Living with arthritis can be an extremely difficult task. Everyday actions and movements are much harder and even raising your arm can be a painful, strenuous activity. There are hundreds of different techniques that people employ to reduce the impact that arthritis can have on their life, and a range of products, including disabled showers, which can offer long-lasting benefits to the user.
There are changes that you will need to make to your lifestyle in order to reduce the impact that arthritis can have on your body. By following these handy tips, you can help to limit the issues relating to arthritis and enjoy a healthier, less painful and higher quality day-to-day life.
Tips To Reduce The Negative Effects Of Arthritis On Your Life!
- Keep Active! – Making sure that you stay as mobile and limber as possible is extremely important for people who suffer from musculoskeletal conditions, such as arthritis. As these illnesses can severely reduce mobility, it is important to keep your body in good shape to try and limit these issues.For many people, this often involves joining a gym, but we’re aware that this isn’t an option for everyone, either due to time, budget or geographical constraints. However, that doesn’t mean you need to engage a personal, domestic trainer to ensure that you’re keeping as fit as possible all the time.There are several different steps that you can take which will help to improve your day-to-day mobility and help to fight the impact of arthritis.
- Walking – If you have a dog, just taking them for a walk every day can really help to keep your body in great condition. If you don’t have a pet, then walking with a friend, or just going out for a walk on your own can also be a good idea.If you prefer to stay inside, whether because you feel more confident or because the weather is taking a turn for the worse, staying active within your own home is easier than you might think too. Instead of spending all day in your favourite chair, make sure that you get up and stretch your legs every half hour to an hour; it may not seem like much, but it can really loosen up your joints.
- Reach For The Stars! – A technique that many people benefit from is, simply, putting things out of reach from where you might normally store them. This can make you stretch for everything that you regularly use and reduce the pain on your joints by keeping them mobile.Remember not to put them too far out of reach, however, that you can’t actually reach them to get them down again. Always put them somewhere that you can easily reach when stretched to your fullest, so on those days when your limbs are feeling a little tight, you will still be able to reach them.
- Exercise – There are a variety of exercises that you can do at home or at your local gym or health/sports centre. Before undertaking any new form of exercise, make sure that you check with your GP or doctor, as not all exercises will be suitable for everyone.
- Eat A Balanced Diet! – Your diet, although you might not believe it, can really have an impact on your lifestyle, particularly if you suffer from arthritis. If you need to, losing weight can drastically reduce the amount of stress that your joints have to go through on a daily basis. Similarly, research has shown that a balanced diet can actually reduce inflammation.As general advice, Arthritis Research UK recommends that you should try to eat a varied diet, including foods which contain all the vitamins, anti-oxidants, minerals and other nutrients that your body requires. Diets which include a great deal of fish, nuts, olive oil, fruit and vegetables have all been proven to limit the impact of arthritis on joints.The organisation has also pointed out that many of the medications associated with managing arthritis come with a risk of heart disease and other health issues, and a healthy diet can actually help to reduce the likelihood of these problems developing.
- Look After Your Joints! – When you suffer from an illness that primarily affects your joints, it makes sense to put a lot more effort into taking care of them than you might otherwise have done! Remember to pace yourself throughout the day and, when possible, try to avoid any overly strenuous activities.It is well documented that arthritis tends to be less painful in the afternoon, so can any of your tasks wait until a time that your joints tend to be a little looser and don’t ache quite so much?Most people will find that some of their joints are a lot stronger than others, and make minute adjustments to accommodate this. A good example is opening a door with your shoulder, rather than your weak hand, or spreading anything that you have to carry across multiple hands in order to reduce stress on a particular joint.
- Consider Making Home Alterations! – This is often the point that many people hesitate at, simply because it can be hard to get their head around the fact that they will be living with their arthritis for the rest of their life. Making permanent home alterations can seem like overkill, but the sooner you make them, the sooner you can start to reap their benefits.
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- Handrails – By having handrails fitted to the walls at certain points throughout your home, you can really improve your safety and make it much easier to get around your home. It can be a great idea to have them installed in your bathroom, to help you stand up from the toilet seat, the bath, or to help you climb out of the shower much more comfortably.
- A Disabled Shower – By installing a disabled shower, you can make it much easier to get in and out of your shower. Disabled showers require much less in the way of ground clearance, meaning that severe loss of mobility in your lower half needn’t affect your enjoyment of your shower.
- Lever Taps – In place of traditional taps, which can be extremely difficult to turn if you suffer from arthritis in your hands, you can easily turn your taps on and off without having to necessarily grip anything.
- Useful Gadgets – By making the most of the latest useful gadgets, including long-handled sponges and automatic can openers, you can reduce your everyday strain and enjoy a much less stressful life.
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- Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help! – Remember that there is no real need to suffer in silence. There are a range of organisations that might be able to help you out, whatever you need.Social services departments will often have specialised physical therapists that can make recommendations on your lifestyle changes. Of course, you can always ask your doctor to recommend any exercises that have been proven to help people with similar issues to yours.
Living With Arthritis: Make The Changes To Improve Your Life
By following these top tips, and taking advantage of the very best products, including disabled showers and handy gadgets, you can drastically improve your quality of life and reduce the impact of arthritis on your day to day life.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Bathtime Mobility, the UK’s leading provider of bathing solutions and accessories for the mobility conscious, on 0800 29 22 110.