Joint pain is one of the most common ailments of the modern world. It affects the elderly, but it can also occur in athletes and fitness enthusiasts due to repetitive straining, as well in those who lead a sedentary lifestyle and don’t move around much during the day. The methods listed below are geared both towards people with injuries and arthritis sufferers who need a natural way of reducing inflammation and pain in their joints.
1. Remember the R.I.C.E. Mnemonic
A simple strategy for dealing with swollen joints can be remembered easily with the mnemonic R.I.C.E. which stands for:
- Rest – keeping pressure off the joint itself, and allowing your body to focus most of its energy on healing is the most important step towards ensuring that the swelling goes away quickly.
- Ice – put a towel over the area and then apply ice to it. Don’t hold ice on the area for more than 20 minutes at a time, and repeat this about 5-6 times a day until the swelling goes away.
- Compression – putting constant pressure on the affected area can help reduce the swelling and pain, and it noticeably improves your comfort level. Elastic bandages are a cheap and quick fix.
- Elevation – during the first day after you’ve experienced the swelling, you can raise the affected area (e.g. wrist, elbow, knee or ankle) above the level of your heart. This makes it difficult for more blood to readily flow into the area, and helps reduce the swelling.
Following these steps will ensure that injury-related joint pain and swelling are effectively managed, and that you get back to normal as quickly as possible.
2. Massage the Area Gently Using Natural Creams and Ointments
Massaging a sore joint can greatly help in reducing pain, swelling and stiffness, particularly when used with pain relief creams that contain proven natural ingredients. Look for creams containing Boswellia, Arnica and glucosamine as their active ingredients, as these have excellent anti-inflammatory properties, and cost very little. You can apply these natural remedies several times a day, while gently massaging the joint, and they work for both sports injuries and arthritis pain.
3. Warming up the Area Helps with Arthritis
While ice works well for reducing soreness in injured joints, for those suffering from arthritis, warmth works best, since it relaxes the muscles and reduces stiffness in the joints. Taking hot baths or hot showers when you wake up and before you go to sleep, and using heating pads if you start feeling pain throughout the day are simple ways of dealing with persistent joint pain caused by arthritis. Even something as simple as a knee sleeve or a wrist wrap can help keep the joints warm.
4. Stretch and Add Some Light, Low-Impact Exercises
Once the swelling has gone down and you’ve had enough rest for the first 2-3 days to allow your body to heal, you can start doing stretches and some light exercise in order to improve the mobility and speed up the recovery. You should avoid high-impact activities – i.e. you shouldn’t run or jump if you are experiencing significant knee or ankle pain – and stick to simple exercises like extending and flexing your limbs, and slowly add some resistance as your joints begin to feel better. Don’t put a joint under too much pressure before going through some simple mobility work first. Save the squats and pushups for later, when your joints are fully healed up.
5. Make a Few Healthy Additions to Your Diet
There are plenty of natural ingredients with excellent anti-inflammatory properties that you can add to your meals. Omega-3 fatty acids can help keep your joints healthy, so it is a good idea to include some fish, olive oil, nuts and flaxseed oil in your diet. Some researches suggest that curcumin may also be good at reducing joint pain, and it is found in Turmeric, a yellow-colored spice widely used in Indian cuisine. You don’t need to make any drastic changes to your normal diet, as it is easy to incorporate these ingredients in a large variety of different meals.
Joint pain can have a big effect on the quality of a person’s life, and is not something that should be taken lightly. Luckily, by using the strategies mentioned in this article, you can significantly reduce the pain and the discomfort that come with swollen and painful joints, and recover from physical injuries more rapidly.