Joint pain
If you’re one of the ten million people in the UK who regularly experience joint pain, our expert advice could help
“Aim to reduce your current pain levels while trying to strengthen the tissues around your joints with exercise to prevent pain in the future”
Achy joints become increasingly common as we get older and are mostly due to osteoarthritis and strain on the tendons and ligaments that surround the joint,” says Dr Trisha. “If a joint swells suddenly, or becomes hot and red, you should check the diagnosis with your GP, but otherwise it’s reasonable to assume it’s arthritis and treat it as such. “We used to describe osteoarthritis as simply ‘wear and tear’ of the joints but we now know there is a mild degree of inflammation going on, so taking an anti-inflammatory approach may help. Some dietary supplements have an anti-inflammatory effect, for example curcumin (extracted from turmeric), GOPO (an extract of rosehip) or glucosamine, so try these for a month or two to see if things improve. Available from health food shops. “Anti-inflammatory painkillers (or NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen will help too – but they can also irritate your stomach lining and there is a chance of gastrointestinal bleeding. If you’re worried or have been advised not to take NSAIDs, paracetamol may be a better choice. “You could try a topical NSAID cream on your joints, such as diclofenac, but these can still affect the stomach. An alternative is treatments that warm the joint – apply hot packs or a cream based on capsaicin (extracted from chili peppers) that induce heat in the tissues around the joint and reduce pain.”
Exercise helps
“Gentle exercise can make a big difference to join pain,” says physiotherapist Rachel Bromley. “Exercise helps to strengthen the muscles around the joint. Walking, swimming or a gentle low-impact exercise class such as yoga or Pilates can be of huge benefit. “Improving the range of movement in the joints is also important – starting the day with some gentle stretching exercises, for example, shoulder rolls or hugging your knees towards your chest before getting out of bed, can really help to keep the joints supple. “It is important to keep active within your limits of pain – exercise should not make the pain worse. If you are unsure of which exercises you should be doing, please seek advice from a local physiotherapist (via your GP or privately). They will assess your aching joints and prescribe a suitable, simple exercise programme to help you.