Fifty percent of people will, at some point in their lives, develop some type of arthritis. Arthritis is a common condition that causes pain, swelling and inflammation in any joints of your body. The pain and restricted mobility triggered by arthritis happens as the cartilage that cushions the space between bones wears away as you age and with overuse. Without the support of their padding, bones move painfully against each other- especially of the spine, knees, hips and hands.
If you feel constant swelling or stiffness in your joints that could be a reliable sign of joint damage. The longer your joint hurts or feel stiff, the more likely it is that your arthritis is active. Symptoms can occur all year round though, which can accentuate flareups. When your arthritis pain cranks up unexpectedly, you can tell it’s a flare-up. Without proper care, you’d only amplify the pain.
Here are few tips to calm your arthritis flare up down.
- Plan Ahead
The damage from arthritis eventually gets serious and increases your chance of frequent flare ups. The sooner you get all hands in on the condition, the lesser will the chances of pain and flare up be. Consulting with a rheumatologist and coming up with a plan of action would help to treat symptoms.
- Guard against infection
When you treat your condition using different disease-modifying drugs, it weakens your defenses against bacteria and infections. This can activate a flare since your body is more susceptible to get an infection.
To protect yourself from various infections that could lead to arthritis flare ups, follow a good health regime. Be keen on washing your hands thoroughly and avoid close contact with anyone who is sick and contamination from food and water.
- Take care of your weight
Since a flare up is caused by bones rubbing against each other, managing your weight and avoiding excessive stress on the bones would help. Avoid any mechanical stress that would contribute to the pain.
- Hot & Cold compress
Heat and cold compresses or altering the two can help soothe the pain of an arthritis flare up. A heat compress ease joint pain as it relaxes the muscles by increasing blood flow to the areas of pain. On the other hand, cold helps soothe inflammation. Cold sensations travel along large nerve fibers and constricts pain sensations. Apple heat and cold compresses on the affected area 2-3 times a day for maximum 15 minutes.
- Light exercise
It may sound counterintuitive, but light exercise is important for making your joints stronger and keeping them from getting stiff. By moving them you would strengthen the muscles and joints & keeping them healthy. Just be sure to not overdo it and if you feel any pain, stop immediately.
- Indulge in an anti-inflammatory diet
Eating the right foods can help turn down the inflammation throughout the body. Eating lots of cultured foods like yogurt and good fats such as nuts, seeds and fatty fish also helps. Foods to eat when a flare up strikes include beans, flaxseeds, green leafy vegetables, green tea and more.
