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5 Alternative Treatments that Can Help Your Loved One Deal with Arthritis

Senior Care in Dix Hills NY

When your loved one is dealing with painful arthritis, it’s frustrating to watch him try to find relief. Working with your loved one’s senior care providers and doctors to follow the medical plan that they’ve set up is a good start, but there are other options, too. Some alternative methods have been around for hundreds of years, both for arthritis and for other health issues.

Glucosamine and Other Supplements

There aren’t any conclusive studies that show any particular supplement, glucosamine or others, work for arthritis sufferers. If your loved one’s doctor is alright with adding the supplements to your loved one’s regimen, then it can’t hurt to give them a try. If your loved one does experience good results, that can be a blessing.

TENS Therapy

TENS units, also called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation devices, are connected to your loved one’s skin with small pads. Mild electrical pulses move through the pads into your loved one’s muscles and joints. This can help to relieve pain and swelling in the muscles around joints affected by arthritis. While this can be done in your loved one’s doctor’s office, there are now home TENS units that your loved one might try.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been used for centuries to help relieve a wide variety of pain in people. The treatment involves using tiny needles inserted at the different meridians of the body to stop the pain impulses. Like supplements, acupuncture has mixed results for different people. If your loved one is open to trying it, though, acupuncture may produce some good results.

Stretching Exercises

One of the last things that some arthritis sufferers want to do when they’re in pain is to move or exercise, but it can help a great deal. Stretching and exercising muscles, especially the ones around the affected joints, helps to make them stronger and can relieve inflammation that leads to more pain. Yoga or tai chi are some good choices, but your loved one can do a variety of other gentle stretching exercises that are less formal, too.

Massage Therapy

Massage can help to improve the blood flow around your loved one’s affected muscles and joints. Regular massage can also help your loved one to deal with the stress of coping with a chronic condition. Make sure that your loved one’s massage therapist is aware of the locations of his arthritis.

Alternative remedies can work in conjunction with your loved one’s treatment plan from his doctor to help him to live a better life, even with arthritis.

If you or an aging loved one are in need of senior care services in Dix Hills, NY or the surrounding areas, contact the caring professionals at Star Multi Care Services today at (631)956-8835. We are the Right Choice for Home Health Care Services!

 

Stephen Sternbach

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