Hi everyone.

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Coryn70
Coryn70 Member Posts: 2
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:08 in Living with arthritis

Hi everyone I’m a new member looking for tips for pain relief I have osteoarthritis in my lower back , left hip and knees. Looking for tips for pain relef

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  • Shell_H
    Shell_H Member Posts: 548
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    Hi @Coryn70 - welcome to the online community!

    I see you have Osteoarthritis in a few joints and you're looking for help with pain relief.

    I too have OA in my knees, so I have some understanding of how you feel. My best advice is to take painkillers when you need to. It's not a bad thing to do. You can check with your pharmacist which painkillers will be safe to take for you depending on any other medication you are on. You may well already do this, I am mentioning it as I have seen some people think it is somehow bad to take painkillers, so it's worth a mention.

    Other suggestions from me involve heat - I find a hot bag or an electronically heated pad really helpful. There is trick to knowing if you should use heat or cold - *in general* if you have swelling you should use cold to help, and if you don't - especially if you feel stiff - then heat is a good idea. Hot pools are also brilliant. If you can have a hot bath that's great, otherwise an occasional trip to a spa, health club or other place with a hot tub, saun or steam room might be really helpful for you. At home, I have hot showers and use an electric heated blanket thing, as well as microwavable wheat-germ bags. Gentle exercise can also help, stretching out sore muscles and building up strength to help reduce pain on a more long term basis (make sure the exercise you do doesn't make you worse and doesn't hurt while you're doing it!)

    I've found a couple of links which may help:

    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/
    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/why-is-exercise-important/

    I'm sure our other community members will have a lot of ideas of what they use to help with pain. Do have a look around and see if there is anything else on the community which could help you.

    Lovely to meet you!

    Shell

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