STARTING A HOLISTIC HEALTH PLAN
The care of arthritis requires a collaboration with you and the members of your healthcare team. Together, your doctors and therapists will be committed to providing the medical care you need. Meanwhile, create a wellness plan that emphasizes the health of your mind, body, and spirit.
- STEP 1: Stay connected- maintain meaningful relationships with friends and family. Participate with them in activities consistently at least for short periods of time. This will encourage healthy personal interactions that will prevent you from becoming isolated.
- STEP 2: Work on your health- there are many lifestyle risk factors that can cause arthritis flareups that you can eliminate by taking care of yourself better. Diet improvement, weight loss if you’re obese, smoking cessation, sleep hygiene, etc.
- STEP 3: Mindfulness: Be aware of what your joints go through during the day. Make modifications in your daily activities to prevent unnecessary joint aggravation from overuse whenever possible.
- STEP 4: Exercise: Do not let your arthritis prevent you from doing physical activities. Exercise can help protect your joints through strength, balance, and stability. Avoid high impact and overuse, but do just enough to keep you moving in a therapeutic way.
- STEP 5: Seek alternative treatments: complementary services like massage, acupuncture, aquatherapy, and Tai chi can help reduce stress and ease pain while connecting your mind and body in your fight against arthritis.
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