Tips To Improve Your Lifestyle If You Have Rheumatoid Arthritis

Your everyday life can become very challenging if you have rheumatoid arthritis. As seen in most cases, the patient cannot have a proper sleep as the pain starts early in the morning. Although there is no complete cure for rheumatoid arthritis, you can be taking a medicine course, and optimizing your lifestyle can ease your life.

Heat Up Things

Giving heat to the body’s area suffering from rheumatoid arthritis will provide you with relief from pain and stiffness. The heat will help you tolerate the pain and relax your muscle.

You can do some more things to warm up. Start your day with a hot shower. Studies say that moist heat is more effective than dry heat. So you can heat a wet towel in a microwave and keep it on the areas that pain the most for immediate relief.

You Need To Keep Moving

Although your pain will make movement difficult for you, patients and experts say that stretching and physical is not a bad idea. You can do a light level of activity such as walking and yoga. A little bit of swimming and use of the treadmill or elliptical should not also be a bad option. It would help if you also kept an eye on your body weight. If you are overweight, it puts extra pressure on your joints.

As per the CDC, here are some recommendations to manage pain during and after exercise:

Make changes to your exercising pattern
Move to activities that put less stress on your joints
Ensure to warm-up and cool-down while exercising
Stay at a comfortable pace while exercising
Always wear comfortable shoes

Some Diet Related Dos and Don’ts

Although there is no way food could cure R.A., eating certain foods can reduce the symptoms. Try eating an anti-inflammatory diet and avoiding eating foods that cause inflammation.

Inflammation means how the body responds to certain types of elements in the food. You may see redness and swell on the outer side, but inflammation happens on the inside too.

These foods have anti-inflammatory properties:

Green leafs
Fruits
Salmon
Nuts
Olive oil
Tomatoes
Is Sleep Also Important?

Sleep is an essential element for a healthy lifestyle. Having a good night’s sleep increases the chances of sticking to a healthy diet and exercise plan.

If you are looking to learn more about Rheumatoid Arthritis and need expert consultation, visit Rheumatology Care of North Houston -and our experts will be able to assist you. Call us now at 832.532.9779.