Arthritis - Useful Hints, Tips and Advice

Here are some of the tips I accumulated over the years that are simple, yet effective and all are easy to do.

Don't Exercise
Not really (read below), but do pay attention to overstressing the joints. With arthritis, "Pain is NOT gain!". Be careful to allow joints sufficient time to rebuild and stretch before doing anything that will place stress on them. One of the most useful pieces of advise is to maintain your own weight - keep it constant. Weight affects the pressure on hips and knees, which are critical to overall body movement.

Exercise
Despite the warnings (above) movement is the number one "force" to slow down the effects of arthritis. The exercise regime that works is the one that provides for the maximum amount of range of motion. Contact your doctor or search the web, there are a number of resources that provide diagrams of excellent range-of-motion exercises that really, really work.

Grab that Citrus
Oranges, orange juice and other citrus fruits are an excellent source of both Vitamin C and especially antioxidants, which have been shown over and over again to reduce effects of osteoarthritis and its progression. In addition to building up your immune system, they fight arthritic effects, taste great and are excellent source of folic acid, which has numerous positive effect for the body.

Work
Gardening, shopping, walking, painting, redoing your deck ...etc. are all relatively simple "jobs" that force your muscles and joints to move in random motions, a bit at a time, which is what is needed to slow down arthritis. Constant movement and light stress is very beneficial and often fun because it doesn't feel like exercise.

Be Positive
Sure, its easy to say it, but not so easy to do it, but you must at least try. Live life to its fullest. Buy that latest MP3 (even though you might need to get your grandkids to show you how to use it), listen to your favorite music and go out for a walk. Try something new, start a new hobby, laugh more, read a new book, overcome the fear of a computers ...etc. anything that will make your overall self perception positive. As advanced as our medicine is, we are only now finding out the true power that our emotions, especially positive emotions, have on our wellbeing. Any "trick" that you can do to raise your mental attitude, will work wonders at slowing or even eliminating arthritic effects, let alone give your immune system a boost of energy.

Eat Right
There are three meals in a day. The most important one is breakfast. Don't skip it or circumvent it with garbage food. Instead, opt for some fruit, fiber cereal (oatmeal), maybe some water (try to cut down on coffee) and a nice magazine. There are hundreds, if not thousands of sources of good breakfast ideas that you can use to spice your breakfast experience. Do it, its important for your body and your positive mental attitude.

Drugs
Try to avoid them, as much as you can. Don't go overboard either, but if there is a choice of a quick-fix using drugs or some exercise, opt for the later. In the long run, the exercise effects will start to accumulate and you will find less need for medicine. Having said that, treat drugs with respect. Know what you are taking and why. Listen to your own body for any side effects that you feel. Keeping a journal of these is not a bad idea.

In conclusion, arthritis is a disease that doesn't have an instant cure or a magic pill, at least not yet. But, there are fairly simple ways that you can use to minimize the effects that it has on you and live your life to the fullest. Slight changes to your routine, more attention to pleasure rather than pain, slight changes to your diet and other actions will, in the long run make your life worth living and more enjoyable.

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