newbie, just diognosed

cazpop

i have just been told i have arthritis in my neck and lower back, can anyone suggest what I can do to help myself? either exercises or foods to try?

helpline_team

Hi cazpop

Many thanks for your posting, you don’t say what type of arthritis you have, I am guessing that you have Osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis). If you have this is largely self-managed with healthy eating and exercise, aside from medication given by the GP. If you have a different type let us know and we can give you more specific information.

Just a couple of points that may be helpful, being of a good weight in relation to your height would be good. When it comes to food there is no evidence that anything would need to be eliminated unless you have an intolerance or allergy to a particular food. We often talk about healthy eating in terms of a ‘Mediterranean’ type of diet. For further information about diet and exercise please take a look at our self-management publications:
http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Selfmanagement/

The links below is to Arthritis Research UK publications, the first is for neck pain, the second for back pain, which you may find interesting:
http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/conditions/neck-pain.aspx
http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/conditions/back-pain.aspx

To find out more about peoples experiences you might like to re post on our ‘living with arthritis’ forum, here you should get far more responses. It’s also a great way of gaining support.

You are most welcome to give us a ring on our Freephone Helplines: 0808 800 4050 (weekdays 10-4) here we can give you the time to talk informally and in confidence.

Best wishes
Lynda