Chronic Joint Pain: 6 Ways to Help
There are plenty of ways to reduce the discomfort of chronic joint pain.
Like a lot of conditions, a healthy diet, stress management, regular exercise, and a few other remedies can make living with chronic joint pain easier. Things like over-the-counter medications can help with pain, inflammation, joint damage, and more.
Here are some drug-free ways you can help relieve the pain while at home.
Exercise
Exercising regularly can be a great way to strengthen your muscles and increase your joint range of motion. A brisk walk, swimming, and water aerobics are great for getting low-impact exercise.
For the sake of your joints, it’s also a good idea to avoid any high-impact sports that could overwork your joints and cause injury. Exercise will not only help strengthen muscles, but it will also help with rest which leads to our next natural remedy, sleep.
Sleep
In general, sleep is the perfect remedy for anything, but it’s especially important for those with chronic joint pain. Sleep directly affects the level of pain in your body and your ability to move.
Try your best to get a full 8 hours of sleep every night, if you are unable to get sleep at night, napping during the day is a great alternative.
Diet
Similar to sleep, a healthy diet is great for everything, but especially for those with chronic joint pain. A diet filled with raw or lightly cooked vegetables with spices like turmeric and ginger is a great option.
There are a variety of diets geared specifically toward chronic joint pain like the anti-inflammatory diet, to explore. Find what will work best for you and your lifestyle and you’ll be more able to stick with it.
Mindfulness
When dealing with physical pain, it helps to build your mind up to a point of relaxation. This allows you to cope better with the symptoms.
Mindfulness meditation entails being aware of your thoughts, emotions, and breathing. One thing that may get overlooked when it comes to chronic joint pain is the emotional stress that can come with it.
Practicing mindfulness can not only help reduce physical pain and also depression. Simply sitting still in one position while practicing mindfulness can go a long way. Although it may be hard for someone with joint pain to sit in one position for an extended period, there can be modifications.
Yoga
Yoga is a common practice and low-impact physical activity that can help stretch the body. Practicing yoga for up to a month can help improve mood, fatigue, and chronic pain.
If needed, make modifications that will help minimize the stress that can be put on the joints. There are plenty of yoga tools and props that can help with poses if needed, as well as chair yoga routines available online.
Massage
Treat yourself to a massage.
Massage therapy plays a significant part in many pain management approaches. Massage is commonly used to treat a wide variety of health conditions and can provide some really positive results for chronic joint pain patients.
If you’re suffering from chronic joint pain, don’t hesitate to contact us and schedule a one-on-one consultation and evaluation.
Our doctors will review your medical history and perform specific tests to measure your stability and range of motion. Then, our medical team will create an individualized treatment plan designed to target the root of the cause of your chronic joint pain.