Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is a common autoimmune and inflammatory disease that causes extreme pain to those who have it.
It occurs when your immune system erroneously assumes that your joints are alien objects and attacks them, causing pain, inflammation, and joint deformity, among others.
Here are seven hacks that can help you manage these discomforts.
Pay attention to your body
It is vital that you focus on what goes on in your body and act based on how they feel. If your body tells you to take a rest, quit what you are doing immediately and rest.
Also, avoid putting much stress on your joints to reduce your pain and limit your injuries. You can do this by placing one foot a little ahead of the other or setting your feet slightly apart.
Develop good sleeping habits
Sleep helps to reduce pain and fatigue. Sadly, people with RA often have difficulty getting a good night’s sleep.
Luckily, there are certain habits you can develop to increase your sleep quality. These include:
- Go to bed early
- Avoid screens at least two hours before bed
- Eat foods that promote sleep like turkey, tart cherries, and almonds
- Keep your bedroom dark, quiet, relaxing, and comfortable
- Avoid large meals, alcohol, and caffeine before bedtime
Heat and cold aids pain relief
Heat and cold items also help to relieve rheumatoid arthritis pain.
Warm water or a heating pad will relieve your pain, while cold compresses or ice packs will reduce your inflammation. Also, prevent muscle inflammation by applying cold objects, like ice packs, to your muscles after undergoing intense activities.
Handle your chores efficiently
Create a list of errands you have to run in order of importance. Execute these chores starting with the most important ones. This will enable you to complete the more important errands before pain or fatigue sets in. And ensure to quit whatever you are doing once you start experiencing pain or stress.
Further, order bulky and heavy items online to ensure that are delivered directly to your home.
Ease your pressure with assistive devices
Assistive devices help to improve your comfort and the ease with which you do things. Hence, you need to buy assistive devices.
You can invest in the following devices:
- Heating pads
- Easy-grip kitchen utensils
- An extendable grabbing tool
- A removable showerhead, sturdy shower chair, and handrails
- Attachments that make your steering wheel and gear shift easy-to-hold
Perform low-intensity exercises
Low-intensity exercises will help you to become stronger and more flexible. They will also help to reduce fatigue and prevent bone density and muscle mass loss.
An example of this is brisk walking for about 30 minutes a day.
Start to meditate
Meditation is an effective method of relieving stress and limiting pain. Take note that meditation does not eliminate pain; instead, it reduces its intensity.
If you are new to meditating, you can start with a five-minute session.
Conclusion
Understand that you have a chronic illness and there is only so much you can do to manage it. Hence, cut yourself some slack and avoid being hard on yourself.
Also, remember that it is not your fault and you are doing your best to cope with it.
