Top tips for managing your arthritis at home

Arthritis is something that anyone can suffer from, no matter your age or your lifestyle. Arthritis is a common condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint or joints and can cause long-term discomfort, stress and worry. For those with this condition, moving around easily and swiftly can often be a struggle without medication or the addition of aids like stair lifts for the home and walking aids for out and about. Although living with a condition like arthritis can be uncomfortable and, at times, painful, there are ways in which you can make day-to-day life more comfortable, and that is what we are going to talk about in this guide. Read on to find out how you can best manage your arthritis at home.

How to best manage arthritis at home:

• Keep your joints moving
• Work on good posture
• Get fresh air
• Control your eating

Keep your joints moving

One of the best ways to manage your arthritis is to make sure you keep your joints moving and mobile. If you spend a lot of time in your home or sit at a desk for work, then make sure you take regular breaks to move your body and keep the joints active, this will stop them from ceasing up and becoming painful. This is a point that Dr Wendy Holden, Arthritis Action’s Medical Advisor and Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist, told us more about the importance of keeping your joints moving:

“The most important thing for managing arthritis at home is to move every day. It is important to keep your joints mobile whilst using your muscles, to retain health and strength. Movement and light exercise is great for helping with pain, as it helps to strengthen the muscles that protect and support the joints. This can be as simple as standing and sitting down again a few times before actually getting up, or forcing to take the stairs one more time in a day.”

Work on good posture

Good posture is one of the best ways to manage your arthritis from home and is something everyone should focus on, with or without arthritis. If you often catch yourself slouching or sitting at an odd angle, then this could be having a detrimental effect on your condition and making it worse. If you sit at an office desk or have an armchair you spend a lot of time in, then you could consider back support that you can attach to the chair so you know you are supported at all times.

Wherever your arthritis is the worst, you could consider muscle supports, so that when you are out and about, you know the area is protected as much as possible. You can get support for almost any area of the body, and you can find them in most supermarkets and pharmacies.

When you’re asleep, it is hard to know what position you are allowing your body to lie in, so items like a U-shaped pillow or orthopaedic mattresses and pillows can be really beneficial.

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Get fresh air

Fresh air is a wonderful mood booster, and this is another top tip that Dr Wendy Holden from Arthritis Action gave us. She mentioned that getting fresh air is great for the mind and body and that even opening a window whilst doing some light indoor exercise can really help arthritis.

“Secondly, be sure to get fresh air. Getting fresh air, even if we are finding ourselves staying inside for long periods of time, is good for our minds and our bodies. Be mindful of getting too cold, however, especially on chilly or windy days. Try slowly raising your internal temperature with some gentle exercise whilst cracking a window open to get some fresh air through your home for a few minutes each day.”

You should try and avoid large increases and decreases in temperature as this can have a negative impact on your joints and cause unnecessary pain, so if it is cold, then make sure you wrap up warm.

Control your eating

It may not be something you correlate with arthritis, but watching what you eat and drink is a great way to try and keep your condition under control. Making sure you consume enough water and keep an eye on the calories you are eating can keep unnecessary stress off of your joints, as Martin Lau, Arthritis Action’s Dietitian and Services Development Manager, suggests:

“While at home, you should try to avoid portion distortion. Being inside more means having unlimited access to the kitchen and the snack cupboard! Understanding the standard portion size could help to avoid larger-than-usual portions of food. Similarly, try to be snack-wise. Boredom is one of the main reasons we snack. Make sure you hydrate with enough water during the day and replace unhealthy snacks with nutrient-rich, lower-calorie options. Chopped veggies with reduced fat hummus, or a few tropical fruits or smoothies make excellent, filling healthy snacks.”

If you have arthritis or you know someone who is struggling with the condition, then hopefully, this guide has given you a few ideas on how to keep the condition under control whilst you’re in your home. For more useful articles and guides, make sure you check out our blog.