SolveYourProblem Article Series: Arthritis
Help Me Understand Arthritis & Arthritis Pain

How To Manage Arthritis Pain

In seeking treatment for the disease of arthritis, there is a vast arsenal of medications that may be suggested by your health care provider. With due consideration to the side effects and long term effectiveness of these drugs you may decide to proceed with one or a combination of them. No one can fully understand or empathize with the pain that may be your daily companion. Each individual is alone in this in the sense that we each have different capacities for pain.

What medications (if any) have you been prescribed: ____________________.

There are two main categories of pain associated with arthritis. Acute and chronic. Acute pain is something that is viewed as temporary. Chronic pain - whether it be mild or severe - is pain that lasts for a good length of time.

Do you have acute or chronic pain: ____________________.

Not only is pain uncomfortable - and well, painful - it is fatiguing and begins to wear at an individual emotionally. Over time it can bring with it a feeling of hopelessness and depression. It can limit what a person is able to do to support themselves financially. And it can keep people from actively associating with others leading to further isolation and depression.

It becomes vital therefore, to consider how one can manage the pain in such a way as to endure and yet maintain a quality of life that allows one to keep a positive and productive outlook.

Though it may seem counterintuitive one of the suggestions to relieving pain is to exercise. However, it is important to work with knowledgeable therapists who can develop a safe routine that will not aggravate the existing problem. Exercise works because it can help improve movement and reduce stiffness, it can help keep up the strength of muscles that will protect and support the affected joints and it can improve circulation which is beneficial for overall health. Add to that the bonus that it may reduce or control weight that adds stress to afflicted joints.

What exercises can you do to make a difference in how you feel: ____________________.

Proper rest is always important for the body to help restore itself. And it is thought that inflammation eases off when the body is able to achieve a restful stage.

Are you getting the proper rest: YES / NO ?

Massage and hydrotherapy help to relieve stiffness in joints and both work to improve circulation. For some individuals that are very nearly crippled with arthritis they have found that being in a pool allows them the only real opportunity to have movement and exercise free from the stress on their sore joints. It can provide some very real blessed moments of relief.

Have you tried massage or hydrotherapy: YES / NO ?

Another area to be explored is the strength of one's perceptions. It has been noted that anxiety and uncertainty about what is happening in one's own body can accentuate the pain felt. This means that gaining a clear understanding of what is occurring and what can be done in the way of treatment can work to relieve some of the stress and thus some of the pain as well.

As has been shown time and again - a calm and positive outlook will produce a better reaction in the physical body over a bitter and negative one. But how to work at it? It will be up to each one to seek out positive activities and input that they enjoy. Focusing on things that are enjoyable and uplifting can go a long way in keeping one's mind from dwelling on the pain. Pain that is dwelt on seems to always increase. Granted, it may take a supreme effort to begin such a pattern of thinking but the reward of improving the quality of life that we have been given will always be worth it.

What can you do to improve your perceptions and mental stress: ____________________.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2009

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