Living With Arthritis: 6 Ways to Cope for Arthritis Sufferers
Just because you've been diagnosed with arthritis doesn't mean
that you have to wait in pain for your doctor to contact you.
There are quite a few things you can do as an arthritis sufferer
while waiting for new medications, an appointment for a
specialist or just to work on the problem yourself. This article
will detail some of the simple but highly effective ways you can
manage arthritis comfortably on your own time and at your own
pace.
Living With Arthritis Tip #1: Keep On Moving Although it's
painful for most arthritis sufferers to stay active, you need to
be mobile every single day in order to keep your current range
of movement. Even if you can only manage a ten minute walk
daily, those ten minutes will do wonders for your mood, joints
and pain in the long term.
Living With Arthritis Tip #2: Don't Push Yourself If you don't
have to use your body to move, push or pull something, don't.
Living with arthritis means taking stock of what you can and
cannot do, and then creating new ways of doing the same thing
without hurting yourself. This might mean purchasing assistive
devices (special can-openers for instance), losing weight or
using the larger joints (such as your hips) instead of the
smaller ones (such as your back) to lift things.
Living With Arthritis Tip #3: Stay Tuned Keep up with the
current findings, research and information related to fellow
arthritis sufferers and
the disease itself. As they say, knowing
is half the battle!
Living With Arthritis Tip #4: Talk About It Let your friends and
family know when living with arthritis becomes a challenge, or
when you are frustrated with the disease. Educate them as well,
since the more they know the more they will be able to assist
you as well. Even better, find a local support group where you
can discuss with other arthritis sufferers your feelings about
the illness.
Living With Arthritis Tip #5: If The Shoe Fits... Make sure that
what supports you is actually supporting you properly! Those
suffering from arthritis need even more foot, ankle and joint
support than most. Invest wisely in a pair of orthopedic shoes
and you'll notice the difference almost immediately.
Living With Arthritis Tip #6: Stretch It Out By stretching the
joints that you use the most, you are not only making your body
work better, you'll be making your disease easier to manage. Try
to focus on the larger joints (knees, ankles, hips, back) at
least once a day for a cat-like stretch to invigorate the mind,
body and spirit.
About the author:
John Robben is the owner/operator of Ultimate Water Massage
(est. 2000), a Washington-based company that offers over 2000
products to ease the pain of arthritis sufferers. Visit for more
information, tools, supplies and tips for living with arthritis
at http://www.ultimatewatermassage.com/.
Written by: John Robben
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