Arthritis Pain Relief Tips & Supportive Tools

 Arthritis refers to a range of conditions that involve pain and inflammation of the joints. It is a degenerative condition, which means symptoms tend to worsen over time. Arthritis can be frustrating and painful and make life feel harder than it already is, but there are ways to ease Arthritis pain along with excellent tools to make tasks easier. 

Natural Pain Relief

Manage your weight

Your weight can have a significant impact on arthritis symptoms. Extra weight puts more pressure on your joints, causing more pain in your knees, hips, and feet. You can manage your weight and arthritis by following safe forms of exercise:

  • Water Aerobics
  • Swimming
  • Walking

Hot and Cold Therapy

Heat treatments can include taking long, warm showers in the morning to ease stiffness or using an electric blanket or hot pad to reduce overnight discomfort. Cold therapies can help relieve joint pain, swelling, and inflammation. You can apply a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel to painful joints for quick relief. DO NOT apply ice directly to your skin.

Herbal Remedies

People should consult a healthcare professional before taking herbal remedies. Certain medications can interact with or cause side effects if taken with herbal supplements. Herbal remedies come in many forms, like tea, supplements, and ointments. Here are a few you can ask about and potentially try:

  • Boswellia extract
  • Feverfew
  • Turmeric
  • Ginger

Arthritic Aids

Home & Garden Tools

You don’t have to struggle to keep up with hobbies like gardening and maintaining your home. You can purchase many tools online that can help you with anything from opening jars to holding utensils:

  • Ergonomic Gardening Tools: The patented ergonomic grip can reduce hand and wrist stress, and it was featured in Arthritis Today magazine.
  • Utensil Padding Grips: Foam tubing provide a wider and more secure grip for utensils, writing tools, toothbrushes, and more!
  • Key Turner Aid: These key turners provide extra leverage and require less strength to hold and turn, reducing hand and wrist pain.

Kitchen Tools

Everyone uses their kitchen every day, and sometimes, it’s hard to make your daily meals when your hands and wrists are in pain. Thankfully, a variety of tools can reduce pain and help you enjoy cooking again:

  • Electric Salt and Pepper Grinders: Manually twisting salt and pepper grinders can stress your hands and wrists. These grinders will do the work for you!
  • Electric Can Opener: One button press will open your canned food without the physical pain of using a manual can opener.
  • Bottle Opener: You can easily open 16 different sizes of bottle caps with this tool, along with aiding in opening cans with pull tabs like soups and pet food.

Getting Dressed

People can take something as simple as getting dressed for granted. Buttoning shirts, zipping jackets, and putting on socks can be more difficult when you have joint pain and stiffness. Here are a few tools to help you get dressed:

  • Shoe Horn and Sock Remover: The Sock Ox has extended handles to help remove and put on your socks and shoes. It’s also collapsible for easy transportation!
  • Button Hook and Zipper Assist: This tool was specifically designed for those with mobility issues and can be used on buttons of various sizes.

These tools and tips will help you ease joint pain and stiffness! Any tool or device that can help alleviate Arthritis symptoms is worth trying. Nevada Adult Day Healthcare Centers offer a wide variety of services and programs to help improve the lives of the elderly and disabled, including physical therapy, which can also aid in Arthritis symptoms. Contact us today to learn more about how our services can improve your and your loved ones’ lives.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preventing Social Isolation in Seniors

  Humans are social creatures; we all need some form of social interaction at all stages of life. Senior citizens can feel lonely, especially when living alone, but there are ways to encourage social interactions to prevent loneliness and isolation. Benefits of Social Interaction for Seniors Improved physical health Seniors who engage in relationships tend to be more active, which improves physical health through social activities. Seniors can enjoy themselves while making a positive impact on their health. Physical activity also improves flexibility and strength, thus increasing balance and coordination and decreasing fall risk. Group activities that involve fun and laughter can reduce stress, improve blood circulation, and boost the immune system. Improved mental health Staying connected with others makes us feel more connected to the world, increases our sense of belonging, and decreases symptoms of depression. Keeping our brains active and engaged can also sharpen our minds and red
Read more

Caregiver Burnout

  The number of Americans providing unpaid care increased from 43.5 million in 2015 to 53 million in 2020, with  21% of family caregivers  reporting their health is poor to fair. Caregivers with poor health can have reduced immune health, poor physical condition, a higher risk of anxiety and depression, and a higher chance of taking psychoactive medications.  Caregiver burnout is very real and highly exhausting, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s okay to ask for help and take some time for yourself! Continue reading to learn how to notice burnout, why it happens, and what you can do to prevent or manage it. What is Caregiver Burnout? Caregiving is a demanding, often 24/7 role; caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion. Burnout happens when a caregiver doesn’t get the help they need or if they try to do more than they are able, physically and financially.  Symptoms of caregiver bburnout include: Change in sleeping patterns Poor eating habits Anx
Read more