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Thanks to all these fast food chains and indoor lifestyles, more and more people are leading towards morbid obesity over time. It is one of the major causes of arthritis in America. Millions of Americans have arthritis and they claim it to be a rather unpleasant and unwanted disease that comes with a lot of discomfort and lifestyle changes. In cities like Marietta where the obesity rate is already very high, the cases of arthritis patients are also very high. Marietta is located in the 24th most obese state of America and the figure of obese people has reached 32%.
Present statistics of arthritis patients in America
As mentioned above, arthritis has indeed had a significant impact on the regular lifestyle of the affected individual. According to research and medical statistics collected from orthopedic clinics and other valid sources. Most of the patients suffering from arthritis are above the age of 18 and according to the research, more than 55 million Americans are suffering from arthritis
- Arthritis in women 23.5%
- Arthritis in men 18.1%
Overall, almost 30% of the total population is affected by arthritis.
Factors that influence arthritis patients
There are certainly major factors that contribute to the development of arthritis in a person’s body. The most common factors are:
- Obesity
- Stress
Lifestyle changes for arthritis patients
In this article, we will discuss how you can actually improve your lifestyle with arthritis.
Start moving
Many people who suffer arthritis at its worst are the ones having little to no activity in their like. Prolonged sitting and obesity are the major reasons for this cause. To add more movement to your life, you need to start moving. Start by setting yourself healthy goals that encourage movement and activity.
If you are scared of high-impact exercises like HIIT routines or gym training, you can start off with low-impact workout sessions. Some of the most common but extremely effective low-impact exercises are:
- Walking (doctors recommend 10,000 steps every day for a healthy heart and joint strength)
- Swimming
- Water aerobics
- Yoga
- Low-intensity cardio
- Dancing
Simply adding 30 minutes of these exercises along with 10k steps a day will help you improve your health significantly. If your arthritis is severe and does not allow you to move a lot, you can either break the activity or reduce your active time while gradually increasing it.
Increasing your activity will also reduce the stiffness and inflammation in muscles and joints and actually help you become more flexible.
Get in the water
When it comes to water sports, they can actually be the best friend for arthritis patients. Water can actually provide arthritis patients with warmth and add support. This can actually facilitate exercising. Experts at Marietta pain clinic actually recommend that simply soaking in warm water can actually ease the patient from the discomfort and relax their muscles.
Apart from the soaking technique, certain activities like water aerobics and swimming can actually enhance one’s muscle and joint mobility. These low-impact water sessions are extremely important as they will help you strengthen your muscles and reduce the underlying strength and stiffness on the body. The fun part is that people actually end up enjoying it.
Reduce weight and eat healthily
Maintaining healthy body weight is crucial for the overall health of the body especially your joints. In obese people, the joints are affected by the burden that lies on them due to extra pounds. This leads to the joints being deteriorated quite early, becoming stiff, and eventually leading to arthritis.
You can make a few changes in your daily lifestyle that will help you deal much better with arthritis while reducing your weight.
Some of the most useful tips that can help you with weight management are:
- Make sure that you are keeping a strict track of your caloric intake. Remember that you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight. A caloric deficit means that you must burn more calories than what you consume. Having loads of vegetables, fruits, and enough protein will help you manage your weight. Add salads and low-fat cooked meats to your meal. Healthcare experts are more inclined towards leaner protein options like chicken and fish instead of red meat. You can also add raw/unprocessed nuts for healthy fats.
- Vitamin C can actually be your best friend if you want to manage arthritis pain while keeping the weight off. Enjoy the winter and grab some fresh oranges and grapefruit juice to keep your heart and muscle health up to the par.
- Just by being a few pounds heavier while having arthritis will make your discomfort severe. It is important that you speak to your Marietta pain clinic specialist about deciding your best healthy weight. They will tell you how much weight you need to lose in order to reduce the pain.
- Apart from giving you that mind-soothing buzz, alcohol actually has the tendency to reduce pain. Many diabetics have claimed that they soothe their senses with a can of beer or so in case they are suffering from the pain of nerve damage. However, for arthritis patients, this is a bad idea. Not only alcohol will weaken your muscle strength, but it will also add unnecessary calories in your diet leading to weight gain.
Stay hydrated
If we knew the benefits of water, we would drink it all day long. Hydration is extremely important for the body. Dehydration can actually be a major issue for people suffering from arthritis. Staying dehydrated during the summers can actually make your condition worse.
Drinking plenty of water will help you remove unwanted toxins and water weight from the body. It can also significantly reduce inflammation of the muscles and the joints. Drinking an ample quantity of water can actually lubricate your joints. Joints cartilage is mostly built of water therefore, water is an important everyday ingredient for arthritis patients. If you are struggling with weight and arthritis, drinking plenty of water before a meal can actually cause you to eat lesser portions thus promoting weight loss. It can also help with gout.
Get good sleep
There are a lot of arthritis patients who have complained of not getting proper sleep. Sleep is important for the body as it helps the body heal from day to day activities and tiredness. Sleep also helps you calm the joint pain and reduce fatigue.
Suffering from insomnia and restlessness can actually increase the severity of the pain that comes with arthritis. If you are an arthritis patient looking forward to a good night’s sleep, your doctors are most likely to put you on sleeping pills during the night. However, this is only a worst-case scenario. In simpler cases just changing your daily habits and improving mobility can help you sleep better.
Conclusion
Arthritis is a common problem among Americans. Millions of people visit the orthopedic clinic to get themselves checked for this joint disease. To make your life with arthritis easier, you need to change your lifestyle and day to day habits. Adding healthy foods and introducing mobility like low-impact exercising and walking can actually help you get better. Many people who are suffering from arthritis have reported their condition to get much better after making significant changes to their lifestyle.
