Arthritis: 5 lifestyle changes to help relieve pain and swelling

Making some healthy lifestyle changes can help ease various symptoms of arthritis from pain to swelling to stiffness. Here are expert tips.

Leading an active lifestyle and eating a nutritious diet can help ease pain in arthritis. The autoimmune condition that causes inflammation in your joints, needs to be managed depending on the severity of your disease and the stage that you are in. Exercise is an integral part of arthritis management and while one should be regular with it, overdoing physical activity can harm too. There are other lifestyle changes also that can help one live with arthritis better. Shedding kilos, vitamin supplementation, Yoga and foods that combat inflammation, can all improve your quality of life in arthritis. (Also read: World Arthritis Day 2022: Ayurveda expert on herbs and remedies to manage arthritis)

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"Everyone does not have same stage of arthritis. By consulting an orthopaedic surgeon and doing correct X-Rays, the stage of arthritis can be determined which helps in understanding the extent of problem and treatment accordingly," says Dr Siddhart Yadav, Consultant, Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Surgery.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES FOR ARTHRITIS

Dr Siddhart also suggests 5 changes that can help relieve arthritis symptoms.

1. Lose weight

An overweight body is the commonest risk factor for early osteoarthritis. Almost three times of body weight pressure comes on knees on certain activities. By weight reduction early arthritis can be prevented and also significant pain relief in those who are already suffering from it.

2. Modify your physical activities

Those who have knee pain should avoid impact loading activities like jogging, squatting, skipping, sitting on floor and should only use western commode. This would help in further progression of joint damage and reduce pain.

3. Regular exercises

Strong muscles stabilize the joints and joint movement and is also good for joint surface nutrition, so regular exercise is as important as taking medicines.

4. Vitamin Supplements

Vitamin D makes bone strong and Vitamin B12 is important for muscles and nerves. Prolong deficiency of vitamins can also cause early cartilage damage leading to arthritis.

5. Yoga

Yoga helps indirectly by controlling stress and improving metabolism. By doing yoga regularly, pain threshold increases which reduces the requirement of pain killer.

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