Many people in their 50s and 60s deal with living with arthritis, though some do develop the condition earlier in life, in their teens or 20s. This leads to pain, inflammation, and even worse, immobility because of the swelling and rigidity.
Osteoarthritis, or arthritis related to cartilage loss, is one of the most common types. Rheumatoid arthritis is another type of arthritis that can develop when the immune system attacks healthy joint tissues.
However, there are natural methods for managing arthritis pain, and doctors even do not stop recommending those methods:
What Is Arthritis?
It is a lifelong condition that may affect joints and muscles due to the overuse of cartilage or the accumulation of toxins in the body. Some do develop painful conditions in joints due to excessive body weight.
Increasing age also contributes to inflammation, pain, stiffness, and swelling if one does not take appropriate nutrients like calcium, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins C, K, and D. Even ligament tears and broken bones may weaken the joint surface and increase the risks of arthritis pain and immobility.
9 Major Ways To Manage Arthritis Pain Naturally
1. Weight Management
Obesity, or extra weight in the body, makes life risky for anyone with multiple chronic diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, and arthritis. Those extra kilos also make the mind sickly. Weight control techniques like aquatic therapy and a low-fat diet may reverse arthritis symptoms. Even quitting alcohol may make a lot of difference to the arthritis patient positively.
You will find yourself overcoming pain and inflammation and feeling easy to flex and move those joints. The more you lose, the better your joint health condition will be. You can practice a wind-relieving pose or pawanmuktasana to get rid of excess fat in the abdomen and gain strength in core muscles. Another option for successful weight management may be the leg-up-the-wall pose. It may comfort anyone suffering from RA.
2. Appropriate Exercise
Practicing light sports may help in managing your arthritis pain conveniently. The given instances are:
Low-Impact Exercises
Cycling, swimming, and performing water aerobics may help improve blood circulation in your body. These exercises will strengthen your heart and lung function without further putting pressure on your joints.
Strength Gaining Exercises
It may involve building the muscles in the arms, legs, and back.
- Tai chi: It is referred to as meditation in motion by setting your mind and body free from any form of stress and pressure.
- Chair exercises: Doing anybody movement while sitting down or standing up from the chair. To get rid of stiffness and increase mobility, you can even stretch your lower limbs, such as your hands and elbows.
- Rowing: Rowing puts the groups of muscles into action and aids in strengthening them. As a result, joints will stay protected and active due to increasing movement in the muscles.
3. Hot and cold therapy
Heat Therapy
Arranging a warm bath or hot water sponge massage may not be a difficult task at home, which may relax your aching muscles and connective tissues and comfort your swollen joints.
You may not experience the sensations of inflammation and pain, as these heat therapies will stimulate the blood flow with nutrients and oxygen.
You can also use a heating pad or hot water bag, which may activate the sensory nerves to stimulate the conduction velocity to keep arthritis pain under control.
Cold therapy
You can use a few pieces of ice in a towel or a thin cloth to apply on the swelling and inflammatory joints for at least 5 minutes. You can repeat it and that might depend on the level of severity of pain and inflammation in the joints.
4. Massage With Natural Oils
There are indeed some effective ayurvedic medicines for joint pain in topical forms. Among these is Ortho Veda, whose ingredients, which include wintergreen, til, licorice, nutgrass, and peppermint, permeate the skin and stimulate the flow of pure blood.
By releasing hormones that reduce pain, an ayurvedic massage can help relax the mind while also nourishing the muscles and connective tissues and lubricating joints.
Massaging with mustard oil and coconut oil with camphor at home may also help in releasing pain and inflammation naturally.
5. Meditation
Stress, despair, anxiety, and other unfavorable feelings may gain control over his mind and body when he suffers frequent joint pain or chronic arthritis. His life-threatening RA and chronic osteoarthritis could let him have a stable and normal life.
However, meditating in any circumstance and adopting a certain body alignment can lower the stress hormone cortisol. It may calm down the painful nerves related to joints and allow the blood to flow easily through the tissues enriched with oxygen and nutrients.
6. Acupuncture
According to studies, one can somewhat recover from pain and discomfort by using acupuncture, which involves inserting needles into the body’s pressure points. There are fewer chances of risks associated with acupuncture.
Receiving this Chinese medical treatment from a qualified practitioner may enhance one’s mobility and range of motion. The sensory nerves will become active upon insertion, which may result in the release of hormones that reduce pain, such as encephalins and endorphins.
7. Getting A Regular, Healthy Diet
Diet has been an important discussion for every arthritis patient. Consuming high-fat foods may be the primary cause of degenerative cartilage disorders or uric acid buildup in the joints. As a substitute for eating foods heavy in vitamins, minerals, and calcium but low in fat may fortify your tissues, joints, and bones.
Fiber is also necessary and may help to lessen inflammation. Fresh and clean fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lentils can give you these advantages. In addition, there are homemade recipes you can rely on to obtain the natural nutrients needed to manage joint pain effectively.
8. Adding Turmeric To Every Recipe
Not a single kitchen in India goes without adding turmeric to their homemade recipes. It has been going on since the ancient days because the benefits of eating turmeric have been experienced, shared, and passed on to the next generations through Ayurvedic texts.
It is capable of fighting certain deadly microbes and eliminating cancerous cells. Some of the arthritis patients have shared about gaining better recovery results than any painkiller by consuming turmeric.
9. Using Herbal Supplements
Some of the herbal supplements may reveal a positive response while taken for any inflammatory and painful arthritis. But it would help if you always went for certified ones to gain 100% efficacy.
For instance, the Ministry of Ayush-certified Vedabay Ortho Heal tablets are made from natural pain-relieving herbal ingredients like Ashwagandha, Arjuna, and Boswellia. You may experience a smooth recovery from the initial stage of osteoarthritis. It may increase collagen and slow down cartilage loss with increasing age.
Conclusion
Natural arthritis treatment is as important as any over-the-counter drug or remedy. There are indeed a good lot of instances of controlling inflammation and other arthritis symptoms in natural ways.
Most importantly, a healthy, balanced diet, exercise, ayurvedic massage, and meditation may make a deep impact by weakening the arthritis symptoms, improving physical mobility, and increasing the confidence level of every sufferer.
