Arthritis & Weight
Aside from watching the types of food you eat, one of the other most important things you can do is control the amount of food you eat. But why is this so important?
The problem is that being overweight puts a huge burden on weight-bearing joints in your back, hips, knees, ankles and feet, when they may already be damaged or under strain. And any effect of your weight can be magnified by four to five times in the joint itself.
Change what you eat to lose weight permanently
It's important to eat foods that have a lot of vitamins and minerals per calorie, such as fruit and vegetables. Also eat starchy foods like bread, potatoes, rice, and pasta. Wholemeal versions are even better for you - they supply more vitamins, minerals and fibre.
Secondly, cut down on fat. The fats in food are of three kinds: saturates, mono-unsaturates, and polyunsaturates. Saturates are found mostly in biscuits, cheese, cooking fats, hard margarine, pastry, pies, meat fat, full-fat milk and dairy products and chips. Some vegetable fats are also mainly saturates. Saturated fats are the most important kind of fat to reduce: the body doesn't need them and they may actually aggravate arthritis. Softer fats and oils have more mono- and polyunsaturates but just as many calories, so limiting them is still important to lose weight.
Thirdly, cut down on sugar. It contains only calories and has no other food (nutritional) value. Try not to add sugar to food and drink. Try adding dried fruit like raisins to sweeten things like cereals. They also contain valuable minerals.
Fourthly, eat more fruit and vegetables. Four to five portions a day, according to the World Health Organisation. This will ensure your body gets important antioxidants and vitamins to help protect it during times of stress and disease. Fruit and vegetables will also help provide fibre: especially carrots, tomatoes, beetroot and broccoli.
Take regular exercise
Exercise is very important. Not only does it burn calories which would otherwise end up as fat, it also increases your strength and suppleness. Exercise is good for your general health, especially the heart and circulation. Of course, joint problems can make exercise difficult and painful, so don't overdo it. A half-hour walk every day or a walk to the local shops is still exercise and it helps.
Many people enjoy other types of exercise: swimming is good and also the water takes weight off the joints. Others prefer keep-fit classes, yoga or cycling. The most important thing is that you enjoy it and do it regularly.
Move in the right way
In addition to watching what you eat, watching how much you eat and taking regular exercise, you can also learn how to move to reduce the strain you put on your joints.
How to move without injuring yourself
- take notice of any pain you feel - it can serve as a warning
- spread the load over several joints
Use two hands
keep as much of your hand in contact with things as you can
- use larger, stronger joints
use your hip or shoulder to shut a drawer or door, rather than your hand
- hug larger objects close to your body as you carry them.
- use less effort
use labour-saving gadgets
reduce the weight of what you lift, or better still: shift not lift - slide objects along a work surface, use a trolley or wheelbarrow
- avoid positions which push your joints towards deformity
By becoming aware of how you use your hands during activities, you can identify which movements push your joints in the direction of the deformities described below.
Where your hands are concerned, the important ones are:
- avoid lifting heavy things with your wrists bent downwards
- avoid pushing down on your knuckles
- avoid pushing your fingers over towards your little finger
- avoid twisting or over-straightening your fingers
Avoid gripping things tightly
Tight grips produce a lot of strain on knuckles and thumb joints. You will tend to use a tight grip when you do things like writing, knitting and using a screwdriver. Take frequent breaks to rest your hands briefly. Reduce the length of time you spend doing them and try to relax your grip. Use padding to enlarge the grip on things such as your pen, knife, toothbrush or spanner. A rubber band stretched around the lid of that screw-top jar you are having trouble with can work wonders!
Use your joints in more stable positions
Change position from one which puts strain on joints to one which spreads the weight evenly over several joints. Try doing as follows:
- when carrying things use a grip which keeps fingers and wrists straight
- when working at a table or bench, sit or stand as close as you can, and reduce stretching and bending
- if you are standing, keep your weight so it is supported evenly through both legs, standing squarely on both feet.
How to take care of your joints
Balance rest and exercise
We have known for centuries that resting inflamed joints makes them more comfortable. However, the joints and muscles are parts of the locomotor system, the parts of the body which are involved in movement.
Without movement, your joints will stiffen and your muscles will waste away. So what should you do? The most important thing is to use your muscles and joints as much as possible without harming them. This helps retain movement and stops muscles wasting away. We also know that exercise is a good thing in general, and that exercise helps you feel better.
Avoid overdoing things. This particularly applies to tasks such as housework or gardening. Many people suffer the next day because of over-exertion on a good day. If some activity always causes problems, ask yourself if it is really essential, and if it is could it be done in an easier way (or by someone else)? But above all use both periods of activity and periods of rest to their best advantage.
Sport
If you have swollen or painful joints you should avoid contact sports such as rugby or football, and should probably avoid other violent types of exercise such as squash. Do continue with less violent activity such as badminton or walking. Always take a lot of care over your footwear if you are playing sport. Good shoes with shock-absorbing soles are essential, as is a good warm-up routine.
Swimming is the best exercise of all. The muscles can be exercised with minimal strain on the joints, and the level of activity can be varied from very mild to very strenuous. If you cannot swim, then learning to do so could be one of the best investments you can make in your future.
Many people now go to gyms or health clubs and many people with arthritis find them a valuable part of their lives. When you go, do tell the fitness instructor about your arthritis so that an appropriate exercise plan can be developed for you. Your physiotherapist can advise about this too. In general it is best to avoid exercises involving hard impact, such as step exercises.
Aquaerobics (aerobics in a swimming pool) is a very valuable form of exercise for most people.
Protect your joints
Protect your joints from unnecessary strain. There are different ways of carrying out many everyday activities, so use the methods which put the least strain on your joints. Your occupational therapist can give you detailed advice about this, and also about ways of avoiding some tasks or using simple aids or adaptations to make them easier. Help of this sort can often allow you to continue many activities.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Chair design checklist
Test any chair against this list. The one which has the most of the features you are looking for will be the one to buy.
- Firm seat cushion
- Backrest gently shaped to the contours of the back
- Comfortable headrest
- Small wings
- Filled-in sides
- Padded armrests
- No hard edge under back of knees
- Right depth of seat
- Right height (to allow bare feet to rest on floor)
- Good seat covering (not plastic)
- Right width of seat (to allow change of position)
- Correct height armrests
- Wooden ends to the armrests (for gripping)
- Shaped ends to armrests (no sharp corners)
- Armrests right length (not protruding so much as to cause instability on rising)
- Room beneath at front (to tuck feet underneath)
- Lightweight
- Accessories: table, side-pocket, stick-holder
- Overall appearance
- Removable cover made of an absorbent material such as wool or washable sheepskin
- Leg design (slightly splayed for stability, not so wide as to cause tripping)
Strong construction and materials.
Joint Care & Diet: The Essentials
- If you're overweight, try to lose weight by eating right, not by crash diets or fasting
- eat less sugar and fat, especially saturated fat
- eat more fruit and vegetables
- take plenty of calcium- and iron-rich foods
- try replacing meat with fish, especially oily fish
- try taking more essential fatty acids (EFAs). Lyprinol is an excellent source.
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