Top Tips to Help YOU Manage Arthritis Discomfort

Did you know that May is National Arthritis Awareness month?  To do our part in helping spread awareness about arthritis, we are offering you our top tips to help you manage your arthritis naturally.

What is arthritis?  A simple definition is a painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints.  With that simple definition comes over 100 different diseases or conditions people suffer with every day.  Arthritis can impact the lives of anyone.  Specifically, Arthritis affects MORE than 50 million adults and about 300,000 children suffer from it as well.  Women, be on the look out, as it can be more common for you than it is for men.  As all of us age though, we need to be more aware of arthritis, as it can effect all of us.

Symptoms can span a range of severity and symptoms may come and go.  Severe arthritis can contribute to chronic pain, permanent join changes, difficulty walking, inability to climb stairs, limit range of motion and make daily living difficult.

Some of the most common symptoms of arthritis include:

  • Swelling
  • Stiffness
  • Pain
  • Limited range of motion

What are some things you can do to minimize the effects of arthritis?

Know when to rest.  Don’t over do it.  Take time to care for you and your body.  Take breaks when needed – start becoming hyper aware of what your body is trying to tell you.

Alternate between cold and hot therapies.  Consider drawing a warm bath to help ease joint pain and stiffness.  Better yet, enhance your bath with soothing bath salts and essential oils.  There are many products on the market specializing in such bath treatments.  We recommend Sensoria Wellness.  Specifically the Unlock Pain Relief Collection.  It can be found HERE.  

Use items like moldable cold packs to wrap around joints to help soothe inflammation.  Don’t underestimate the power of frozen peas!  Grab a bag and place them where it hurts!  They are little pearls of cold relief which easily mold to areas of the body.

EWHS Monday 4 25 16 CanvaGet active.  Low impact exercises and exercises designed specifically for arthritis.  Our Wellness Studio offers medically supervised programs incorporating evidence-based exercises proven to be safe and effective for:

  • Conditioning your body after years of inactivity
  • Managing several chronic and acute pain conditions; spine and joint pain, musculoskeletal injuries, post-op
  • Minimizing risk of (re)injury and/or recovery time
  • Enhancing athletic performance

Maintain a healthy weight.  Minimize the stress being put on your joints.  If you can drop a few pounds, your joints will thank you for it!

Increase Muscle Mass.  Consider trying to beef up your muscle mass to help support your joints and minimize the pressure and strain they may feel.  Try low impact pilates as a way to do this.

Limber Up.  Attending restorative yoga and gentle yoga classes can help you ease the tightness in you joints.

Acupuncture.  Acupuncture can help you manage pain, assist with stiffness and other discomfort associated with arthritis.

Massage.  It helps to reduce stiffness and improve flexibility or range of motion.  Contact our office for an appointment today!  Call 727-216-3972

There are many natural and effective ways to help you get relief from the effects of arthritis.  Our office and Wellness Studio can offer you several solutions.  Visit us for a FREE consultation, get your questions answered and a plan put in place to help you stop hurting and start living!

marie-2015Dr. Marie Perkins, OTR/L, LMT, DOM, Dipl. Ac. is one of the most recognized practitioners in Palm Harbor as a “non-pharmaceutical” pain specialist.

Born and raised in Quebec City Canada, Dr. Perkins received her Bachelor Degree in Occupational Therapy from University Laval in 1993.

Her passion led her to leave everything behind and immigrated to Florida in 1995. She proceeded with acquiring her Massage Therapy license from Bahkti Academy in 1999 and her Master’s Degree in Oriental Medicine from the Florida Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2004.

Her goal for founding East West Healing Solutions was to be a pioneer in the community working at bridging the gap between Eastern and Western Medicine. She has established strong partnership with Medical Doctors, Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine, Orthopedic Surgeons, Neurologists, Pain Management Physicians, Doctors of Chiropractic, Rehabilitative Specialists, Athletic Directors, Coaches and Personal Injury Attorneys in the community proving not only that it can be done but also that a cohesive team approach is often the most efficient way to help a patient.

“Over the years I have continued to add to my knowledge in order to be able to help as many patients I possibly could. Most of the time, a joint effort from Western and Eastern Medicine is required to obtain optimal health. For that reason, patients should proactively seek a team of highly trained professionals in various fields, all working toward one common goal; the PATIENT’S best interest. Your health portfolio should be built with the same concepts as your financial portfolio; diversification is the key!,” Dr. Marie Perkins tells her patients.

East West Healing Solutions is located at:

34876 US Highway 19 N
Palm Harbor, FL 34684

Phone: 727-216-3972
Fax: 727-216-3982

Email: drmarie@eastwesthealingsolutions.com/pp3
Web: eastwesthealingsolutions.com/pp3