Arthritis Pain Management Strategies for Everyday Life
For the 1 in 4 U.S. adults with arthritis [1], chronic pain can affect nearly every aspect of daily life—but it doesn’t have to keep you from living each day to the fullest. From massage therapy to braces designed specifically for arthritis support, there are many ways to relieve daily arthritis pain right at home.
In this comprehensive guide, we share practical and effective arthritis pain management strategies to incorporate into your routine.
1. Cold Therapy for Arthritis
Since the time of the ancient Greeks, people have turned to cold therapy to manage pain and swelling [2]. This time-trusted method decreases blood flow, reduces inflammation, and slows pain signals to provide relief for arthritis symptoms. The numbing and cooling effects of ice can also soothe warm or burning sensations in the joints.
How to Use Cold Therapy for Arthritis Pain
Cold therapy can help target painful swelling, flare-ups, or burning sensations, while heat therapy is usually more effective for managing day-to-day arthritis pain. Common cold therapy methods include cold packs, ice baths, and ice wraps. It is typically most effective for the first 48-72 hours following a flare-up, or until swelling goes down.
Vive Health ice wraps offer a convenient way to implement cold therapy into your daily routine. These comfortable neoprene wraps contain flexible gel packs that can be removed and frozen to provide cooling relief for everyday arthritis pain. Each wrap features adjustable straps for customized back, knee, ankle, and hip support.
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2. Heat Therapy for Arthritis
Also known as thermotherapy, heat therapy addresses pain and stiffness by applying heat to targeted areas of the body. Unlike cold therapy, heat therapy stimulates blood flow, delivering oxygen and other essential nutrients to help relax muscles and soothe stiff joints.
How to Use Heat Therapy for Arthritis Pain
While cold therapy can be a helpful tool for managing flare-ups and swelling, heat is typically best for daily soreness and stiffness. It can also be useful for soothing the discomfort that often arises during cold weather or air pressure changes. Common heat therapy strategies include heating pads, hot packs, warm towels, paraffin wax, and more.
The Vive Health heating pad is a simple way to soothe pain in the back, legs, abdomen, hip, and other areas. It’s made of soft blanket-like material for maximum comfort and comes with four adjustable heat settings to provide customizable relief for arthritis pain.
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3. Topical Arthritis Pain Relief
Topical pain-relief gels and ointments can be another useful tool for managing the daily symptoms of arthritis. These can be applied directly to aching joints for fast-acting relief. Topical methods are especially convenient for those with busy schedules who need pain relief on the go.
Best Pain Relief Gel for Arthritis
The Biofreeze pain relief gel is a NSAID-free option for topical pain management. It uses menthol and other soothing ingredients to deliver targeted relief. As the #1 clinically recommended brand for menthol-based topical pain relief, this gel is long-lasting, fast-acting, and easy to incorporate into your daily routine. It’s also available with a roll-on applicator.
4. Massage Therapy for Arthritis
Massage therapy can help enhance circulation, melt away joint stiffness, and reduce tension for targeted arthritis pain relief. Fortunately, you don’t need pricey spa appointments to access massage therapy; with tools like massage guns and wraps, you can use this method right at home.
Massage Therapy Tools for Arthritis Pain
The Hyperice Venom Go is a wearable massage wrap that combines heat with vibration to deliver targeted massage therapy at home or on the go. This device can be worn anywhere on the body and features 9 different settings for customized relief. Plus, it’s compact enough to go virtually unnoticed beneath clothing. You can also connect it to your phone to control it using the Hyperice App and Bluetooth for further customization.
Hyperice also has massage wraps specifically designed for the back, legs, and shoulder.
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5. Braces and Sleeves for Arthritis
Braces and sleeves are wearable physical therapy tools designed to provide support and pain relief to specific parts of the body, including the wrists, knees, ankles, and more. Both have similar functions but offer unique benefits:
- Braces help correct alignment and posture by limiting mobility in targeted areas, which can reduce pain and joint strain.
- Sleeves provide mild support without limiting mobility and often have additional benefits like compression or specialized pain-relieving fabric. For example, Incrediwear sleeves have semiconductor elements woven into the fabric, which simply need to touch the skin to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation.
Choosing the best arthritis braces and sleeves for your needs depends on which body part you are targeting and how much support you need. Braces offer maximum support and stabilization, while sleeves help relieve pain without compromising mobility.
Find the Best Physical Therapy Products for Arthritis Management
For millions of Americans, managing arthritis pain is a daily challenge. Joint pain, swelling, and tenderness can all have a significant impact on everyday life. With the right tools and strategies, you can discover relief for arthritis pain and get back to doing what you love.
Orthopedic Outfitters is your go-to source for high-quality physical therapy products from leading brands. Shop our physical therapy supplies online today and we’ll ship them straight to your door!
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References
1. Arthritis Workgroup - Healthy People 2030 | Health.gov. (n.d.). https://health.gov/healthypeople/about/workgroups/arthritis-workgroup
2. Allan, R., Malone, J., Alexander, J., Vorajee, S., Ihsan, M., Gregson, W., Kwiecien, S., & Mawhinney, C. (2022). Cold for centuries: a brief history of cryotherapies to improve health, injury and post-exercise recovery. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 122(5), 1153–1162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-022-04915-5