subject: Joint Pain Management Tips [print this page] Joint pain management is basically about avoiding activities that make pain more excruciating, and concentrating more on the things that make the pain more bearable and less disturbing. Joint pain can be as a result of a dislocated joint, diseases like arthritis or an injury on a muscle or tendon. The most recommendable way to manage joint pain is to have bed rest. For someone who has chronic pain, sometimes sleeping in a given position proves to be very hard.
Lying on the back or the stomach may not be possible as well. To make the position more bearable, add a couple of cushions on the bed to give more support to the ailing joint. Massage therapy should also be used where it can. Massage not only relieves pain, but it helps to relax muscles and tendons such that, circulation is enhanced and thus the pain is decreased. Massage becomes more effective when it is used hand in hand with hot water therapy also refered to as hydrotherapy.
A hot water bottle, wrapped in a towel, should be placed beneath the joint. The warmth that radiates from the bottle plays a very important role in relieving the muscles and the joint such that, the pain subsidizes to a very minimal level. Chronic pain may sometimes not respond to these measures and the last resort may be a surgery. Surgery entails joint replacement with the purpose of eliminating the pain completely. People living with victims of chronic joint pain have a task of showing love, care and support to the victims.
They should help them with the activities that they are not able to carry on alone. For example, a person with chronic knee pain will definitely find it hard to walk on their own. They will sometimes need to be given support when standing up, sitting down or turning in bed. Help them with simple exercises that can help relieve the pain. Do not make them feel as though they are a bother every time they ask for your assistance in one or two things as far as movement is concerned.
However, do not let them become too dependent. For the patients, it is important that they do not develop an attitude of isolation. They must learn to speak out to their partners or family members about the pain variance and their emotional needs during the pain, that way, they can be helped. Whether chronic or acute, joint pain requires that the patient be put on a diet that helps deal with the pain. A diet may not be directly responsible for reducing the pain, but the components in the diet will go a long way in strengthening the joint muscles.
As such the muscles are able to subdue the pain. The kind of diet administered to the patient should be void of the kinds of food that lead to the development of the joint pain in the first place. For example, gout is believed to be caused by the consumption of excess red meat. The right diet to be consumed requires a deeper understanding of the role of certain nutrients in our bodies.
