Your Remedy No. 1
============== Stretch Gently for Strength and Mobility. When it comes to arthritis, moving hurts, but not moving destroys. Incorrect moving harms, but intelligent moving heals. Yoga teaches movement with proper joint alignment which helps bring deformed joints back to normal position as appropriate muscles are lengthened and strengthened. Consider a private session with an Experienced teacher or buying a book to leam the correct poses. But remember, Smart Yoga Exercise is the key to restoring health to arthritic joints. Work within the limits imposed by the disease, but don't let yourself be immobilized by it. Your Remedy No. 2
============ Find Relief Through Less Stress. If you are hurting and you tense up, you hurt more. People who have things in their lives under control will be better pain managers than people who don't. Recent research confirms the importance of psychological attitude on arthritis pain relief. People with arthritis need to learn how to pace themselves and not try to do everything they can possibly do on the days when they're feeling good. All that does is make you tired and sore the next day. Try to do a little each day, whether you are having a flare-up or not. Learn to relax. Take a lesson from natural childbirth. Childbirth is very painful, but women learn how to deal with that pain by learning how to relax. Books and audiotapes teaching relaxation techniques are available at many bookstores Idle joints can become painful joints. If you focus on pain, it hurts more, but if you get busy doing other things that are important to you, you're not going to feel it. Your Remedy No. 3
============ Try Night Prevention for Morning Stiffness. Almost 90 per cent of the patients suffer from some type of Morning Stiffness. Apply a muscle ointment at night before going to bed. It will relaxe you and gives you a psychological boost as well. The reason? People with arthritis tend to feel much better all day if they aren't stiff when they wake up in the morning. Your Remedy No. 4
============ Float The Pain away. Studies have shown that floating in specially designed floatation tanks, also known as isolation or sensory deprivation tanks, can relieve arthritic pain. You usually spend about an hour in the tank. The pain relief is produced by stress reduction. The body is relaxing, the muscles are relaxing, and this seems to stimulate a release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. Water in the tanks is heated to precisely 93.5F, the same temperature as the skin, and the surrounding air is warm and tranquil, leading to deep relaxation. Your Remedy No. 5
============ Mix Oil and Water. Recommendation: Heat and eucalyptus ointment, in the form of a thick, oil-based product called Eucalypta-Mint, work for both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Use that in conjunction with moist heat when feeling stiff or having pain. Simply rub it on and wrap the joint in plastic wrap. The moist heat can be applied with warm towels, or you can soak your hands or feet in warm water. Your Remedy No. 6
============ Copper Bracelet Sometimes longevity confers respect along with age. Artifacts that were rarely noticed in their day take on new meaning and value as they persist throughout time. Such is the case with the copper bracelet, which for decades has been worn for arthritis relief and remains popular today. Studies have shown that some people with arthritis seem to have difficulty metabolizing copper from the food they eat, leading to increased pain. The dissolved copper from [a copper] bracelet bypasses the oral route by entering the body through the skin. This might be the only way arthritics ever receive the copper their bodies need -copper that studies have shown can indeed relieve pain. Physicians remain somewhat skeptical about bracelets but don't entirely dismiss them, either. Copper may have a role. It's possible that a copper deficiency does increase joint inflammation, and it doesn't seem that supplementing copper in the diet has the same effect as wearing it. Your Remedy No. 7
============ Work Wonders with Water Excercise. Ask a dozen doctors about the merits of any arthritis treatment and you'll get a dozen different opinions. But ask them about exercising in water and they all seem to agree. Water exercises are excellent. Your pain will be significantly reduced in the water, and you become much more flexible in water than you are in air. The beginning exercise techniques are easy for anyone to follow. They consist of waving, walking, and bending motions performed in chest-deep water. The more advanced movements look like aquatic dance steps designed to take advantage of water's natural resistance and gentle buoyancy. Your Remedy No. 8
============ Get Your Spouse Involved. Though it's only natural for a husband or wife to do whatever's possible to help a mate who's hurting, such help can often do more harm than good. When a wife tries to do everything herself and is constantly asking her husband how he feels, she is reinforcing his pain. Advice: Don't be attentive and supportive only when your spouse is in pain, but also when he or she is feeling good and being active. That's the time to say, "I'm really happy to see you doing things". Praise is really important and something people tend to forget to do. Your Remedy No. 9
============ Use Ice to Prevent Pain. Recommend cold treatments for those times when a joint's been stressed from overuse or overwork. Use a gel pack but ice in a plastic bag or a bag of frozen peas will do just as well. Apply for 15 to 20 minutes, then remove for 10 to 15 minutes. That can be repeated for hours at a time if needed. Your Remedy No. 10
============ Fast on with Carrot Juice. A vegetable-juice fast significantly reduces pain for many patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Carrot juice, celery juice, cabbage juice, or tomato juice can be used. Fast on nothing but the vegetable juice for one day during the first week to get started. Follow that by alternate fasting for two days during the next week (i.e., Monday and Wednesday) and three days during the third week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). Don't attempt any type of fasting without your doctor's supervision, however. |
