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Subject matter Quick Links for this page… 1) Arthritis facts 2) Who is at risk to get Arthritis? 3) Causes of Arthritis 4) Other types or causes of arthritis 5) Symptoms of Arthitis 6) What can you do to prevent Arthritis? 7) What can you do to combat Arthritis?

Natural Supplementation: (click this link to learn more)
As our bodies age they lose some of their natural ability to produce the nutrients required to maintain healthy joints. Natural supplements offer many short term and long term benefits that have proven to be an invaluable addition to any joint health plan.

Diet: (click this link to learn more)
Much research is continuing into the links between what you eat and your arthritis. From the research evidence so far, we recommend that you should:
• Pay close attention to portion size at every meal and only eat when you are hungry
• Drink plenty of water and avoid beverages that are high in caffeine and/or sugar
• Eat less sugar and fat, especially saturated fat, and try to use olive oil in your diet
• Eat more fruit and vegetables, especially brightly coloured varieties
• Eat plenty of calcium and iron rich foods
• Try replacing meat with oily fish twice per week (unless you have gout)
• If you have inflammatory arthritis which is not gout consider further increasing your intake of oily fish and/or fish oil supplements produced from oily fish as described in the text.

Exercise & Stretching: (click this link to learn more)
A regular exercise and stretching regimen is important to keep the body moving and flexible. It helps to enable movement through the reduction of the related pain, maintain and increase range of motion, reduce fatigue, and it helps you look and feel better.

Rest:
Rest is a very important and integral component of any Joint pain management plan. Getting from 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night and taking naps during the day will give your joints time to recover from damage and may even help reduce the number of flair-up recurrances.

Apply Heat or Cold:
Use of heat or cold over joints may provide short-term relief from pain and stiffness.

Pacing Activities:
Pacing helps protect your joints by alternating periods of activity with periods of rest so that your joints don't tire from the stress of repeated tasks.

Get a Massage:
Massage treatments have been proven to increase circulation and decrease tension throughout the body. Aside from feeling great, the beneficial effects of a massage will help you relax, improve your mental fitness and help you forget about your joint troubles for awhile. There are certified massage therapist that specialize in Arthritic pain relief therapies who can visit you on a regular basis.

Maintain Good Posture:
When standing, keep your legs shoulder width apart for balance and optimum support. Keep your shoulders back to reduce stress in your lower back. When seated, make use of a small pillow to support your lower back and keep your knees and hips at a 90 degree angle whenever possible.

Move:
Try not to stay seated for long periods of time. If you must remain in one place for more than 30 minutes at a time, be sure to shift your weight around and stretch to keep your joints from becoming stiff and sore.

Proactive Joint Protection:
Protect your joints by learning to use them in ways that:

In practice this means you should lift with your legs before you use your back, lift at your shoulders before you lift at your elbows, push with you elbows before pushing with your wrists, etc.

The second way to protect your joints is to use load bearing assistive devices such as a cane or a brace.

Lastly, by maintaining a healthy weight will you will ease joint pain by reducing the stress on your joints.

Mental “Self Help” Skills:
While it can be tough, doing your best to keep a positive mental attitude and outlook is very important to the success you will achieve in living with and combating Arthritis to maximize your quality of life.

Great strides continue to be made in this area and it’s important that you keep up to date with respect to the progress, events and new options that are continually being brought to the forefront of Arthritis pain management and treatment.

Additionally, you can better manage how arthritis affects you emotionally by talking about your experiences and feelings with family members and friends, by doing mental exercises to keep the brain sharp, and by joining your local Arthritis support group.

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