Posted on July 31, 2007 in Arthritis Treatment
Like many others, perhaps you too consider arthritis a nuisance that gives you a lot of pain that can be got rid of with a painkiller. How wrong you are, if that’s what you think. The truth is that arthritis can ruin your life, as you grow older, by eroding your basic functions and preventing you from taking part in ordinary, everyday activities.
It’s not enough that you look at arthritis in the short term and think of overcoming the pain by taking a painkiller. This is because painkillers, when taken for long, cause serious side effects. But the question arises is how to prevent arthritis?
Having said that, there are some sure shot ways in which you can prevent arthritis. These are:
- Don’t cause repetitive strain on your muscles and joints. This causes micro trauma to your joints and later causes osetoarthritis.
- Watch out for any chronic aches and strains caused by work, your hobby or recreation-related activities. So, if your job causes arthritic symptoms, modify your office chair or find something else to do.
- Don’t squat often, do heavy physical labor, or take part in sports as these could lead to a wear and tear of the knee joints and cause knee arthritis, while repetitive or forceful hand motions can lead to osteoarthritis. If you spend long hours at the computer, this can cause a strain in your hands and age them faster.
- While it is good to exercise your whole body, don’t overdo it as this could abuse your joints. Moderation in exercise is really the key, as if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, you will end up with weak muscles and increase your chances of developing arthritis. Instead of being rigorous in exercise, opt for regularity.
- Go in for a cross-training program that includes lightweight training. Such exercises will help you build denser bones and strengthen your muscles, ligaments, and tendons associated with joints. Go for a run, walk, jog, swim or play basketball, football, tennis, handball.
- Don’t overeat; stay at your ideal weight. If you don’t, you are at great risk of getting osteoarthritis in the weight-bearing joints. Instead of eating refined, packaged foods, eat whole foods. Eat a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, and low in salt, sugar, fat and protein. Drink green tea.
- To overcome any nutrient deficiencies, environmental chemicals, stress, and drinking alcohol, take a steady and regular intake of supplements to add strength to your joints. These nutrients or supplements can protect your joints and delay the symptoms of arthritis. They include Vitamins C and D, boron, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and MSM.
- To lubricate your joints and increase their capacity to absorb shocks, you should make drinking water a large part of your diet. Drink a lot of good quality water every day as this can act as a diuretic and excrete fluids from your body. Don’t drink sodas, coffee, and tea instead of water.
- Do yoga regularly as this increases the flexibility of your joints.
And lastly, develop awareness about your joints and the need to keep them flexible and strong. Few people know that arthritis can lead to disability, which can lead to a lot of inactivity and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Change your lifestyle and become health-conscious. If you do this, not only will you help your joints but the rest of your body too.
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May 12th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Do drink water everyday.
Very interesting to my lola.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Do drink water everyday.