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7 things that can aggravate arthritis symptoms

7 things that can aggravate arthritis symptoms

Arthritis is a condition that impacts about one out of four adults in the country. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. While in the initial days, one may feel mildly irritated due to stiffness in joints, in the advanced stage, it may turn downright crippling. Besides, what is common among the arthritis types is inflammation. Here are a few things that can worsen arthritis symptoms:

Not following a workout regime
Skipping exercise during arthritis is perceived as the most logical thing to do. And why not? It will do nothing but intensify your already paining joints. Right? Well, not really! In actuality, it is the opposite. The more you engage in physical activities, the lesser stiffness and pain you will feel in the joints.

Besides that, following a well-planned workout regime with the right exercises will make the muscles around your joints more potent, reducing the perils of arthritis symptoms. Consult your doctor about the types of physical exercises you should do. Ideally, activities like yoga, swimming, and biking are considered joint-friendly.

Indulging in intense physical activities
Neither too little nor too much should be the modus operandi while working out. This is specifically applicable when you have arthritis. While exercising too little can do nothing to relieve the stiffness and pain from your joints, over exercising can worsen your joint pain, so much so that you can even suffer joint damage. So, avoid pushing yourself beyond the limit and consult a health professional for a workout plan.

Not paying attention to increasing BMI levels
When you have arthritis, maintaining your Body Mass Index is highly essential. Otherwise, your sensitive joints are prone to feel the extra load. You must note that for every 10 pounds of extra mass added to your body, the force your knees experience is intensified by 30 or 40 pounds. Therefore, to ease the strain on your joints, you must prioritize maintaining a standard BMI.

Avoiding mobility aids
While you may not want to take the support of mobility aids like walkers or canes, they are specifically designed to make you feel independent. Arthritis causes your joints to become sensitive and can give away anytime, making you fall and get injured.

Using mobility aids gives you the required additional support and lessens the risks of falling. Don’t you find it better to take the help of mobility aids and defy the limitations set by arthritis instead of giving into them by remaining on the couch?

Having processed foods
Trans fats are infamous for causing systemic inflammation in the body, and processed foods contain plenty of trans fats, used to preserve them for extended periods. To avoid trans fats, you must go through the ingredients list to find the presence of partially hydrogenated oils. Some typical processed foods containing trans fats include shortening, margarine, lard, butter, non-dairy creamer, and coconut oil.

Refined carbohydrates
Several studies testify that refined carbohydrates significantly contribute to worsening arthritis symptoms. They come in two forms— refined sugars and grains. While soft drinks and packaged baked foods like pastries, donuts, and cookies are some main sources of refined sugars, refined grains can be found in foods like white bread, white flour, and white rice.

To ensure that you avoid refined sugars at all costs, go through the ingredients list every time you intend to have a packaged food and look for fructose, glucose, and dextrose.

Additives and preservatives
While packaged foods save you from the hassles of cooking, they can quickly worsen your arthritis. Most packaged foods contain preservatives and additives like salt, aspartame, and monosodium glutamate (MSG), all infamous for their inflammatory properties. Therefore, it would be best to avoid convenience products like diet sodas and processed foods at all costs.

Living with arthritis
Arthritis is a chronic disease that affects your mobility and determines how you feel. The constant hurdles that symptoms like joint pain, inflammation, and stiffness create for your mobility can sour your mood. However, following an anti-inflammatory food regime and making progressive lifestyle alterations, living with arthritis can become far more manageable.

Consult your health professional to be more informed about things that can worsen your arthritis. Also, avoid skipping your prescribed treatments at all costs. Your doctor may typically prescribe the following remedies:

Tremfya
It is an FDA-approved remedy for treating adults with a specific kind of arthritis called psoriatic arthritis. It is injected to reduce psoriatic arthritis like stiffness, joint pain, and swelling.

Actemra
It is a biologic used to treat adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and children with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic Arthritis (PJIA) or systemic juvenile idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA). It is employed only after the application and subsequent failure of another treatment called DMARDs.

Plaquenil
It is an oral treatment whose generic name is hydroxychloroquine, mainly used for treating rheumatoid arthritis by easing symptoms like swelling, stiffness, and inflammation.

Have them religiously and apply different ways to ease arthritis symptoms so that the condition becomes manageable for you emotionally and physically.

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