Can arthritis be reversed?

Arthritis is a class of disease related to joints. In all types of arthritis, there is damage to the tissues and joints of cartilage resulting in severe pain and stiffness of joints. Millions of people suffer from arthritis all over the world. the constant pain in joints makes people want to get rid of the disease and they question their doctors; can’t they just reverse arthritis? The answer is no. once you develop the disease, no matter how low the symptoms get, it will stay in your body.

What to do; if we can’t reverse arthritis:

Osteoarthritis is the type in which the cartilage surrounding the joint is degenerated over time due to gradual ‘’wear and tear’. The cartilage damage impairs the movement of joints and causes extreme pain. On the contrary, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system destroys healthy joints and causes inflammation in the cartilage surrounding joints. Once damaged, you can not repair the cushioning cartilage; however, you can manage the pain and symptoms through different measures.

In this article, we will discuss the measures and actions one can take to minimize the pain and symptoms of different kinds of arthritis.

Weight management:

Managing weight can help a great deal to reduce the pain and symptoms of arthritis. Overweight and obese people have more complicated symptoms of arthritis because their joints have to bear more weight. The inflamed or degenerative joints are unable to bear the weight and they ache. Losing weight will help to reduce the pressure on joints and they will stop hurting.

Exercise:

The joints become stiff and hard to move during arthritis. If we don’t put it to any use and refuse to move from time to time, they will permanently jam. That’s why it is necessary to keep the joints at work. Physiotherapists suggest little exercises that build muscles around the joint to support the weight. Stretching, walking, swimming, cycling can help you relieve the stiffness and pain. Don’t do high-impact exercises and repetitive motion activities like running, jumping, and tennis as they could cause even more degeneration in the cartilage.

Hot and cold therapy:

Hot and cold therapy can help relieve the pain and symptoms of arthritis depending upon which type of arthritis you have. Cold weather can increase the pain and symptoms of osteoarthritis, causing stiffening of joints. In such cases, people can use hot water bottles and steam to relieve the pain. Heat expands the tissue around joints and makes them less stiff. In rheumatoid arthritis, heat increases the inflammation in the joint tissue. To relieve this pain, people use ice packs to reduce inflammation.

Medication:

Several medicines are available to reduce the pain in arthritis. For starters, pain killers like paracetamol can be taken. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines like ibrufen can be administered to reduce the pain and inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. For osteoarthritis, acetaminophen is better in terms of precautions and safety and helps more in reducing pain and symptoms.

Do not overtake the medicines as prescribed by the doctor in case of flare-ups. Taking medicine in higher doses does not relieve the pain, instead, it causes higher complications.

Do not undertake medicines as well because it can create insensitivity of the medicine.

Diet:

Diet plays an important part in the regulation of symptoms of arthritis. Several food items can worsen the symptoms of arthritis. For example; red and processed meat containing higher levels of cholesterol contains many inflammatory substances that can cause rheumatoid arthritis flare-ups.

Adding turmeric to the diet can help relieve the symptoms of arthritis. It is an Indian spice rich in antioxidants. These antioxidants produce anti-inflammatory effects in the body and reduce arthritis inflammation.

Massages and other therapies:

Massaging can help reduce the pain in arthritis. Massaging improves blood circulation in the areas of arthritis by loosening the stiffened muscles and joints. More blood flow to the joint reduces inflammation and consequently pain.

Many people try the old Chinese method of acupuncture to relieve arthritis pain. In this method, needles are inserted into the affected part of the body by specialists. Practitioners say it reroutes the energy restoring the balance in one’s body.

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