Gardening and Arthritis Pain

With all this rain, I hope your gardens are planted! Tomatoes and other vegetables, bushes, trees, and flower beds—tis the season to play in the dirt! But there is one problem—arthritis pain.

Whether you’re 25 or 55, you can have arthritis.  53.8 million people in the US have arthritis.  May happens to be Arthritis Awareness Month.  It seems fitting since so many of us will increase our physical activity including being more active outdoors.  But along with being more active comes more joint pain.  Gardening and being outside just gets harder.

In order to combat that arthritis pain, here are some tips. For starters, always talk to your doctor first—even before you start taking over the counter pain relievers.

• Avoid sugars and fats. Arthritis pain occurs when the cartilage between our joints wears off. Sugars and fats actually speed up that process. By avoiding them, you’re helping yourself by preserving your cartilage.
• Eat plenty of avocados, fish, and nuts. You’re looking to increase your intake of Omega 3 and 6, which are beneficial for joint pain.
• Take glucosamine for arthritis supplements. Glucosamine is an all natural substance that actually generate cartilage, found in our bodies. By taking glucosamine supplements, you’re helping your body regenerate cartilage. It is a natural arthritis pain remedy. It doesn’t cure it, but it helps provide arthritis pain relief.
• Stay active. The best thing you can do is be mobile. So go on those walks and yes—garden. Stretch before you do so you don’t hurt yourself, but do it anyway.
• Use a knee cushion when gardening.  It will cushion your knees and alleviate some of that pain by being on a soft surface versus the hard ground.

It’s so important to take care of our bones and joints. May is a reminder that we need to be more diligent about arthritis and focus on finding an arthritis pain remedy that works for us.