Arthritis Pain Relief

Posts Tagged ‘Gaining Weight’

by IndysMom

Heated Dog Beds ? a Great Way to Beat Arthritis in Dogs

Arthritis in dogs is more common than one may think. It is one of the most common health problems seen by veterinarians.  Unfortunately, dogs that suffer arthritis are unable to tell us about it.

Arthritis in dogs is quite common in older dogs, and it is more noticeable in the larger dogs than in the smaller ones. That doesn’t mean smaller dogs do not suffer joint problems, it is just more pronounced in the larger breeds. The larger dogs have greater difficulty moving around than the smaller ones when affected by arthritis. It is important for dog owners to be observant of their dog’s behavior and recognize the symptoms when their pet is ailing.

Your dog may have arthritis if you notice:

Your dog is favoring a limb

Your dog  has difficulty sitting down, getting up or standing

Your dog sleep more than usual. Animals reduce their metabolic rate to reduce pain.

Your dog appears to have stiff or sore joints and difficulty in walking.

Your dog doesn’t want to jump, run or climb stairs anymore

Your dog is gaining weight due to less exercise

Your dog is less active or less interested in play

Unfortunately the early warning signs of arthritis in dogs are rarely noticed by dog owners and veterinarians because animals have the tendency to ignore the discomfort until the arthritis affects the joints significantly. Arthritis in dogs can be very difficult to diagnose since the dog may not limp or appear to be in pain. Arthritis causes swelling in the joints and movement becomes restricted.

Joints have a susceptibility to any number of diseases, including arthritis. Any damage to a joint may produce arthritis. It can occur in any joint but is seen most often in the hip, elbow, knee and stifle.

It is important for your dog to rest comfortably on a bed that will help to ease the discomfort. Heated dog beds are great for dogs with arthritis or older dogs suffering from other aches. There are few better methods of letting your dog sleep off the pain than with one of these beds. Heated dog beds are equipped with built-in thermostats which allow you to control the temperature and create a snug warm place for your dog to sleep. Many have built-in thermometers that automatically adjust the warmth according to your dog’s temperature and the ambient air temperature to provide heat when needed.

I have been using heated dog beds for years for each of my dogs as they have grown older and are terrific for dogs recovering from sickness or injury. Most dogs enjoy cuddling deep into their heated beds when the weather is terrible and the nights are cold. Heated dog beds are a great idea during the winter months.

Heated dog beds have been specially designed to deal with dog’s nails and claws and are very durable.

Contrary to the belief of many people, not all dogs like to be outside and certainly no dog likes to be cold. They suffer from the cold just as we do and suffer arthritis just as we do. Do your dog a favor and ease their joints with warm and comfortable sleeping conditions. I recommend using a heated dog bed.

Deramaxx is a joint and arthritis pain pet medication for dogs to help relieve pain, stiffness, and inflammation. It is available as a beef-flavored chewable tablet and is an effective treatment for canine arthritis. Pet Meds offers Deramaxx and other pain pet meds for less, delivering right to your door. Save today on Deramaxx pet meds: www.1800petmeds.com

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New Fibromyalgia Treatment: A Breach In Pain

The first step in fibromyalgia treatment is to fix the sleep disturbance or problem of the patient with the use of tricyclics.  Amitriptyline (10–50 mg), nortriptyline (10–75 mg), and doxepin (10–25 mg) are the commonly used tricyclics. A similar drug based on pharmacology, cyclobenzaprine (10–40 mg), taken one to two hours before bedtime will put the patient’s sleep at stage 4, resulting in clinical improvements. Patients are given these drugs at a minimum dose but if needed, dose given is increased slowly. Patients should be informed of these drug’s side effects such as stomach and intestinal problems, dry mouth, gaining weight, sleepiness, and difficulty in thinking. Trazodone is also given, as well as zolpidem, as these improve the quality of sleep.

If the patient complains of restless leg syndrome, clonazepam may be effective. For depression and anxiety, duloxetine has shown benefit. It is a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) drug. Fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, citalopram, or other newer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be used as antidepressants. Other useful antidepressants are trazodone and venlafaxine. Alprazolam and lorazepam are effective for anxiety. Sometimes, a psychiatric counseling is advised.

Regular aerobic exercises, which are started after patients begin to have improved sleep and less pain and fatigue, are beneficial. Exercise is started at a low impact and low level type. After the patient has tolerated it, s/he should be exercising 20–30 min, 3–4 days a week. Regular stretching exercises are also very important.

Other fibromyalgia treatments include heat, massage, injection on tender sites with steroids or lidocaine, and acupuncture. These, however, provide only temporary relief of symptoms. Newer therapies that may help to varying degrees include biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy, and stress management and relaxation response training.

Biofeedback is a treatment procedure in which patients are going to learn to improve their health by own identification of signals from their own bodies. It helps patients to cope with their pain. One commonly used type of machine picks up electrical signals in the muscles and translates it into a form that patients can detect such as a flashing light bulb or a beeper.  If patients become tensed and wanted to relax muscles, they try to slow down the flashing or beeping.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy assumes that maladaptive or faulty thinking patterns cause maladaptive behavior and negative emotions. In the course of therapy, the patient is taught of changing his/her thoughts and attitudes about going to bed as well as his/her behavior on establishing a better nighttime routine.

Hynotherapy puts the patient in an extremely relaxed state to be able to use the therapist’s power of suggestion to trigger changes in the brain that are believed to improve both physical and mental health. This has helped people with refractory fibromyalgia.

Stress management and relaxation response training help reduce the amount of stress an individual experiences that may be related to the chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia. Stress does not cause fibromyalgia but it can contribute to worsen the case. Eliminating stress and allowing relaxation can lessen fibromyalgia’s symptoms and give a patient an overall better quality of life.

Patients may benefit from a multidisciplinary team approach. Group therapy may be more encouraging for the patient to undergo combination therapies. Patients should be taught to realize the importance of self-help in their condition.

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How to Manage Osteoarthritis Effectively and Naturally

Pain from osteoarthritis is something that even the toughest person could not bear. People suffering from this disease would agree that there are a lot of things they have to give up because of this condition. In fact, even ordinary things, such as walking, washing the dishes, running and even standing up, are quite difficult to perform when you have this bone and joint problem.

The key to getting on with your life even when you are suffering from arthritic pain is to know how to manage the disease. If you are not keen into having injections, surgeries and other invasive treatments, then you need to find practical ways to beat this condition.

Here are some tips you need to know:

Have Yourself Checked

The first thing you need to do is to determine what you are suffering from. Not all joint pains are caused by osteoarthritis. Furthermore, there are many other types of arthritis and the approach to managing each type can be different. Thus, it is imperative to have your condition examined and tested by specialists.

Be sure to seek a second opinion if the first doctor that checked you does not take clinical tests and just simply tells you that you have arthritis because you are getting old. Although a lot of elderly people are suffering from joint problems, this does not necessarily mean that osteoarthritis can not affect younger people. One of the best ways to definitively know that you indeed have osteoarthritis is getting a CT-scan of the affected area. This will also help determine the severity of your problem.

Watch Your Weight

Common sense will tell you that adding more pounds to your weight will not help alleviate the pain that you are feeling. In fact, gaining weight can exacerbate your condition. Just like a cracked glass, your joints are already fragile and additional weight could put on too much pressure on them.

Therefore, watching over your weight is crucial in the management of osteoarthritis. If you are already obese or overweight, you have to find safe ways to shed some pounds to help ease the pressure a bit. After losing several pounds, there is a big chance that you will experience a huge improvement in your condition.

Mind What You Eat

If you surf the Net or browse health books, you will realize that the list of foods to avoid can go up to a hundred. Many people give up on paying attention on what they are putting inside their mouths because of the sheer number of foods to avoid.

Actually, you can categorize the items on your to-avoid list to help you remember them better. The number one in your list should be sugar because it can make you gain weight unnecessarily. If the food has a high sugar content, it would be better to just turn your back from it. Too much caffeine and salt in your body could also trigger an arthritic attack, so beware.

Other food items that need to be eliminated or minimized in your diet are soft drinks, red meat, and foods that are loaded with flour and additives.

Don’t Just Manage The Pain

What makes osteoarthritis unbearable is the pain, but focusing on the alleviation of such pain is not the only thing you need to pay attention to. Indeed, it is perfectly all right to take painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs whenever you need them, but being dependent on them can potentially make your situation worse. Some experts believe that these medications inhibit the growth and development of new cartilage and joint tissues.

One effective way to manage this condition is by taking supplements that contain both glucosamine sulphate and chondroitin sulphate, substances that have been clinically proven to enhance bone and joint health. A product that contains these two substances on top of other natural-based ingredients is Flexcerin. If you are keen in knowing more about this product, just visit http://www.flexcerin.com/.

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