It’s hard to overstate the impact severe joint pain can have on your life. Everything from standing up and going for a walk to handling everyday chores can be a significant challenge! Unfortunately, up to 25% of Americans with arthritis suffer in this way.
Are you one of them? Well, whether your experience is related to arthritis or not, you’re sure to want a solution to the problem. Thankfully, there are plenty of strategies you can employ to find relief from the discomfort and get back to normality.
Want to learn how to fix joint pain once and for all? Let us help. Keep reading for our pro tips on managing joint pain.
See the Doctor
The doctor’s office is the first port of call for most people who experience joint pain. And for good reason! Seeking professional medical support is the best way to:
- Identify the issue,
- Put an effective treatment plan together, and
- Be prescribed stronger pain relief medication and novel treatments such as the Biolab Sciences Fluid Flow.
If you haven’t already been, then we recommend booking an appointment ASAP. Your doctor will be able to answer your questions and address your concerns. More importantly, they’ll stop you from doing anything that could make the situation worse!
Take Pain Relief Medication
Painkillers can be a lifeline for anyone with serious joint pain. Of course, they don’t address the underlying issue. Yet they can provide invaluable relief from persistent discomfort.
Over-the-counter options (such as aspirin and ibuprofen) should suffice for mild pain and swelling. But, as we said before, you’ll need a prescription from the doctor if you require anything stronger. Want our advice though?
Consult your doctor before taking anything for your joint pain- regardless of potency. Letting the professionals guide you on the right medications to take will help you avoid nasty side effects and adverse reactions from occurring.
Try Topical Treatments
Don’t want to take any more pills? Try applying creams, balms, lotions, and ointments to the affected area instead. From Tiger Balm to Capsaicin creams, there are numerous over-the-counter topical treatments available that could alleviate the pain.
An added bonus here is the lack of side-effects you’d experience. They might not be as effective as traditional pain medication, but they won’t make you drowsy, constipated, or more susceptible to certain cardiovascular issues either!
Nevertheless, it’s still worth talking to your doctor before rubbing these joint pain remedies into your skin. They’ll teach you how to apply them properly and help you avoid any products that contain active ingredients you’re allergic to.
Get Enough Rest
Rest is a crucial part of recovering from any injury, including joint pain. Whenever the discomfort gets too much, take it as a sign that your body needs a break! Avoid any activity that could aggravate the affected area and give the inflammation an opportunity to go down.
Top tip: you could combine this with a tactic known as PRICE. An acronym for ‘protect, rest, ice, compress, and elevate’, it’s an effective “DIY approach” to managing joint pain. By supporting the joint (with a brace, for example), avoiding any strenuous activity, applying ice to reduce the swelling, using elastic-wrap to compress the joint, and keeping it raised above your heart, you should soon feel a positive difference.
Get Enough Exercise
Although rest is one of the main joint pain remedies out there, it’s important to do some gentle exercise as well. After all, too much of anything is bad for you, right? Keeping your joints too still for too long will make them stiff, which is counterproductive.
Assuming you’ve been given the go-ahead from your doctor, staying active will stop that from happening. Oh, and it’ll also build up the muscle around the joint and help you lose weight at the same time! These advantages combine to reduce the pressure on your joints and the inflammation in them.
Access Physical Therapy
Speak to your doctor about the merits of working with a physiotherapist too. These trained professionals would start by assessing your condition and then create a personalized treatment plan to address the joint pain. This usually involves a combination of strengthening exercises and stretching to do both in face-to-face sessions and at home in your own time.
The general idea is to build up the supporting muscles in the area without aggravating the joint itself. By stabilizing those muscles and improving your flexibility at the same time, you should take some pressure off the joint. Depending on the severity of the issue, the physio might also recommend specialized treatments, such as electrical nerve stimulation and cold therapy. See here OrthoLazer
Join a Support Group
Coping with joint pain and/or arthritis isn’t easy. Aside from the physical discomfort involved, it can feel lonely at times too- especially when you don’t know anyone else who suffers in the same way. In these cases, it may help to join a support group in your area for people in a similar situation.
These groups offer myriad benefits. First and foremost, you’ll meet friendly new faces who understand your predicament and can empathize with you as a result. They’ll listen to your story, share their own, introduce you to tried and tested coping methods, and help you through challenging periods that arise.
Remember These Tips on How to Fix Joint Pain
Few physical health problems are as debilitating as discomfort in your joints. It impacts almost every area of life, which is why discovering how to fix joint pain is an understandable priority for anyone who experiences it!
With any luck, the suggestions in this article will help you do exactly that. Put these ideas on managing joint pain into practice and you should be one step closer to getting back to an ordinary, pain-free existence. Would you like some more tips, insights, and strategies to improve your physical wellbeing?
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