Tips for Handling Osteoarthritis

Does your elderly loved one have a diagnosis of osteoarthritis? If so, they might be in a lot of pain. The pain is probably chronic, as well. While there are likely things that trigger your loved one’s pain, they still probably experience some level of pain all the time. However, with this being said, you should know there are some tips for handling osteoarthritis that might benefit your loved one.

 

Elder Care in Wilmette IL: Tips for Handling Osteoarthritis

Elder Care in Wilmette IL: Tips for Handling Osteoarthritis

 

Losing Weight

Is your loved one a bit overweight or even obese? If they are, one of the things that could possibly help them to manage their osteoarthritis is losing weight. Losing weight is going to take some of the pressure off from their joints. Even if they only lose 5 or 10 lbs, this is going to help a great deal. If you can get your elderly loved one to start eating healthier and exercising, they can start losing weight and therefore, reducing the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

 

Avoiding Being Sedentary

The more that your elderly loved one sits around doing nothing, the worse their pain is going to get. Research does show that a sedentary lifestyle is just about as harmful to someone as smoking. If someone has osteoarthritis, sedentary days are going to make their joints tighter and harder to move. While sitting down for the day might make their pain seem better for the moment, in the long run, it is going to cause them more pain.

 

Proper Exercises

There are many exercises that can actually help to reduce the pain that one experiences with osteoarthritis. Things such as yoga, walking, Tai Chi, and heated pool exercises can help a great deal. If your elderly loved one is not in an exercise program yet, it is time to get them there. Maybe you or their senior care provider will even do the exercises with them to make them feel even better.

 

Diet Management

There are some foods that help to reduce inflammation in the body. By reducing inflammation throughout the body, your loved one can relieve some of the pain they experience. Some of the foods that are best for this purpose include strawberries, tomatoes, oranges, grapes, blueberries, spinach, kale, and others. Start getting these things for your loved one’s meals and snacks when you do the grocery shopping for them.

These are some of the many tips for handling osteoarthritis. If your elderly loved one is suffering from osteoarthritis be sure they start doing these things right away. You can even just start them out with one of these tips to see how well it works in their case.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elder Care in Wilmette, IL, call the caring staff at LifeCare Home Health & In-Home Services. Call (888) 606-4199 LifeCare serves all of the Chicago Metro Area.

Sources

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

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