis.
Arthritis can produce many symptoms and joint problems, including inflammation, swelling, stiffness, and certainly joint pain. But arthritis medicines are available to help ease nearly all types of arthritis aches and pains.
When your doctor is considering which arthritis medicine might be best for your pain, she has many options to choose from. Here, youll find information on common classes of arthritis medicines, what their potential side effects are, and how they can help you to manage joint pain and other arthritis symptoms.
Acetaminophen for Arthritis
Sold over-the-counter under the brand name Tylenol and others, acetaminophen is often one of the first medications recommended to manage pain, including joint pain caused by arthritis. If taken correctly, acetaminophen has no side effects. However, taking too much can lead to liver damage.
NSAIDS for Arthritis
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Treating Arthritis: Move Around
Exercise may seem like the last thing you want to do when your joints are bothering you. However, low-impact physical activity has many benefits for people with pain from arthritis. The benefits of exercise include:
- Strengthening your joint support structures.
- Improving flexibility and mobility.
- Increasing blood flow to your tissues.
Losing healthy amounts of body weight also can help reduce pressure on your joints. Dr. Starz recommends staying healthy with exercise as a great way to manage your weight. As an added benefit, exercise can also help to strengthen your joints and fight the progression of arthritis.
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Use Ice And Heat Therapy
Ice is mother natures anti-inflammatory, says Darwin Chen, MD, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in joint replacement surgery of the hip and knee and an associate professor of orthopedics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.
Ice can be good at the end of a long day if your knee becomes inflamed, he says, whereas heat is good for warming up your knee in preparation for an activity. Never apply ice directly to your skin always place a towel on your skin before applying the ice to your knee.
Why Not Just Use Painkillers
Many doctors encourage the use of over-the-counter or prescription anti-inflammatory medications and pain killers. While these provide relief, they also can have undesirable side effects.
In general, painkillers are rough on your liver and have been associated with serious side effects such as stroke, heart attack and aneurysms.
Recommended Natural Arthritis Remedies
As a holistic doctor focused on wellness solutions that positively affect your health on a macro level, Dr. Doyle encourages his patients to try to the following natural arthritis remedies first and to use painkillers sparingly.
Steps You Can Take to Improve Arthritis Symptoms
In addition to natural remedies, you can make lifestyle changes that will improve your arthritis.
- Manage your weight. Excess weight aggravates arthritis. Click here to learn more about weight loss support and essential components of successful weight loss plans.
- Stretch daily. Stretching improves flexibility and increases blood flow to joints and muscles, stimulating natural healing.
- Treat yourself to a massage. Massage improves blood flow, reduces swelling and stimulates natural painkillers in the body.
- Get in the pool. Water aerobics and/or swimming helps reduce inflammation while getting your blood moving.
- Meditate daily. People who meditate report experiencing less pain. Read more here.
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Natural Remedies For Arthritis
Stinging Nettle. This common herb has been used to relieve arthritis since the ancient Egyptians. The plant has tiny stingers which cause a burning sensation. Some brave folks literally self-inject the stingers into the inflamed area and swear by its effectiveness. However, most suffers will drink as a tea, steaming several ounces of the fresh leaves in how water. You can grow stinging nettle in the garden or purchase in health food stores as dried leaves or in ointment form for arthritis. Read more about using stinging nettle for health.
Exercising With Joint Pain
Having a healthy lifestyle, along with the right treatment or management can help to reduce joint pain. Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce the impact on your joints and staying active can help to improve the strength of your joints. Exercise can help keep your muscles strong so that they can support and keep the joints mobile.
60.7% of those with back pain and 56.6% of those with joint pain usually rest rather than exercise when theyre in pain.
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Maintain A Moderate Weight
According to the Arthritis Foundation, weight loss can go a long way in alleviating joint pain and preventing osteoarthritis.
Maintaining a moderate weight can help you keep excessive pressure away from your joints, as well as help reduce pain and inflammation.
This may be particularly helpful for people with symptoms in their knees and hips, as these joints bear a lot of weight.
Heat Or Cold For Arthritis
This is one of the most inexpensive and one of the most effective methods that could provide instant relief to your joints and help alleviate the pain. Alternating between these remedies could provide therapeutic relief to the joints.
Why Does It Work?
Heat and cold for dealing with arthritis is a beneficial method. According to research conducted by Fredrikus G.J. Oosterveld, it was deduced that heat treatments work best for soothing stiff joints and patients suffering from arthritis.
Heat enhances circulation to the body and helps in delivering nutrients to joints and muscles. The paper also recommended that they try exercise or any light activity that could help their body.
Cold treatment is best for acute pain it restricts the blood flow in the vessels and helps in slowing circulation to the area and helps in reducing the swelling and additionally, it also numbs nerve endings and dulling the pain in the joint.
Even though both of these therapies are taunted to be very useful, it should be noted that you shouldnt apply heat to a joint that is already hot, red and irritated, neither should you apply a cold pack to a joint that is stiff and frozen in the sense that it is not moving well as these applications could further worsen the condition of the joints.
How to Use?
They are several methods you could employ/integrate into the daily rituals that could help you reduce your pain and alleviate your inflammation and help in the smoother movement of your joints.
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Can A Diet For Arthritis Help Control Symptoms
There are many different types of arthritis, and diet wont impact on all of these in the same way or to the same extent.
For example, while there are some emerging links between nutrition, osteoarthritis and gout, UK NICE guidelines advises theres no strong evidence that rheumatoid arthritis will benefit from changes in diet.2
However, given that obesity can increase your risk of getting arthritic joints, eating a balanced diet that supports a healthy body weight has obvious benefits when it comes to arthritis. Your weight can affect arthritis in two ways.3
Firstly, extra weight puts additional pressure on your joints. Secondly, excess body fat can also increase inflammation in the body.
Unfortunately, diet and supplements cant treat or cure your arthritis, however, symptoms may be eased or exacerbated as a result of changing what you eat, says Holland & Barrett nutritionist, Emily Rollason.
A diet that allows you to keep your weight within a healthy range could be helpful to your arthritis as well as your wellness as a whole.
Although, theres no one-size-fits all diet for arthritis, research has uncovered that some foods could be helpful in managing symptoms.4
Look at eating a whole diet, high in plant-based foods, including spices such as ginger and turmeric and containing 1-2 portions of oily fish per week, Emily suggests.
Also, try keeping a food diary. Recognising how food affects your condition is one way you can seek to minimise arthritis symptoms.
Surgery For Hip Arthritis
The progression of hip arthritis and effectiveness of various nonsurgical treatments varies. If nonsurgical options dont provide the desired pain relief and your quality of life suffers, it may be time to consider surgical options, such as:
- Hip replacement surgery, or hip arthroplasty, is a procedure to replace one or both ends of a damaged hip joint with artificial implants.
- Hip fusion is a procedure to fuse the bones of the hip joint together. It used to be the standard surgical treatment for hip arthritis before replacement surgeries became available, but is now a last-resort treatment as it severely impacts mobility.
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What About Glucosamine And Chondroitin
Glucosamine and chondroitin are components of healthy cartilage. Both are produced naturally in the body. They are also available in supplement form.
Researchers have long studied the effects of glucosamine and chondroitin supplements on arthritis. Many studies have found mixed resultssome have shown pain relief and function improvements compared to a placebo, while others showed no benefit from using these supplements.
Because of the lack of confirmatory evidence on the effectiveness of glucosamine and chondroitin supplements, the 2019 ACR/Arthritis guidelines recommend that people with knee OA not use these supplements.
There has been little or no research on the effects of glucosamine and chondroitin supplements in people with knee arthritis related to RA.
Most supplements are generally safe to use. Talk to your doctor about whether it is safe for you to start a supplement with your current knee arthritis treatment plan.
While supplements have few severe side effects attached to them, it is still possible to experience these. Supplements can also interact with prescription drugs, can make other treatments less effective, and affect other health conditions you may have.
So Whats The Overarching Verdict So Far
Ambivalent at best. It will be very difficult and time consuming to eat enough ginger, green tea, black pepper, etc. to truly alleviate your RA symptoms in the most optimal way. By the time you ate enough cinnamon stiff joints might not be your only concern anymore. So, now what?
7. Lab Grade Turmeric + Lab Grade Boswellia SerrataThe combination of these trusted remedies is a ONE-TWO PUNCHYouve probably used turmeric while cooking before its a yellow spice that most people associate with curry dishes. Know what it reminds RA sufferers of? Relief. Its true that turmeric is another anti-inflammatory agent. But, what makes this remedy a little different is that youre not just ingesting turmeric. Its the lab grade organic turmeric CO2 extraction that is the key player here. Were talking about the extraction of pure turmeric into a pill or oil form.
Know whats great about this? You dont have to worry about the dosage of eating a bunch of curry. You can take a pill or rub some oil that has the optimal dose for relief of your RA pain. In its un-extracted form, were talking about the spice, the herb. The same thing you flavor your dishes with. And, truthfully, in this capacity, it probably has similar effectiveness to the other six natural remedies mentioned above. With CO2 extraction though, youre extracting the most pure form of turmeric , to aid in your relief.
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Herbal Supplements And Ra
There are a variety of herbal supplements and preparations that may be touted as potential RA treatments. These supplements and preparations are available in different formulations, including as raw herbs freshly harvested, extracts in liquid or powder form, infusions made by steeping an herb or plant in boiling water , tinctures made by steeping an herb in alcohol, and topical preparations. Herbal supplements and preparations listed below are categorized by their main effects, including anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and sleep-promoting effects.
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