Arthritis

What you need to know:

Keeping mobile is essential for anyone with this condition as it keeps the muscles supporting the affected joints strong and healthy, which reduces the pain. The type of exercise you choose will depend very much on how much pain you have, but even a walk around the garden will help - and swimming is ideal because your painful joints are supported by the water.

Some complementary therapies can help keep you mobile, too. They include the Alexander Technique, Yoga and Reflexology, but the most important is Osteopathy.

Dietary changes that may be beneficial:

Changing your diet can also bring relief. You should eat more:

Oily fish and shellfish - for their omega-3 fatty acids
Sweet potatoes, broccoli, mango, spinach, canteloupe melons, apricots, carrots, liver (but not if you’re pregnant) - for Vitamin A and betacarotene
Citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwi fruits, peppers and dark green leafy vegetable - for Vitamin C and bioflavonoids
Olive oil, sunflower seeds, unsalted nuts and avocadoes - for vitamin E

It’s also best to avoid red meat and all meat products.

The most useful Herbs:

Ginger - the medicinal Chinese variety of this herb
Devil’s claw
Celery seeds
Angelica
Yellow dock
Prickly ash
Willow bark
Comfrey - use as a cream or infused oil to massage into the aching joints at night

The most useful Supplements:

Green-lipped mussel extract
Glucosamine
Cod liver oil
Fish oils
Pycnogenol

Homoeopathy

Homoeopaths often use Rhus toxicodhendron, Pulsatilla and Calcarea carbonica to treat this condition, but it’s best to consult a professional as the severity, cause, sites and types of arthritis vary so much.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy can be enormously relieving and there are several oils which can soothe the pain - lavender, roman chamomile, Ginger, black pepper, rosemary and juniper among them. Use them, properly diluted in a foot bath if your feet are affected, in an ordinary bath or added to a carrier oil for massage. But don’t massage any oils or dilutions of oils into areas which are inflamed.

Other useful advice:

There are several remedies which you might have sitting around in the kitchen or bathroom cupboard:

Cabbage poultices. This old country remedy really does work. Take two or three outside leaves from a dark green cabbage, bruise them with a wooden spoon, warm in a microwave, steamer, oven or on a hot radiator. When they’re still warm, but cool enough to handle, put them on the painful joints and hold in place with a tea towel or large bandage
Ginger tea. Peel and grate 1 cm of Ginger root, put into a mug with boiling water and leave for 10 minutes. Strain, allow to cool and drink with a teaspoon of honey added
Epsom salts baths. Add three tablespoons of the salts to a warm bath and soak in it for 20 minutes

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The information provided by WIS is for guidance only. Whilst it is based upon the expert advice of leading professionals, and extensive research, it is not a substitute for diagnosis by a qualified professional. Always consult your doctor, pharmacist or qualified practitioner before making any changes or additions to prescribed medication.