Throughout Australia, millions of people suffer from osteoarthritis. As a degenerative condition that can begin as early as your thirties, it can make life painful and frustrating. Fortunately, there are ways you can tackle the condition naturally. Alongside seeing your chiropractor, you can engage in simple self-help measures at home.

Losing Weight

If you're overweight or obese, your medical team will probably recommend weight loss. Losing weight reduces the amount of pressure your joints feel. When there's less pressure on them, they don't wear down as quickly. If you're struggling to lose weight, consider buddying up with someone else for moral support.

Moving More

Taking time out of your day to exercise will aid your weight loss journey. Additionally, it'll keep your joints moving, which should reduce inflammation and loss of cartilage. How you exercise will vary according to the progression of your condition. If you currently find exercise painful, try taking up swimming. The water reduces the weight on your joints, which then makes exercising easier. When you exercise, you'll strengthen the muscles that support your joints. Additionally, you'll increase your bone density, which then slows osteoarthritis down.

Seeing a Chiropractor

Your chiropractor can introduce treatments that help you combat osteoarthritis. In many cases, this means manipulating your spine to address other conditions that stop you moving around. For example, if you suffer from sciatica, you may not feel like exercising because of the pain. Using a chiropractor to reduce the pain makes moving around easier, so you're more likely to exercise and lose weight. Your chiropractor may also recommend exercises that slow the progression of your illness, which you can try at home.

Use Temperature Packs

Hot and cold packs rely on a mechanism called gate theory to disrupt your pain. When your brain detects the temperature sensation, it processes those signals and distracts you from some of the pain signals. Additionally, cold packs reduce local inflammation by narrowing the nearby blood vessels slightly. As a result, your swelling will go down and you'll experience less pressure on nearby nerves.

Tackling osteoarthritis naturally is achievable for many people. When you use measures such as exercise and weight loss, you reduce your pain in the moment and for the future. If you find that tackling the problem alone isn't working, consider making an appointment with your chiropractor. Together, you can discover more natural ways to alleviate your condition and life a life with less pain.