If you have arthritis, carrying out tasks around the home can be a challenge. However, making some practical changes to your home and changing the way you work should make things easier.

 

Practical tips that could help include:

 

  • Keeping things in easy reach
  • Using a hand rail to help you get up and down the stairs
  • Using long-handled tools to pick things up or to clean
  • Fitting levers to taps to make them easier to turn
  • Using electric kitchen equipment, such as tin openers, when preparing food

 

If you have arthritis, there are a number of things you can do to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.

For example, you can:

  • Control your weight to ease pressure on your joints
  • Avoid stress or injury to your joints to prevent or reduce the severity of osteoarthritis
  • Ensure good posture to strengthen healthy joint structure
  • Use physiotherapy and a walking stick or cane to help prevent your condition getting worse
  • Ensure that you regularly undertake weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, to help prevent osteoarthritis. This type of exercise will increase the strength of the muscles that support your joints.
  • Calcium-rich foods (including dairy products, nuts, seeds and fish) and foods rich in omega-3 all contribute to a healthy, balanced diet which will help manage your arthritis. They will also reduce your risk of developing health complications such as heart disease, osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones) and obesity.