If you are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you may feel that you have a lot of restrictions on your daily activities. The pain and inflammation you experience may make you disinclined to participate in physical activities. Other aspects of daily living may be difficult as well. However, with some lifestyle changes, you can make RA more manageable, allowing you to lead a more pain-free life.
Starting a rehabilitation program
Together with your medication, physical therapy may help in managing your pain and relieving other symptoms. A good physical therapy program aims to:
- Decrease pain and stress in your joints
- Relieve joint stiffness, allowing you more freedom of movement
- Strengthen your muscles
- Increase your endurance
- Correct any joint deformities that have occurred as a result of your disease, and prevent future defects from occurring
- Improve your mental, emotional, and physical health.
Physical therapy makes use of heat modalities, such as hot packs or ultrasound, in order to lessen joint pain. Heat also conditions your joints and muscles. This prepares your joints and muscles and allows you to engage in exercise with minimal pain and injury.
Special devices called orthotics may also help with your joint problems. They provide support for your joints, as well as keeping them properly aligned. This decreases pain, as well as preventing and correcting joint deformities. Orthotic devices also help minimize swelling around your affected joints.
Occupational therapy is another important component of your rehabilitation program. With occupational therapy, you are taught techniques to help better manage your condition. Joint protection education teaches you ways to prevent injury to your joints. Your occupational therapist will show you how to maintain the correct posture and joint position that will keep your joints from becoming too stressed. You will also learn how to do activities in ways that will be the least stressful to your joints.
Since one of the effects of RA is making you feel drained of energy, occupational therapy also teaches you how to decrease your fatigue. Energy conservation education instructs you on how to perform daily tasks without expending too much energy. It also increases your overall endurance and fitness, allowing you to accomplish more.
Rehabilitation programs also provide you with assistive devices that make everyday tasks easier to perform.
However, the most vital part of any rehabilitation program for managing RA is exercise. Regular physical activity should be an integral part of your lifestyle.
Exercise for the RA patient
To minimize wear and tear on their already painful joints, many RA patients believe that complete rest is best for their condition. While you shouldn’t engage in strenuous activity when RA is active, a sedentary lifestyle is not the answer to disease management. Doctors advise rest and a decrease in activity when your joints are actively inflamed. However, when RA is inactive, exercise has proven to be very beneficial. Completely limiting your physical activity may lead to your muscles becoming smaller and weaker (a condition known as muscle atrophy).
Contrary to popular belief, proper exercise does not further damage your joints. In fact, the right exercise program can do a lot to improve your condition. A good exercise program for RA patients contains one or all of the following:
- Stretches: these condition your muscles, allowing you to progress safely to more challenging exercises. In addition, stretching exercises improve your flexibility and increase the range of motion of your joints. This can relieve the stiffness in your joints.
- Strengthening exercises (also known as strength or resistance training) build up your muscle and increase your endurance. These exercises allow you to do more activities without getting fatigued.
- Aerobic exercise (also known as cardiovascular or conditioning exercise) also increases your endurance as well as improving your general fitness level. RA can cause complications leading to heart disease, and aerobic exercise can help reduce your risk for such complications. If your RA is well-controlled, thirty minutes of aerobic exercise three to five times a week is recommended.
Other benefits of exercise in RA patients are:
- Weight management
- Reduced risk of osteoporosis
- Improved quality of sleep
- Improved ability to do daily activities
- Improved mental and emotional health
However, not all exercise is helpful to patients with RA. High impact exercises—that is, activities that cause a lot of wear and tear on your joints—should be avoided. Examples of these are running, jumping, and some forms of dance. Low impact physical activity is recommended. Good aerobic exercises for RA patients are:
- Swimming
- Walking
- Tai chi
Diet
Many specialized diets claim to provide relief for RA symptoms. None of these strict regimens have been scientifically proven to significantly improve the condition of patients with RA. However, there are certain foods and nutrients that may be beneficial in reducing pain and inflammation:
- Omega-3 fatty acids: these are substances contained in fish oil that may decrease inflammation. You may take omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil supplements, or incorporate them into your diet with fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and herring.
- Vitamin D improves the strength of your bones, as well as possibly having an effect on RA symptoms. Milk and eggs are rich sources of Vitamin D.
- Foods that contain antioxidants may also help decrease inflammation. Fruits (especially citrus fruits), vegetables, tea, coffee, and chocolate all contain antioxidants that may relieve your symptoms.
Stress management
Dealing with emotional upset and stressful issues can be very helpful for patients with RA. Emotional and mental stress may contribute to increased pain and fatigue. Talk to your doctor about options for stress management. Relaxation and meditation techniques may also help.