I used to be in pain all the time.

I was out of shape. I was unhealthy.

I took painkillers, but I cried when they didn’t work.

I made my family and my employees uncomfortable when I became irritable.

Then I realized that I didn’t need to live like that.

I could, with just a few sensible habits, make a real change to the pain I felt from my arthritis.

Now, I want to share those habits with you.

Eat An Anti-Inflammatory Diet

I took a look at an anti-inflammatory diet in detail last month, so I won’t go into too much detail here but one of the biggest causes of arthritic pain and arthritis is our weight.

If you want to lose weight, you have to change the way you eat. It’s tough at first, believe me, I know. I was about 30 lbs overweight when I first started to feel the pain of my knees. But it’s worth doing it.

It won’t just be your arthritis that gets better but every aspect of your life. You’ll move easier. You’ll feel younger. You will have more energy. You’ll be less depressed and best of all, you’ll feel less pain.

Start Exercising Even Though It Hurts

It sucks but the other way to lose weight is to start exercising. It’s also the best way to loosen up the stiff joints that arthritis brings. Now, it’s important to recognize that this will hurt when you start and to be sure you don’t do any damage, it’s best to talk to your doctor about a healthy workout too.

However, if you can’t get to the doctor, light exercise in a pool is always going to be best for arthritic conditions. The water acts as a natural cushion for your joints.

Keep The Exercise Reasonable

Now that you’ve heard that you can get better through losing weight, you’re probably going to give it a go. The trouble is that many people want instant results. It doesn’t work like that.

Regular exercise and a healthy diet take time to show their benefits. If you push too hard, you can injure yourself and that means getting worse, not better.

Try To Avoid Repetitive Motion

Our lives are often built around repetitive motions. From driving a car to operating a machine at work, to using a computer, the repetitive motions are everywhere when you look.

If you can’t cut them out completely, do take regular breaks and use stretching exercises to build up your resistance over time. Sometimes, you have to mitigate damage rather than get away from it entirely.

Do Focus On Healthy Fats In Your Diet

Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked in some preliminary research with the management of pain with arthritis. They essentially appear to have anti-inflammatory properties. Given that inflammation plays a huge role in arthritis and the pain that it brings. It seems sensible to take every action possible to reduce or eliminate it.

Note: it takes a lot of these acids to have an effect 2-3,000 mailgrams. That may mean that supplements are a better idea than eating tons of fish. You can buy some Omega 3 supplements, at a reasonable price, on Amazon using this link. 

Also, don’t forget to tell your doctor when you introduce natural anti-inflammatories to your diet. They may interfere with other medications.

Start Eating More Vitamin D

Vitamin D is fairly common but… if you don’t spend much time in the sun and you don’t eat a lot of eggs, sardines and dairy products, it’s also possible that you’re a little low on the stuff in your body. That’s a problem because it helps promote healthy joints.

This is easy to remedy, however, and you can buy Vitamin D supplements on Amazon.

Alternatively, eat more eggs, sardines, and dairy. I love cheese. Just don’t eat too much cheese or it will make you fatter. Healthy eating is harder than it looks sometimes.

Take Your Prescription Medication

Don’t skip a day. Don’t decide that because you feel less pain today that you’re “cured”. Arthritis doesn’t work like that, I wish it did.

Take the medicines your doctor gives you and use them on the basis that he recommends. You cannot feel better in the long-term without using a long-term treatment for your condition.

The less regularly you use a medication, the less it will work and the more pain you will feel. It’s that simple.

Declutter Your Living Environment

Arthritis, particularly in older people but also in the young, can make it more likely that you will trip and fall. The more clutter you have around your home, the more trip hazards you have. See where this is heading?

So, to avoid braining yourself on the coffee table in the living room, it’s time to have a thorough clean out of junk and make sure everything you do keep is put away in its proper place, so you can’t fall over it.

Jane has even trained our children on how important it is not to put things down so that daddy might fall over them. Bless their hearts they do try to make sure that everything goes away at the end of the day too.

Start Sleeping Well

If you need it, ask your doctor for a little chemical assistance to sleep. It’s a nasty circle when you stop sleeping, this increases your pain, which makes it harder to sleep, that can drive someone crazy.

Don’t let it. Sleep is essential to living with less pain. Make time for it and if you need help to sleep, demand it.

Reduce Stress

Massages and meditation are the magical ingredients that help me relax. Yours can be anything that works for you.

So, there you have it, a daily routine that helps reduce the pain of arthritis. 10 simple steps that I swear will make you feel better. Next week, we’re going to take a look at the final elements of arthritis pain management routine – all natural, I promise.

Until then, I hope your pain improves and if you’d like me to cover anything related to arthritis or have a story to share – please leave it in the comments below.