Joints are an important part of our body. They bear the total body weight, connect bones and facilitate the body movements. However, constant movements of the body parts together with the body weight induce a lot of stress on the joints. In turn, joints undergo frequent wear and tear, which leads to joint pain or Arthritis.
Different factors like wounds, trauma, disease, strains and sprains, bursitis, tendonitis, osteoporosis, and arthritis are the primary causes of joint pains. Since joint pain is severe and unbearable arthritic patients tend to live a miserable life. Well, the good news, however, is that there are certainly effective ways to prevent it. Here is some of Effective Ways to Prevent Arthritis.
1. Ice Therapy (Cryotherapy)
Ice reduces the temperature. Blood flow rate starts to slow down as the temperature lowers. With the reduction in blood flow rate, tissues stop swelling. That’s why you can really reduce the pain by applying ice on the affected area. To apply ice on the joint you should first wrap the ice in a towel (since direct ice contact for a longer period may cause ice burns on the skin) and place on the particular joint for 15 minutes. Continue this process every hour for the majority of the first day. On the second day, you can do the same thing for about 4 to 5 times a day.
Warm water reduces the pressure on joints and muscles, so a warm bath can come in handy to reduce joints like knee and hip. You can immerse the particularly affected part and massage it to stimulate the blood flow.
Massaging does wonders by alleviating pains on knees and hips. While massaging, try to apply a topical menthol rub on the affected area to alleviate the pain. Remember that the right way of massaging is to apply strokes that direct towards the heart. Massaging with mustard oil is considered excellent for getting rid of arthritis pain and inflammation. The oil works as a natural ointment and stimulates blood flow.
Medicines like ibuprofen are a great pain killer. To relieve joint swelling and stiffness non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be taken. Prescribed muscles relaxants help reduce muscle spasms. But, you need to take medicines only as per the doctor’s recommendation.
5. Natural Mixtures
You can take natural herbal mixtures like herbal tea, which relieves different joint pains. Also Epsom salt is very good for arthritis as it is good source of magnesium that regulates pH levels in the body.
Exercise can enhance the strength and flexibility of the joints and prevents potential joint pains. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly can help prevent some types of arthritis and lessen arthritis pain. Remember to do only those exercises, which require you to move within the limits making sure that there is no further pain to joints. At times, minor exercises and stretching can ease the pain. Exercise strengthens muscles and joints, maintains flexibility and decreases fall risk.
7. Physical Therapy
Here you can take the help of a physiotherapist, who helps relieve your joint pains by certain physical movements. Physical therapy helps to improve the mobility and restoring the use of affected joints, increasing strength to support the joints, and maintaining fitness and the ability to perform daily activities.
8. Alternative Medical Treatments
Acupuncture and Yoga are some of the best alternative medical treatments to reduce the joint pains and increase movements of the joints. Acupuncture aids in regulating the nervous system, which in turn produces the natural pain-relieving chemicals called endorphins.
9. Immobilizing the Area
Try to immobilizing the affected area with a splint or brace to help reduce the pain. Remember to do this only when the pain is severe, not always.
Take enough rest and relaxation so you can reduce the pain up to a great extent. What it does is restores the energy and lets the body refresh and repair itself. You also need to take rest between periods of exercise.
Last but not least, consult with an experienced doctor or a specialist and try finding out the most effective remedies immediately after experiencing the pain.