An Arthritis Diagnosis Doesn't Mean The End Of Your Fun

Arthritis is not a laughing matter and can happen to anyone at anytime.

Avoid smoking cigarettes, yours or anyone else's. Nicotine slows blood flow to the extremities which can reduce inflammation short term. In the long-term though, your joints can also suffer longer term damage from a decreased flow of blood.

You should consult a doctor before you begin any exercise regimen.

Getting enough sleep is very important for dealing with arthritis. Your body can't properly heal or fight the pain and inflammation if you don't get enough sleep. The optimum amount of sleep is eight hours per night, more if the stress level is high. Your body both will reap great benefits of sleep.

Unlike some medical problems, moderate alcohol consumption has been shown in studies to not worsen the condition.

You may want to consider brushing up on managing time management skills or adding light exercise to help you cope with stress.

Always consider how you are treating your joints. Even a small task can cause pain or difficulty if you are arthritic. Instead of lifting items, slide them along tabletops or the floor whenever possible, or simply ask for someone else's assistance. You can eliminate pain by keeping yourself from irritation and inflammation.

Acupuncture is great for chronic arthritis. Acupuncture has been proven to help ease the pain caused by arthritis. If you choose to give acupuncture a try, be sure that you keep it up, otherwise one time is not going to be much help overall.

If you remember to follow these guidelines, you can continue to develop yourself as an athlete without giving in to arthritis. Do your best to keep arthritis from impacting your physical and emotional health. You can give a variety of things a try and get control of the pain. Try not to let yourself get down and remember that you can overcome this.