During the holidays, you want to focus on family, fun, and the traditions you love. But if you ignore managing your joint pain, a flare-up can sideline you and cause you to miss out on holiday events or reduce your ability to fully participate.
Whether your joint pain comes from a healing injury or a chronic condition like rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, you can take steps to support and protect your joints, lessening the likelihood of an untimely flare-up.
At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, located in Tomball, Kingwood, and Conroe, Texas, Dr. Michael Blackwell supports new and existing patients with managing joint pain. He specializes in hand and wrist conditions, foot and ankle joint pain, and other related conditions. In this blog, he offers advice on how to handle joint pain and the holiday season.
The joints that connect your bones are key to movement. You have major joints in your knees, hips, ankles, arms, wrists, and your shoulders. Your spine contains many small joints to allow for a full range of flexible mobility.
Any of these joints can become damaged due to an injury or condition. Damaged joints may not move freely or fully, and often cause pain. If you’ve suffered from a joint injury, or live with a condition like arthritis, lupus, Lyme disease, or bone cancer, joint pain may be a common problem for you.
During the holiday season, joint pain may complicate your travel or hosting plans. If you push yourself too hard, or too far outside of your limits, you may end up suffering from a flare-up with worsened symptoms. Build your plans around your pain care needs, and you won’t find your symptoms flaring up out of control.
Activities like outdoor walks, decorating, or cooking may aggravate your joint pain. Take care to respect your limits and give your body the support it needs. Let loved ones know about accommodations that relieve your symptoms, and don’t push past your pain.
You can use these strategies to relieve joint pain, allowing you to participate more fully in holiday fun.
Take over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin or ibuprofen. These medications relieve your symptoms. Watch out for dosage information, as taking these medications too often or at high doses can cause complications for your stomach or even your heart. Remember that taking acetaminophen while drinking alcohol can stress your kidneys or liver.
Other medications may help with your joint pain, as well. Talk to Dr. Blackwell about muscle relaxants, antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs, or pain relief creams for ongoing symptom relief. You may also benefit from joint pain injections, which Dr. Blackwell can schedule ahead of time for optimum support during the busiest parts of your holiday season.
You can use heat and cold therapy to address joint pain and inflammation. Ice painful joints for 15-20 minutes several times a day, or use heat therapy to relax the muscles that support your problem joints.
What else can you do to support painful joints? Try using a protective brace or wrap when you’re busy or away from home. A compression wrap may also improve your comfort.
For personalized advice on getting through the holidays without aggravating your joint pain unnecessarily, contact Dr. Blackwell at the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine today. Book your initial consultation appointment online or over the phone without delay.
