Living With Arthritis: Dealing with Symptoms of Arthritis

Since the effects arthritis and other rheumatic diseases have had on the body can rarely be reversed, living with arthritis can have a very big impact on ones life. The treatment of these types of diseases, typically revolves around reducing the further advancement of the disease, so as a result it is necessary to find ways to live with arthritis.

Pain Management

One of the most important steps in living with arthritis is pain management. It is essential to identify which tasks cause pain and try to not overdue these tasks. There is often a fine line between slight discomfort and long lasting pain, so it is important to find the right balance.

For example, spending 15 minutes sewing might cause some stiffness, but little pain. However, spending an hour sewing might result in pain that lasts for several hours or days. This is true of most activities, such as carrying items around the house or going shopping. Finding the right balance between too little activity and too much activity can be very difficult, but is an important step in arthritis pain management.

Fatigue

Fatigue can be caused by a number of factors, such as poor diet or too much exercise and activity. For someone with arthritis, it is very important to determine what causes fatigue, as well as how much activity results in fatigue. Then, it is a manner of working within your own limits, to not overdo it.

For example, simply walking to and from the mail box might be enough to cause someone fatiuge, so instead of doing it all at once, it would probably be better to walk to the mailbox, sit and relax, then walk back.

In the same way that knowing your limits can help with pain management, it can also be applied to reducing fatigue.

Stiffness

Stiffness can be particularly difficult for those who suffer from arthritis, because typically stiffness is caused by remaining immobile for an extended period of time. When the individual begins to move again, the stiffness can turn into pain, making it very difficult to stand up. As a result, many seniors and others with arthritis tend to remain immobile for longer periods of time, to put off standing up. However, this results in a vicious cycle that only results in more pain. This is one reason that it is essential for someone with arthritis to preform regular exercise, because even though remaining still might feel good at the time, it can have very serious ramifications.

One of the most important parts of living with arthritis is to learn from your body and respect its limits. This is important not only for controlling pain and stiffness, but also for reducing feelings of fatigue.