Yes, rest helps arthritis, especially during flare-ups, to reduce pain and inflammation, but it must be balanced with gentle movement and exercise to prevent stiffness and maintain mobility, so it's crucial to alternate activity and rest, listen to your body, and get quality sleep. Pushing too hard on "good days" can lead to worse symptoms, while resting completely on bad days allows recovery, but long-term, regular gentle movement is key for overall management.
Exercise. Exercise is one of the most important treatments for people with osteoarthritis, whatever your age or level of fitness. Your physical activity should include a combination of exercises to strengthen your muscles and exercises to improve your general fitness.
Arthritis flare-ups are triggered by overexertion, stress, infections, or changes in medication, but can also stem from poor sleep, weather shifts, injury, and certain foods, leading to increased joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. Common culprits include pushing joints too hard, emotional stress, illness (like a cold or strep throat), skipping meds, and even changes in barometric pressure, with triggers varying slightly between arthritis types.
If you are experiencing an arthritis flare-up, it can be helpful to take a break for a day or two while you focus on reducing pain and inflammation. In the meantime, focus on rest, ice or heat therapy, and anti-inflammatory pain medications. But after you're feeling better, you should get up and get moving again.
Nonsurgical treatments for knee arthritis
Low impact exercises such as swimming, water aerobics, walking on a level surface, and using a bicycle are often helpful to improve range of motion and strengthen the muscles. Weight loss can also reduce stress on the knee joint.
Healthcare providers agree that regular, low-impact exercise is the most important thing you can do to take care of your knee when you have knee arthritis. Walking, biking, yoga and swimming are all good options. Exercise keeps blood flowing and fluids moving through your tissues to help prevent stiffness.
Here are seven simple ways to keep your joints lubricated as you get older.
If you have arthritis, staying active can help reduce pain and stiffness. It can improve flexibility, strengthen muscles and boost endurance. It also can help you manage your weight and improve your mood.
Tips for Managing an Arthritis Flare
Although you can't “cure” arthritis or reverse any damage it's already caused, you can often manage its symptoms and may be able to improve the function of your joints. You may also be able to delay or prevent further progression of the disease. The right kind of treatment and making some lifestyle changes can help.
Your immune system can cause arthritis (including rheumatoid arthritis) when it damages your joints by mistake. Certain viral infections (including COVID-19) can trigger viral arthritis. Sometimes, arthritis happens with no cause or trigger. Providers call this idiopathic arthritis.
In this test, the second through fourth metacarpophalangeal joints (see image, lower left) or the metatarsophalangeal joints (see image, lower right) are squeezed together to test for tenderness. A positive result raises the question of an inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Because osteoarthritis involves the breakdown of cartilage, using the right approach can improve your comfort and mobility. “I generally recommend patients apply ice on painful joints to reduce pain and inflammation and use a heating pad on achy, tight muscles to help the muscles relax,” explains Dr. Box.
To stop arthritis from getting worse, manage it proactively with low-impact exercise, a healthy anti-inflammatory diet, and weight management to reduce joint stress, while also using heat/cold therapy, assistive devices, and working with your doctor for treatments like physical therapy and medication. Protecting joints during daily activities, getting enough rest, and avoiding smoking are also key steps to slow progression and manage pain.
Several vitamins have been studied for their effects on arthritis, including the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E, and vitamins D and K.
Injury to your skin. Certain medications. Bacterial infections, specifically strep throat. Other possible triggers: allergies, diet, alcohol intake, smoking and weather changes.
Arthritis pain relief involves a mix of medications (like OTC NSAIDs or acetaminophen, prescription meds), at-home therapies (heat/cold, massage, gentle exercise), topical treatments (creams/gels), and complementary options (acupuncture, TENS) to manage symptoms, reduce inflammation, and improve mobility, always consulting a doctor for personalized plans.
Go slowly.
Exercise with slow and easy movements. If you feel pain, take a break. Sharp pain and pain that's worse than the usual joint pain might mean something is wrong. Slow down if you see swelling or redness in your joints.
Massage should make your arthritis pain and stiffness feel better, not worse, says Veena Ranganath, MD, a rheumatologist at the University of California, Los Angeles Department of Medicine.
5 Best Exercises for Arthritis to Help Improve Joint Pain
Our joints require movement to stay lubricated and healthy. Sitting for long periods makes our joints stiff, which may cause discomfort and pain when we eventually get up and move around. Joint stiffness can also contribute to developing chronic inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.
For severe pain, topical NSAIDs likely won't match the effects of oral meds, but those who have mild to moderate arthritis may find relief. They come in OTC and prescription gels and creams. A Cochrane review found that diclofenac or Voltaren, ibuprofen and ketoprofen gels are the most effective.
The ingredients of Vicks VapoRub, menthol and camphor, have primarily superficial effects, but can provide a soothing sensation over an arthritic joint that is inflamed. What home remedies do you recommend for arthritis pain? Glucosamine and Chondroitin.
The Role of Vitamin D
Furthermore, some research suggests that vitamin D deficiency may be linked to an increased risk and severity of osteoarthritis, a common cause of joint pain. Ensuring adequate vitamin D levels through sunlight exposure, diet, or supplementation can be a crucial step in managing joint discomfort.
Extra-virgin olive oil can be used for more than just cooking. Rubbing a small amount on arthritic joints can ease the pain. This type of oil contains the same inflammatory enzymes as Advil. Researchers have found that 1 ½ teaspoons are equal to 200-mg of ibuprofen.