When easing arthritis pain, it is crucial to keep your senior’s joints moving and their muscles strong, but this can be difficult. Here are a few key ways in which you can help your senior loved one ease their arthritis pain even further.
According to the CDC, in the United States, 1 in every four adults has arthritis.
What is arthritis?
The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis. Other forms include gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. Symptoms of arthritis are pain, aching, stiffness, and swelling in or around the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus can affect multiple organs and cause widespread symptoms.
Symptoms include early morning joint stiffness, tiredness, swollen joints, weight loss, and skin rashes. If you think your senior loved one may have arthritis, take them to their GP for an immediate and official diagnosis.
How to ease arthritis pain
Arthritis pain can change from day to day and week to week as it is prone to ‘flare-ups.’ However, most forms of arthritis are long-term conditions that will require attention as they get worse.
There is no cure for arthritis, but there are ways to ease the pain arthritis causes. Here are the key ways you can help your senior loved one manage their condition.
Rest and exercise
Regular exercise will help your senior keep their muscles and joints strong. This usually means they will have less pain in that joint.
Try taking your senior one for walks regularly, but make sure there are places to stop and rest if they need to. If a joint is inflamed, a short rest period may reduce the swelling and ease arthritis pain. Yoga is also a no-impact form of exercise.
Swimming is an excellent form of exercise for those with arthritis as the water supports your senior’s weight and puts less pressure on muscles and joints that may already be throbbing.
Encourage your loved one to put their joints through a full range of motion at least once a day. They can do this by circling their arms, ankles, and wrists, then extending their knees and elbows. This will prevent the joints from stiffening up.
However, remember that rest is important too. It’s vital to exercise for short periods and often rather than cause more damage with an extensive workout.
Healthy eating
If your senior has arthritis and is overweight, this will cause more strain on their joints.
While healthy eating cannot cure arthritis, it can help your loved one’s general health and well-being. In addition, maintaining a healthy weight goes a long way in allowing your senior to be independent and mobile for as long as possible.
Managing stress
Help your loved one with the tasks that are made difficult by having arthritis. Their weekly grocery shop, for example, or gardening and other housework.
This will decrease the amount of stress caused by the condition and help them lead a more positive life.
If your senior loved one finds ADLs too stressful due to their arthritis pain, it might be a good time to consider a part-time caregiver or skilled nurse to come and assist your senior on a semi-regular or as-needed basis. This may be a difficult conversation to have at first. Still, the following article provides some top tips to ensure effective communication with your senior around topics that are more sensitive.
Alternating hot and cold treatment
Heat treatments include:
- starting the day with a warm bath or shower to relieve stiffness
- placing a heating pad or hot water bottle on aching joints
People should limit cold treatments to 20 minutes at a time. These treatments include:
- wrapping a bag of ice in a towel and applying it to painful areas
- submerging the affected joint in ice water
- using a cold pack
Regularly consult with your doctor
Recommendations from health care providers can motivate seniors to be physically active and join a self-management education program. Seniors with inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, have a better quality of life if they are diagnosed early, receive treatment, and learn how to manage their condition and pain.
