| Understanding gout is very important, but it's also | | | | feel discomfort, try to stretch the joint a little further, |
| important to understand that gout exists because gout | | | | but as soon as you feel pain, stop. Exercises such as |
| is a form of arthritis. Therefore, gout arthritis can occur, | | | | Yoga and Pilates are known to benefit arthritis |
| just as other forms of arthritis can, in many joints in the | | | | sufferers. If you are interested, consult a professional |
| body aside from the big toe including: elbows, wrists, | | | | yoga or Pilate's instructor to learn safe and |
| fingers, knees, ankles, heels, and instep. | | | | recommended stretches for your condition. |
| Gout is considered to be one of the most painful | | | | 4. Exercise - Even if you are in pain you need to stay |
| rheumatic diseases. When uric acid crystal deposits | | | | active. Not using the affected muscle, joints, etc. is only |
| become lodged between two bones of a joint space | | | | going to cause stiffness and make it worse. Exercising |
| or connective tissue, or both, the deposits can lead to | | | | in warm water is beneficial for gout arthritis and |
| inflammatory arthritis. Arthritis is characterized by | | | | arthritis in general. When you are immersed in water, |
| inflammation (heat, redness and swelling), pain and | | | | your joints are under less stress which helps to |
| stiffness of a joint. The term arthritis is used to refer to | | | | alleviate some of the pain you feel. Water provides |
| over 100 different rheumatic diseases that affect the | | | | greater mobility and flexibility. It's also a good idea to |
| tissues, structures, joints, muscles and bones within the | | | | first talk to your doctor to find out if there are any |
| body. Gout accounts for an estimated 5% of all | | | | exercises he/she can recommended for your |
| arthritis cases. | | | | condition. Finally, exercising will also help you control |
| When you experience a gout attack, you will find that | | | | your weight, as being overweight can also aggravate |
| there are different ways you can treat and help | | | | your joints by causing additional stress. |
| alleviate the inflammatory arthritis pain you feel. The | | | | 5. Change your diet - eliminate all foods and |
| following are 7 easy tips to help you treat your gout | | | | beverages that are high in purines (I.E. organ meats, |
| pain: | | | | yeast and alcohol) from your diet during a gout arthritis |
| 1. Apply a cold compress - Applying a cold compress | | | | flare-up to try and reduce the uric acid levels in your |
| can be beneficial for treating inflammation and reducing | | | | blood. |
| swelling especially during the initial attack. Apply a cold | | | | 6. Relax - Get a goodnight sleep, and rest affected |
| compress (I.E. wrap an ice pack, or another frozen | | | | joints by keeping them elevated above your heart. |
| item such as a bag of frozen veggies, in a towel) to | | | | Elevation helps to improve blood flow which helps to |
| the affected area. The compress should be kept on | | | | lessen pain, and discomfort. |
| the area for 20 minutes maximum, and should be | | | | 7. Medication - NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory |
| removed for 20 minutes before repeating the process. | | | | drugs) such as ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Naprosyn), |
| 2. Warm the affected area - Apply a warm hot water | | | | etc., are commonly prescribed to treat arthritic pain and |
| bottle to aching muscles around the area to alleviate | | | | inflammation. Many NSAIDs are available |
| stiffness when the attack begins to ease. Do not apply | | | | over-the-counter. However, you should first speak to |
| warmth to an inflamed joint as this only makes | | | | your doctor before using NSAIDs as a treatment |
| inflammation worse. Apply the warm item for 30 | | | | option. |
| minutes every 2 - 3 hours. Additionally, immersing the | | | | Remember, though gout arthritis and other forms of |
| affected area in warm water, or applying a warm | | | | arthritis may be similar, they are different because of |
| moist cloth to the area also provides short-term relief. | | | | how arthritis inflammation occurs. Therefore, not all |
| 3. Stretch - To relieve stiffness and inflammation, | | | | forms of arthritis treatment may be useful to gout |
| stretch the muscles and joints affected by gout | | | | sufferers. Which is why it is a good idea to speak to |
| arthritis by slowly flexing and rotating them two or | | | | your doctor about treatment options, so you receive |
| three times per day. Only flex and rotate the joint | | | | the best treatment suggestions for your condition. |
| within limits. In other words, as soon as you begin to | | | | |