Columbia Aged Care

There are 3.85 million people in Australia who are living with arthritis. Arthritis can make even the simplest of everyday tasks difficult and painful to complete, with many people unable to enjoy the best quality of life possible.

Bluesky Healthcare have provided several simple and practical tips to help relieve the pain of arthritis, keep you mobile and make daily activities easier so you can improve on your quality of life.

1. Keep Moving
Regular exercise is one of the most effective treatments of arthritis as it helps to strengthen your muscles and bones which increases flexibility and helps to reduce pain in muscles and joints.

Some great exercises for arthritis sufferers include:

• Warm water exercises such as aqua aerobics, aqua therapy or even simply swimming laps in a pool.
• Regular walks
• Chair-based exercise classes
• Tai Chi is a gentle exercise that involves smooth, flowing movements that helps reduce pain and stiffness

2. Pace yourself and rest when you need to
When living with arthritis it is important to work out a balance between work and rest.

Break larger tasks like cooking dinner into smaller steps and rest in between each step. Don’t set high expectations – enjoying exercise, time with family and leading a happy life is much more important that cooking a five star meal or maintaining a spotless house!

3. Enjoy a good night’s sleep
Sleep helps your body recover and repair itself and most people will feel much better after a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, arthritis can make it difficult to sleep and as less sleep lowers your pain threshold this can quickly become a vicious cycle.

Owning a bed with a supportive mattress can help to put an end to this cycle and can help you achieve a better night’s sleep.

Read the full article here.

Massage is a fantastic way to ease pain, stress and improve health and well being. There are many benefits massage can have on elderly people.

Elderly massage uses a different technique to massage for younger people. There are different physiological changes that occur in the body as you age and massage therapists need to take this into account.

It is a natural trend, as we age, to become less active and massage can significantly benefit the effects ageing and less physical activity has on us.

Ezinearticles.com has provided several reasons why elderly massage is beneficial.

• Research has shown massage is a useful in the treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s as it has shown to facilitate relaxation and communication
• Assists in arthritic pain management
• Promotes natural joint lubrication – which is extremely important for arthritis sufferers
• Helps to increase strength and muscle coordination
• Boosts energy levels and mental awareness
• Can improve posture by reducing muscle tension

For most elderly people pain management is treated through pharmaceutical medications, however, massage can be used as a natural substitute to conventional medical methods as it can help ease and even eliminate pain.

Read the full article here.