Joint pain can occur for many reasons; you might have a degenerative disease such as arthritis, or perhaps your joints are hurting do to the aging process. Another reason could be an accident or injury which didn’t heal in the right way. Whatever the reason behind your joint pain, if you are suffering you will know how much it will affect your life, from leaving you in pain to making movement difficult to stop you from sleeping well, and even affect your mental health, potentially causing depression and stress.
If this sounds like the kind of thing you are going through due to your joint paint, the good news is some things can be done about it. There are many natural ways you can choose to try that could help you immensely, so read on to find out what just some of them are.
Manage Your Weight
When you think about it, your weight is sure to have an impact on your joints, since they will be carrying the weight of your body. The more you weigh, the more pressure is put on those joints, and the more wear they will suffer. This is especially true of your hips, knees, and feet.
If you find you are having joint pains regularly and you are even a little overweight, trying to lose that weight and then maintain your lower weight will be much better for your health overall, and your joints specifically. It can be hard to lose weight, but there are many groups and experts who can help you. The two main ways you can help yourself are to eat more healthy foods and to exercise regularly. By doing this, you will give yourself a good start. Having a personal trainer or at least someone to talk to about your exercise routine or your improved diet will always be useful.
A Comfortable Seat
Sometimes joint pain can be the result of poor posture and a bad sitting position. If you work at a desk for hours at a time (or even a short while), your seat might be the problem. Using the wrong chair can cause joint pain, and if your chair is too small or too tall for the desk you are using, you will find that you have to reach further or that your legs don’t touch the ground and are therefore unsupported.
If you need an office chair, you should look for one that is ergonomically designed, as this will offer you the right support and ensure your joints are as protected as possible.
Don’t forget your other chairs too. You won’t want to use an office chair, no matter how well designed it is, to relax in when you are done with work and want to unwind. At this time, you will want to use something much softer, but that still gives you support. A good armchair of a beanbag from SumoLounge would work well; click here to see the range.
Hot and Cold Therapy
Joint pain can be reduced or eliminated through the proper use of hot and cold therapy. Heat treatments are easy to use, and some heat treatments you can do at home by yourself include:
- A long, warm shower or bath
- An electric blanket
- A heating pad
Cold treatments will also reduce swelling, and they include:
- Ice packs
- A cool bath
- A wet towel
The treatment you use will depend on what causes of back pain. Heat therapy relaxes the muscles, and therefore your joints will move more easily. Cold therapy reduces inflammation, and the result is the same. If you’re not sure of the cause of your joint pain, speak to your doctor, or try both methods and see which one works best for you.
Meditation
Joint pain can sometimes be the result of stress, so trying to reduce stress in your life is a good idea (it’s a good idea for many reasons that are related to your mental and physical health). One way to do this is to try meditation. Meditating for just 10 minutes a day is enough to help relax you hugely, and you’ll benefit from it in many different ways, including feeling your joints are less painful.
As mentioned above, tense muscles can be the cause of joint pain – if the muscles are too tense, the joints are constricted and can’t move properly. Muscle tension is a symptom of stress, so reducing stress and relieving your muscles of tension will allow the joints to move correctly once more.
If meditation doesn’t feel right to you, don’t worry; there are many other ways to reduce stress such as exercise, sleeping properly, talking through your problems, listening to music, and more. Take some time to investigate what it is that makes you feel relaxed and try to incorporate it into your life more, and your joints may well feel better for it.
Enjoy A Healthy Diet
We’ve already mentioned how losing weight can help with joint pain and how a healthy diet is part of that, but now we’ll talk about the specifics of that healthy diet to help you enjoy it more and give you a better idea of what it involves.
The best diet is one that has more fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole foods included than protein. We’re not saying you need to become a vegetarian or vegan unless that’s what you feel would suit you best. Still, we are saying that you should look at the types of food you are eating and the meals you are preparing and ensure there is a good balance of all the different elements. Too much meat and not enough vegetables will not keep you healthy; technically, there should always be more vegetables on your plate than meat.
When it comes to your joint pain, a diet that contains too much processed food, red meat, and added salt and sugar could even aggravate your problems and cause additional inflammation. So, to keep your joints in their best condition, you should certainly cut down on these things and replace them with fresh fruit and vegetables.