Take a warm bath or shower
Moist
heat provides relief from rheumatoid arthritis pain by loosening
muscles, tendons, and ligaments, as well as increasing blood flow. So
taking a warm bath or shower can be a real relaxation session. Also,
moist heating pads, available at most pharmacies, can be applied for 10
to 15 minutes at a time for temporary pain relief.
Look into physical therapy
Your
doctor may prescribe physical therapy to help heal and strengthen a
body part or an area that's "acting up" and giving you problems, but
it's typically a short-term option. PT is a terrific bridge to an
exercise program, though. You can work with your physical therapist to
come up with a workout plan that's right for you.
Think about what you're eating
Food sensitivities, especially to dairy and
shrimp, may aggravate rheumatoid arthritis. Some people try elimination
diets, which involve removing all potential allergens from your diet and
slowly adding these foods back to see if they trigger symptoms. But
there are significant variations within any individual's symptoms in a
given time period, making it difficult to study the effects of these
diets.
Try hot wax
If
you have pain in the joints of your hands or feet, a hot wax bath can
ease the inflammation. Hot wax can work better than a heating pad
because, like soaking in a warm water bath, the heat works its way
completely around the fingers or toes.
Take fish oil
Fish
oil can ease pain and inflammation. In fact, fish-oil capsules may be
as effective for relieving pain and inflammation as drugs like ibuprofen
and naproxen. RA patients in studies that found fish oil helpful took
high doses, typically 4 grams a day or four standard capsules.
Get a massage
Depending
on how your body is feeling, massages can be wonderful—or agonizing.
If your joints and muscles aren't feeling too tender, massages can ease
muscle tension related to joint stress. You will be the best judge of
whether massage can help you on a particular day, or not. So give it a
try! But make sure your massage therapist has experience in treating
people with RA.
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