Arthritis is a painful condition that many people suffer. The fact is that there are a lot of things you can do to reduce the pain that you are feeling day to day. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of the cartilage between the bones. This means that over time, the cartilage, which is the shock absorber of the joint, will degenerate, and loses its ability to reduce friction. the more friction that is in the joint when we move, the more pain that we feel. The fact is that it can become a very painful disease especially if it is left untreated, but the great news is that there are quite a few things you can do to reduce your suffering.
Despite what many people think, exercise can really help your arthritis. At the end of the day, if you have stronger muscles surroudning the joint, then you can take a lot more pressure off the joint, and you will not feel as much pain. There will be less friction and less rubbing of the cartilage, and you may even be able to reduce further degeneration from occuring. You should include strength training into your program, but be aware, that if something hurts, it probably is not good for you. If you feel pain, stop, if you don’t then keep going because it is only helping you
There are a few devices that you can use to help your pain as well. Arthritis gloves are used for arthritis in the hands. This can be a very debilitating place to have arthritis, and arthritis gloves are a great solution as they will keep the hands and fingers warm and really reduce friction. You can also use heat therapy on your painful areas. Once again this helps to get extra bloodflow to the area, and you will find that you reduce your pain quite significantly.