Osteoarthritis – What Can You Personally Do To Get Relief?
Unfortunately there is no cure for osteoarthritis, but there is osteoarthritis pain relief for the sufferers. The relief of pain is largely dependent on the seriousness of the condition and the amount of damage that has been caused to the joints. Doctors can give strong medication and there can be various types of natural treatments, but lifestyle changes help the most for osteoarthritis pain relief.
Exercise
Regular exercise is the most effective method to help in osteoarthritis pain relief. If you stretch your muscles and build up your muscular strength, it will automatically lead to stronger joints, and the stress level on the joints is then reduced. The doctor should be consulted in order to determine which exercises will help in a particular condition.
Strength training and stretching is the key. Water exercises, such as water aerobics or swimming are always a good choice. Resistance training is also very helpful. You can use exercise machines, weights or bands for this. There are a variety of other exercises that can be done like cycling, walking and aerobics.
Lifestyle Changes
Consider your affected joints in your daily activity. If you suffer from osteoarthritis in your knees avoid activities that put a lot of strain on the knees. Taking special care of the affected joints will help reduce the severity of your pain. When you are required to do some activities that put strain on your affected joints get plenty of rest afterward and allow that joint to fully recover.
Other Therapeutic Options
Alternating between hot presses and cold presses can offer great relief for osteoarthritis pain in your joints. If you are experiencing a flare up try a heating pad and then follow up with an ice pack. This is a method used by many athletic people to sooth joint pain. If you have advanced osteoarthritis more will be needed to relieve your pain.
Medication
For severe osteoarthritis sufferers prescription anti-inflammatory medications such as Celebrex have been used to relieve pain. These can completely relieve all osteoarthritis pain. However, there are serious side effects. In 2004 some of these medications were pulled because they were proven to cause strokes and heart attacks. Another option is a milder anti-inflammatory medication that contains no steroids. However, these can not offer 100% relief from the pain that osteoarthritis sufferers experience.