Arthritis pain: Do’s and don’ts

Arthritis is a leading cause of pain and limited mobility worldwide. There’s plenty of advice on managing arthritis and similar conditions with exercise, medicines and stress management. But how do you know what’s best for you?

Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you figure it out.

No matter your condition, effectively managing pain is easier when you:

• Learn all you can about your condition, including the type of arthritis you have and any existing joint damage.
• Involve your healthcare professional, friends and family in your pain management plan.
• Tell your healthcare professional of any changes in your pain.

Be mindful of your joints in all activities, whether sitting, standing or moving.

• Keep your joints flexible. Do gentle daily stretches to move your joints through their full range of motion.
• Maintain good posture. A physical therapist can teach you proper ways to sit, stand and move.
• Know your limits. Balance activity and rest, and don’t overdo.

In addition, lifestyle changes can play a key role in managing pain.

• Manage your weight. Extra weight can worsen arthritis symptoms and increase pain. Gradual, lasting healthy changes are the most effective approach to weight management. Talk to your healthcare professional about what you can do to get to and stay at a healthy weight.
• Quit smoking. Toxins in cigarette smoke can damage connective tissues, which can increase arthritis pain. And studies have shown that electronic cigarettes, called e-cigarettes, also may harm connective tissues.

If you have arthritis, staying active can help reduce pain and stiffness. It can improve flexibility, strengthen muscles and boost endurance. It also can help you manage your weight and improve your mood.

What to do

Select activities that strengthen the muscles around your joints without causing harm. A physical or occupational therapist can help you create an exercise program that’s right for you.

Focus on stretching, range-of-motion exercises and gradual strength training. Include low-impact aerobic activities, such as walking, cycling and water exercises, to improve your mood and help control your weight.

What to avoid

Avoid activities that involve high impact and repetitive motion, such as:

• Running.
• Jumping.
• Tennis.
• High-impact aerobic exercises.
• Repeating the same movement, such as a tennis serve, again and again.

Many types of medicines are available to relieve arthritis pain. Most are relatively safe, but no medicine is completely free of side effects. Talk with your healthcare professional to create a pain management plan for your specific pain symptoms. A pain management plan aims to reduce pain. It also aims to ease distress, increase mobility and improve quality of life.

What to do

Pain medicines that you can buy without a prescription can help ease occasional pain triggered by activity your muscles and joints aren’t used to, such as gardening after a winter indoors. These medicines include acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve).

Creams with capsaicin can be applied to the skin over a painful joint to relieve pain. Capsaicin cream is made from capsaicin, the ingredient in chile peppers that gives them their heat. When applied to the skin over a painful joint or muscle, capsaicin temporarily reduces pain by blocking pain signals from the nerves. Capsaicin cream can be used on its own or with other medicines.

Talk to your healthcare professional if medicines you can buy without a prescription don’t relieve your pain.

What to avoid

• Overtreatment. If you frequently rely on over-the-counter pain relievers, talk to your healthcare professional to ensure safe and appropriate use. Ask about other ways you can manage pain that doesn’t go away. Medicines may not take away all pain. The goal is to learn to manage pain so it isn’t the focus of your life.
• Undertreatment. Don’t ignore persistent or serious arthritis pain. It could be the result of joint inflammation or damage that may require daily medicine. Talk to your healthcare professional about how to manage pain safely.
• Focusing only on pain. Pain has biological, psychological and emotional factors. Chronic pain can cause feelings such as anger, hopelessness, sadness and anxiety. To effectively treat pain, it helps to address the physical, emotional and psychological aspects. Talk to your healthcare professional about how you can improve your physical and emotional health.

It’s no surprise that arthritis pain may have a negative effect on your mood. When daily activities become painful, it’s common to feel frustrated or discouraged. But if these feelings intensify into ongoing fear or hopelessness, they can make pain feel even worse and more difficult to manage. Talk to your healthcare professional if you have feelings of depression or anxiety.

What to do

Therapies that disrupt the mind-body connection around pain include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy, also called CBT. This well-studied, effective approach combines talk therapy and behavior modification to help you recognize and change patterns of self-defeating thoughts and actions.
• Relaxation techniques. Meditating, doing yoga or tai chi, deep breathing, listening to music, being in nature and writing in a journal all are things you can do to relax. There’s no downside to relaxation, and it can help ease pain.
• Acupuncture. Some people find pain relief through acupuncture, where a trained professional inserts thin needles at specific points on the body. It may take several weeks before you notice improvement.

• Heat and cold therapy. Applying heating pads, taking hot baths or showers, or using warm paraffin wax can temporarily relieve join pain. Be careful not to burn yourself. Limit heating pad use to 20 minutes at a time.

  Ice packs can help lessen pain and inflammation, especially after physical activity. Always place a thin towel between an ice pack and your skin.

• Massage. Massage may improve pain and stiffness in the short term. Make sure your massage therapist knows about your arthritis and how it affects you.

What to avoid

• Smoking. If you use tobacco, talk to your healthcare professional about resources to help you quit. The toxins in cigarette smoke can damage connective tissues. This worsens joint problems. Studies have shown that e-cigarettes also may harm connective tissues.
• A negative mindset. Dwelling on negative thoughts can make them spiral, increasing pain and limiting mobility. Instead, focus on activities you enjoy and spend time with people who support you. Consider talking to a therapist if negative thoughts are difficult to manage.