Patient/caregiver was educated on the measures to manage symptoms and prevent exacerbation of osteoarthritis as follows:
Compliance with exercise:
- Exercise helps to reduce pain & tenderness, improve strength & stability in the joint. Do not over do on the exercise recommended to a point that it leads to exacerbation of pain due to overuse of the joint involved.
- Check with your physician or therapist regarding recommendations for exercise to your inflamed joint. Observe compliance with exercise schedule, as recommended.
Compliance with use of assistive devices:
- Observe compliance with use of assistive devices, such as, cane, walker, and crutch. Use of the device can help reduce stress/weight on the inflamed joint, giving the joint an opportunity to heal.
- It can also improve the stability and balance, thus reducing the risk for falls & accidents in individuals with arthritis.
Compliance with use of cold and hot compresses:
- Observe compliance with use of cold and hot compresses, as needed. Cold compress reduces the blood supply to the joint, which helps with reducing the warmth and swelling in an acutely inflamed joint. Observe compliance with use of cold compress when the joint is acutely inflamed.
- Hot compress increases the blood supply to the joint, which results in warmth and can contribute to increased swelling in the painful joint. So, do not apply hot compress when the joint is red and acutely inflamed.
- Once the swelling and warmth in the joint are controlled with cold compress, hot compress could be used later to relieve spasm in the muscles around the joint and promote relaxation in the joint.
Alternative pain management:
- Behavioral techniques and alternative pain management strategies, such as, deep breathing & relaxation, acupuncture, guided imagery, and meditation can contribute to improved pain control.
- Getting enough rest and relaxation by taking warm tub bath, listening to soothing music, planning for a quiet vacation etc., can lower the stress on the painful joint and help relief.
