Arthritis can affect any joint in the human body and each has its own way of causing pain and discomfort. Some cause inflammation, some tingling and numbness, while some restrict the range of motion. One such common type of arthritis is - Knee Osteoarthritis.
The second most common rheumatology problem, Osteoarthritis pain has a prevalence of
22% to 39% in India and is more common in women than men. It is a degenerative disease that can affect hands, neck, hips or spine but a majority of them have trouble with the knee joint, where its cartilage gradually starts to wear off, resulting in pain, inflammation and limited mobility.
The reasons for osteoarthritis in the knee can be due to various factors like over or repetitive use of muscles, an injury or trauma, overweight, genes, and age. If you think there is no way out of arthritis or the only way is medicines or surgery, then guess what, there are another simple, non-invasive and
natural osteoarthritis treatment methods that can save you from a lifetime of side-effects.
- Keep Moving
We understand it is painful to move around with OA but, studies show that physical activity keeps the muscles working and healthy for a long time. You don't need to do any hardcore physical activity, a simple brisk walk is even enough. The point is, just keep moving. Staying sedentary or resting all day on the bed will only make your joints even stiffer and you may lose mobility forever. Keep them conditioned with some activity.
- Weight Loss
Did you know it's your knees that bear almost half of the weight of your body? So, you can imagine the amount of pressure it takes and being overweight doubles the pressure causing osteoarthritis in the knee joint. Excess weight can give a tough time to your weight-bearing joints such as your knees, spine, hips, ankles, and feet. Shedding weight will lift off the pressure from them and reduce the pain and discomfort of osteoarthritis remarkably well.
- Seek Support
Support comes in two forms physical and mental. In the case of osteoarthritis knee, you need both. Use physical support like splints, braces, canes, and other aids and for emotional and mental support, talk to someone, your family, friends or someone close or see an expert for pain management tips. This will help you battle osteoarthritis even more strongly and get rid of it forever.
- Low-impact Exercises
When we say exercise, don't worry about heavyweight lifts as you can exercise even without that. There are certain low-impact exercises that will give your muscles a good workout without any struggle or strain. Like the resistance bands, aerobic workouts, running, jogging, cycling, swimming etc. Swimming is highly recommended because water relieves pressure on your joints and affords you the full range of motion you might not enjoy with other exercises. Or best, focus on osteoarthritis exercises for the knee for faster recovery.
- Electrotherapy
A part of physical therapy,
electrotherapy involves the use of treatment modalities that work on the root cause of your pain and eliminate it once and forever without any side-effects. Its therapeutic
ultrasound and TENS therapy that comes in one combined device named
SONICTENS is such a handy and easy-to-operate device that beats the effect of other osteoarthritis home remedies.
Conclusion Osteoarthritis is indeed a painful condition but you can outlive it easily with the above treatment methods. Other than that, you can have an osteoarthritis diet in which you must include foods rich in vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids that are found in fish and fish oil, nutritious fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean meats such as turkey and pork tenderloin. Beans, flaxseeds, walnuts, green leafy vegetable are good to combat inflammation of knee osteoarthritis.