Management and Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
There's no one single way to tackle the management and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
This particular progressive auto-immune disorder is best treated with a multiphasic approach that includes medications to ease pain and inflammation, exercise that keeps joints limber, and other lifestyle changes.
Exercise is important in fighting pain, despite the double-edged sword idea that sometimes rheumatoid arthritis can make it painful to do so.
Regularly stretching joints, especially during long periods of sitting, can help you prepare your body for more exercise.
Finding an enjoyable, low-impact exercise like walking with your spouse after dinner or taking a few laps at the pool after work can help ward off pain and inflammation.
Talk with your doctor about what kind of activity is ideal for your fitness level.
Exercise also plays a pivotal role in decreasing stress and anxiety, which can have a major impact on your health beyond your RA.
As important as exercise is, resting your joints is important, too.
Because RA affects the materials that help joints move, it's important to give your body time to recuperate from exercise.
While there might be slight stiffness in the joints when beginning exercise, you should always stop if you feel unbearable pain.
It is better to ease into exercise with more rest at the beginning then spend time healing from an injury because you pushed yourself too far.
Lunch and dinner time can also play a role in managing RA.
Avoiding sodium and saturated fats found in red meats and processed foods can help your body deal with rheumatoid arthritis.
Try including olive oil, fresh water fish, almonds, walnuts, cherries, blueberries, spinach, garlic, rosemary, thyme, basil, chili peppers, ginger, and dark chocolate into your diet.
Replacing your morning coffee with green tea can help with inflammation, as well as ward off colds and elevate your mood.
These foods can also help you lose weight, which is another key part in the management and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
While lifestyle changes can help, your doctor will most likely prescribe other rheumatoid arthritis treatments like:
This particular progressive auto-immune disorder is best treated with a multiphasic approach that includes medications to ease pain and inflammation, exercise that keeps joints limber, and other lifestyle changes.
Exercise is important in fighting pain, despite the double-edged sword idea that sometimes rheumatoid arthritis can make it painful to do so.
Regularly stretching joints, especially during long periods of sitting, can help you prepare your body for more exercise.
Finding an enjoyable, low-impact exercise like walking with your spouse after dinner or taking a few laps at the pool after work can help ward off pain and inflammation.
Talk with your doctor about what kind of activity is ideal for your fitness level.
Exercise also plays a pivotal role in decreasing stress and anxiety, which can have a major impact on your health beyond your RA.
As important as exercise is, resting your joints is important, too.
Because RA affects the materials that help joints move, it's important to give your body time to recuperate from exercise.
While there might be slight stiffness in the joints when beginning exercise, you should always stop if you feel unbearable pain.
It is better to ease into exercise with more rest at the beginning then spend time healing from an injury because you pushed yourself too far.
Lunch and dinner time can also play a role in managing RA.
Avoiding sodium and saturated fats found in red meats and processed foods can help your body deal with rheumatoid arthritis.
Try including olive oil, fresh water fish, almonds, walnuts, cherries, blueberries, spinach, garlic, rosemary, thyme, basil, chili peppers, ginger, and dark chocolate into your diet.
Replacing your morning coffee with green tea can help with inflammation, as well as ward off colds and elevate your mood.
These foods can also help you lose weight, which is another key part in the management and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
While lifestyle changes can help, your doctor will most likely prescribe other rheumatoid arthritis treatments like:
- Disease-modifying ant-rheumatic drugs: These drugs are almost never the first choice of treatment.
Commonly called DMARDs, these drugs not only treat the symptoms, but have the ability of slowing the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. - Biologics: Biologics are often used in conjunction with DMARDs to decrease the cause of swelling and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): A class of drugs that treat inflammation and pain, NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.
Stronger forms are available by prescription. - Corticosteroids: While effective at reducing inflammation, they are rarely used for extended periods of time because of serious side effects like diabetes or cataracts.
