How to Manage Joint Pain at Home

Joint pain can severely limit your life if it gets too serious. If you suffer from chronic joint pain, you should make an appointment with a Hazlet joint pain specialist.

However, before you do that you should try some home remedies and see how they work. They may save you and your wallet from a trip to the doctor.

The following are some at-home joint pain management tips.

Stretching

The main cause of joint pain is that they are handling a larger load than they can take. They then become compressed and suffer from the extra load causing pain.

When you stretch your entire body, you are also stretching your joints. Like a spring that has been compressed, when you stretch, your joints slowly get relief from the tension and can release a lot of the stress that they harbor.

Yoga is a great practice to help you stretch. Even stretching for only half an hour a day will do your joints a great deal of good.

Massage

Sometimes, our hands are the only healing tools we need. A massage is a great way to alleviate joint pain from the comfort of your own home.

You only need some lubricating fluid or oils to get started. You can start with a simple ten-minute massage where you rub your joint in all directions.

You can then add more time and increase the intensity of the massage which will depend on the severity of the pain. Your doctor will probably give you instructions on how to perform the massage.

If you can afford it, you can get a massage from a professional masseuse.

Cool and Heat Your Joints

Icing and heating your painful joints can benefit them tremendously. You should do them separately since they affect the body in different ways.

You should try icing a painful joint for sessions of about 20 minutes, around 5 times a day. It will help reduce the swelling and pain you feel in the joint.

Heating the joints using a warm cloth or heating pad is also very helpful. Doing so for 15 minutes at least 3 times a week should help you reduce inflammation in a painful joint.

Cooling and heating painful joint works best when done in combination.

Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs

Medication is an option as far as home pain relief is concerned. If you want to use medication to relieve joint pain, then non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the best option.

You can buy them over the counter or get a prescription from your doctor. They serve to reduce inflammation and pain in the joint.

The drawback to medication is that it can have adverse side effects and cause addiction.

Rest

The most underrated solution to any disease and disorder is rest. That also goes for chronic joint pain.

When you rest and sleep, the body is not expending energy on other things such as metabolic activities or movement. Therefore, it uses all its energy on restoration which expedites the healing process.

Get a new mattress if yours is getting old for better sleep. Establish better night time routines such as switching off the lights, making your room cooler, and keeping a regular sleep schedule for maximum pain relief.