How to Reduce Your Arthritis Pain Without Medication

Living with arthritis can make everyday activities feel like a challenge. While medications can play a pivotal role in helping many people manage arthritis, they’re not ideal for everyone, especially if that plan involves ever-increasing doses.

The good news: There are simple steps you can take to help relieve arthritis pain and even slow the progression of the disease. In this post, the team at Forward Foot & Ankle offers a quick list of tips that can help you finally find meaningful relief for pain and stiffness so you can get back to the activities you love.  

Stay active

When your joints hurt, being active might sound counterproductive. But remember: Joints are made to move, and if you avoid using your joints, the pain and stiffness you’re experiencing will likely get worse.

Exercise keeps joints flexible, and it also improves circulation, which is necessary to reduce inflammation and heal damaged tissues. Being active also helps relieve stress and prevent you from feeling depressed about your discomfort.

That said, it’s important to choose the right kind of activities to avoid putting too much strain on your joints. Look for low-impact aerobic activities, like walking and swimming, and avoid high-impact activities, like running or sports that subject your joints to repetitive or extreme impacts. 

Consider physical therapy

Physical therapy uses targeted exercises and stretches to improve circulation and strengthen the muscles that support your joints. By improving muscle strength, you can offload some of that joint strain and reduce pain and inflammation at the same time.

Physical therapy is completely customizable so that it can be tailored to your symptoms and joint health. Plus, it can evolve as your needs or symptoms change, providing a long-term solution that doesn’t involve increasing doses of pain medication.

Choose the right shoes

Your footwear plays a big role in protecting your joints and reducing joint strain and pain. Supportive footwear helps align your joints so weight and pressure are distributed more evenly.

In general, choose shoes that offer plenty of room in the toe area, along with good support for your arches (the midfoot region). Stay away from high heels or shoes with flat or thin soles.

Ask about custom orthotics

Custom orthotics are special shoe inserts designed specifically for your symptoms, health needs, foot shape, and more. If you have arthritis, orthotics can help reduce pressure on your joints, providing cushioning that helps absorb impacts and strain.

Unlike store-bought inserts designed for general foot support, custom orthotics are tailored to your unique needs for real, optimal pain relief and joint protection. Our team performs a series of evaluations of your feet and your gait to ensure your orthotics are designed to help you find long-term relief from arthritis pain and stiffness.

Use hot and cold therapy

Using a heating pad or warm foot bath helps relax muscle tension and improve circulation around sore joints, while using an ice pack relieves inflammation and provides a numbing effect that dulls pain right away. 

Try using a heating pad before physical activity, followed by an ice pack afterward for a one-two punch that helps keep arthritis symptoms in check. Always protect your skin with a light cloth, and limit each session to 15-20 minutes at a time to protect your skin.

Maintain a healthy weight

Carrying extra weight puts added pressure on your joints, especially in your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. Even a small amount of weight loss can significantly reduce the stress and strain on your joints, helping relieve pain and slow the progression of arthritis.

Being more active can certainly help, and so can following a healthy eating plan rich in anti-inflammatory foods. Not sure which foods to include in your “arthritis diet”? The Arthritis Foundation offers plenty of helpful tips on its website.

Targeted therapies that work for you

Arthritis is extremely common, but it can affect people in different ways, and that means to find relief, you need a custom therapy plan tailored to your needs. Our team is ready to work with you to develop a plan that’s focused on helping you stay comfortable and mobile without relying on medication.

To learn how we can help you manage your arthritis, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Forward Foot & Ankle in Midtown Manhattan and Staten Island, New York, today.