Arthritis question?

[telophase]

Any of you out there with arthritis, what are some things that help the pain for you? This is one of the places where a cursory web search reveals a lot of noise obscuring the signal, with lots of recommendations of stuff from people trying to sell you said stuff.

I don't get lasting soreness now that I've got The Sandals and I'm not bending my foot as I walk*, but at seemingly random times, the joint in my foot will just hurt - I'd characterize it as a burning sensation - for 15-30 seconds or so. And then stop. I think it tends to go with the foot being physically overstressed or accidentally bending, like when I'm curled up on the couch and my foot is pressed into the cushion before I realize it.

Long-term goals are, of course, to get back to exercising and eating less to lose weight in order to put less pressure on the joint, but that's not too good in the short term. :)


* Although bare or sock feet on hardwood floors mean I shuffle reasonably slowly in the house, as bending my foot is guaranteed to make it hurt later. :) If I'm doing a lot of walking within the house, like unpacking stuff, I leave my shoes on, because I can walk normal speed** without worrying about it.

** Which is slower than most, I grant.

Comments

[the-z.livejournal.com]

My mom's foot doctor gave her stretches to do and then recommended heat treatment followed by cold packs. While she was waitressing (and listening to doctor's advice) she said it worked wonders!

I hurt my ligaments over the summer. Foot pain is just slow to heal (heel? *rimshot). When it's being particularly bothersome, though, I use heat treatment or ask for a massage in the area.

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

Does your foot cramp as well? I get that sudden pain too. With mine, the doctor said something about an impingement and prescribed an ankle brace.

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

Ice, anti-inflamatories, and some gentle stretching even if I'm in pain. Moving the joint gently loosens things up. I also like Tiger Balm (regular, extra strength, and liniment) to cut pain a bit. It does burn a bit if you put it on skin that's been freshly washed in hot water.

I swear by massage. My arthritis causes me to tense up, eventually all over.

Good socks are key for me. I swear by smartwool cushion socks and also by my Keen sandals. I wear my sandals in the house most of the time.

I hope some of those things help!

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

Oh, I forgot one! If you can, elevate it to reduce swelling. That helps me and is one of the main reasons I got the LazyBoy. :D

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

Hot bath every evening when it gets chilly. Socks indoors. Lost some weight to see if that will help. Yoga has been helping a bit with my feet, believe it or not. XD

Sometimes there is nothing for it but to take a painkiller. In the winter I feel it especially bad and sometimes I'm up all night from the pain in my legs.

[puppleball.livejournal.com]

Like everyone else, heat works best. I even now have a heating pad that lives at WC's place.

Celebrex was working, but not anymore, so I'm going to a specialist in a few weeks.

OTC ointments only work for so long before they stop, but I found rotating between different ones works well. Tiger Balm, Capsicum Cream (forget the brand name, it's in a red tube) and Icy Hot are all in the rotation along with Lush's Wiccy Magic Massage bar. I need to try the Sore Labors when it's back in stock.

When IBprofin and Tylenol used to work, I'd take the tylenol arthritis, worked great. I found it worked best combined with a normal does of ibprofin in the morning, then the tylenol about 2 hours later. I could actually get away with a regular does of tylenol arthritis for the majority of the day.

The best treatment, which is impractical, heat and sleep. I don't feel the pain when I'm passed out, so why be awake *smirk*