We have been covering arthritis and its effects since the beginning of our series and we will continue to do so.
Arthritis symptoms include inflammation of the joints and also limited movements of the joints that are infected. When these joints are inflamed because of arthritis, there will be a redness of the affected area as well as stiffness of the said joint (as mentioned above) and also swelling and warmth. Some forms of arthritis will actually affect the victim’s organs inside of the body. Therefore there will also be a medium grade fever in the victim as well as a feeling of tiredness, weight loss in some cases and sometimes the kidneys, lungs and heart will become affected. Some treatments for arthritis will depend on the type of arthritis that the patient has. You must be sure that your doctor has done all of the necessary tests in order to hone in on what type of arthritis that you have. The treatments that are available for arthritis patients include splinting, applying a cold pack to the affected area, physical therapy, anti inflammatory medications, parafin wax dip application, medications for the immune system, and in some cases surgery will be the only way that it can be fixed. As mentioned another form of treatment for rheumatic arthritis will be relaxation and rest, an improved diet, medications, exercise and also physical therapy so that the therapist can instruct you in the proper ways in which to use the affected parts (joints) in order to save energy and to bring the pain level down. Another sign that was already mentioned earlier of rheumatoid Arthritis is a feeling of fatigue. If you indeed have this then you should balance your work and rest for example, if you are in pain, then rest, when you feel somewhat ok, then it is alright to resume activity.
If you indeed have Arthritis, don’t feel like it is the end of the world, you can still engage in sports and exercise, it actually helps to bring down the stiffness that you may be feeling in the affected areas. The exercise will also help bring down your body weight which in turn brings the pain level down also because the affected limb won’t have as much of a “heavy load” so to speak to carry. Some exercises that many doctors recommend are: Stretching and dancing, these are what is known as range-of-motion exercises. It also helps to relieve the stiffness in the joint and helps you to keep your range of motion in the joint. Strengthening exercises such as weight lifting, this will help you to keep your muscle strength that you originally had and also helps to make you stronger. Endurance exercises such as aerobic or bike riding, even a brisk walk will help to improve your cardiovascular health. Make sure that you keep a good diet regimen going. This goes hand and hand with the exercising, it will help you to stay healthy and your body needs this to help fight arthritis.
I can hear you already, “But it hurts. I don’t feel like moving much less exercising or dancing!”
Fair enough, but know this: You have to stay active to stay healthy. Becoming sedentary because of the discomfort will only lead to more health problems. The easiest way to fight the pain is to use topical arthritis pain rubs (we will review some of these next time) to let you get enough mobility back to get off the couch. So get out there and live.
So you can learn to live with arthritis, but the secret is to keep on living.
See ya!
HealthGeek
Filed under: Bone & Muscle Ailments
