The UK population is around 67,508,000. Estimates suggest that around 10 million of us have osteoarthritis – 5.4 million with knee arthritis and 3.2 million with arthritis of the hip. Nearly a third of the entire UK population (more than 20 million people) lives with some kind of musculoskeletal condition – around 11.6 million women and 8.7 million men.
However, a diagnosis of arthritis does not mean an end to quality of life or that you need to stop doing all the things you enjoy.
There are many things that are possible with arthritis and, actually, living a full and active life can slow the development of the disease and keep you fit and active for longer.
Here are five positive and life-affirming things you can do to live well with arthritis:
- Get active: One of the best things you can do if you have stiff and swollen joints is to stay as fit active as possible. It can seem counterintuitive if you are in pain to exercise, but the body is designed to move and exercise is positive for many different reasons. It can help to reduce pain, relieve stiffness in your joints and improve muscle strength. It nourishes the cartilage in the joints, helping to lubricate them. Exercise can keep your weight within healthy limits to avoid putting pressure on damaged knees and hips.
- Go outside: Getting out in the fresh air is good for your physical and mental health. Exercise that gets your heart beating faster can help to strengthen your heart and lungs which can be more prone to damage with some types of arthritis. When you exercise, hormones called endorphins are released which has a positive impact on your sense of overall wellbeing.
- Eat a nutritious diet: We are constantly being told about the benefits of eating a healthy balanced diet. This is particularly important if you are living with a chronic condition like arthritis as eating well can help you to feel better and may even slow the development of the disease. Talk to your doctor about the ideal foods for you but eating a diet that is rich in anti-inflammatory foods (fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, nuts and fresh fish) may be particularly beneficial for people with arthritis.
- Commit to lowering your stress levels: Experiencing pain and difficulties carrying out day-to-day tasks can be stressful in itself. But stress has a detrimental impact on the body and may actually exacerbate your experience of pain. We recommend finding positive ways to reduce your stress levels, from yoga to meditation to walking in nature.
- Improve your sleep hygiene: Getting a good night’s sleep helps us to manage pain better, allows the body to repair damaged tissue and improves our concentration levels. Our body’s immune system – our frontline defence against illness and injury – is strengthened when we sleep and a good night’s sleep helps to improve our mental wellbeing, too. Sleeping well also helps us to maintain a healthy weight as poor sleep produces chemicals in the body that make us want to eat more. One of the ways to improve your sleep is to keep a sleep diary, noting down when we sleep well and when we sleep less well and noticing any patterns, such as what you are eating and drinking and at what time, daytime activities and the time you went to bed and woke up etc. Try to keep your bedroom tidy and uncluttered to encourage you to feel relax and avoid phones, laptops and other electrical devices close to bedtime as they can make it harder to get to sleep. Avoid caffeine later in the day and also alcohol as, while it can sometimes make you sleepy it leads to poorer sleep quality overall.
Although there are many lifestyle improvements you can make to live well with arthritis, it is important to recognise that there may come a time when you will need medical support to help you manage your symptoms. With mild to moderate arthritis, painkilling medication, physiotherapy exercises, injections of corticosteroids into the affected joints or PRP therapy may be sufficient. As the disease progresses, however, these may not be enough and you may need to discuss joint replacement surgery with your orthopaedic consultant.
Related Reading:
How to Get the Best from your Knee Replacement Surgery
Cognitive Improvement After a Total Hip Replacement
Have Patient-Reported Outcomes Improved in Recent Years for Hip and Knee Replacements?
For advice about diagnosing, managing and treating arthritis, contact us.
