4 Strategies to Deal with Rheumatoid Arthritis So It Doesn't Interfere with Your Daily Activities

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can affect not only your joints, but systems throughout your body. When you have it, your immune system attacks tissues in your body, starting with the inner linings of your joints – resulting in tenderness, swelling, and stiffness. RA can also lead you to feel chronically fatigued, feverish, and disinterested in food.

While RA is a serious disease, the right treatments and lifestyle strategies can significantly reduce its impact. 

Our compassionate team at Houston Pain Specialists, led by board-certified pain management specialist Hui Kang, MD, treats rheumatoid arthritis to improve your symptoms while lowering your risk for heart, skin, and lung complications.

Read on to learn several strategies for managing your RA so you can better thrive on a daily basis.

Prioritize sufficient nightly sleep

When you’re dealing with RA pain and discomfort, restful sleep may not come easily. Turning that around is important, given that sufficient sleep makes way for less daytime pain and fatigue.

To improve your sleep, avoid caffeine from late afternoon on and limit screen time before bed. Exercising during the day, sticking to fairly routine sleep and wake times, and maintaining a dark, cool sleep environment can help, too. 

Most adults need at least seven hours of sleep per night for overall health.

Eat a nutritious diet

A nutritious diet is especially important while managing rheumatoid arthritis. A healthy RA diet typically includes a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein sources, like fish, tofu, and beans. 

Choose primarily unsaturated fat sources, such as nuts, seeds, olive oil, and oily fish (e.g., salmon). Meanwhile, keep sugary, fried, and heavily processed fare to modest or occasional portions.

Such a diet aims to reduce inflammation in your body while keeping your immune system strong. Because a nutrient-dense diet tends to be high in satiating fiber, you may have an easier time with weight control, too.

Stay active through approved exercise 

Similar to sleep, exercise can be both challenging and very important when you have rheumatoid arthritis. Thankfully, there’s no need to sign up for a triathlon to benefit. In fact, overdoing physical activity can cause harm.

Instead, aim to engage in low-impact, moderate activities, such as walking, swimming, yoga, or biking. 

The Arthritis Foundation recommends about 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise most days, which you can break up into 2-3 sessions, if desired. Meanwhile, do some amount of weight training twice per week. 

Stay in touch with your care team

Rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive disease that can cause issues or complications you might not notice early on. By staying in touch with our team at Houston Pain Specialists, you can rest assured that any concerns, complications, or challenges you may have are addressed promptly. 

While individual needs vary, you may need a checkup every few months early on so we can track your progress, adjust your treatment plan, if needed, and answer any questions you have. In addition to routine checkups, contact our office if you notice changes, such as worsening symptoms or a lack of relief.

For periodic RA joint pain relief, we may recommend:

• Bursa injections 
• Genicular nerve block and rhizotomy 
• Hips injections
• Knees injections
• Peripheral nerve stimulation 
• Shoulders injections 

Rheumatoid arthritis injections bring rapid relief to an affected joint, often with a combination of a numbing agent and a steroid or other medication. 

Benefits may last for several months. Genicular nerve block and rhizotomy are minimally invasive procedures that interfere with pain signals to your brain, easing joint pain for days, weeks, or even years.

For personalized rheumatoid arthritis tips or to get the RA treatment you need, contact our Houston, Texas, office today to schedule an appointment. In addition to lifestyle changes and oral medication, we may suggest joint injections and physical therapy.