Millions of Americans suffer from arthritis. It can be a painful and debilitating disease. This article will give you suggestions on how to deal with the pain of arthritis. You should feel the ease of pain with these tips, they may not get rid of it completely, but you should feel relief.

Talk to your doctor before stopping or starting a medication. Medications react to change differently and stopping a medicine suddenly can potentially have serious health risks.

Try pushing the clippers down with the heel of one of your hands to cut your fingernails. Just make sure you other hand is laying on something sturdy. It will alleviate the need to use fingers that could be sensitive, and make the entire process easier.

If you’re dealing with arthritis, you should never skip quality sleep. You will be sabotaging any other efforts you make to deal with arthritis pain if you try to employ them while you have a sleep deficit. The optimum amount of sleep is eight hours per night, and up to ten hours if your stress level is high. You will see wonderful benefits from good quality sleep.

Newly constructed homes can be modified to make living with your arthritis more manageable. Sit and speak with your builder to create a list. These simple modifications make every day easier and safer by accommodating your sore, inflamed joints.

Keep your joints in mind at all times. Very minimal tasks can be painfully difficult when suffering with arthritis. Find alternative methods of completing your daily routine to accommodate your needs. For example, you might slide an item across the floor instead of picking it up and carrying it. Never be afraid to ask for help if arthritis is interfering with your ability to lift items. Precautions such as these can keep your joints from becoming inflamed and inflexible.

It can be beneficial to detect arthritis symptoms early to prevent the onset of the disease. One common cause of arthritis later in life is poor typing technique. Keep the hands a good level with the keyboard and make sure you have a mouse pad. This position will reduce strain to your hands and prevent problems from developing later in life.

To help ease the pain and discomfort of arthritis, experiment with different relaxation and stress relief techniques. The chemicals released by your body when you are stressed can aggravate your arthritis and increase your sensitivity to pain. Consider practicing new time management techniques or adding a light exercise routine to your daily routine to reduce the effects of stress.

Incorporate stretching into your daily schedule. Loss of range of motion in limbs and flexibility of joints are big problems for people with arthritis. If you stretch every muscle daily it can delay or prevent flexibility loss. Do your stretching head-to-toe in reverse, starting at the bottom and working your way up.

Patients that are afflicted with osteoarthritis in either or both knees should ask their arthritis specialists about electrical stimulation therapy. This type of treatment has been shown to be great at reducing pain and swelling in the knees due to arthritis.

Keep your protein levels up. If you have arthritis, your body needs more proteins than before. Vegetarians are especially at risk for protein deficiency if they have arthritis because meat is the richest source of protein. If you don’t eat meat, double the amount of protein you get from other sources to keep pain or inflammation associated with arthritis to a minimum.

You will have to become accustomed to establishing and reinforcing boundaries for your limitations. Some tasks will become harder as your condition progresses. If you feel pressured or guilty, the situation can be worsened, so you need to remind yourself that you’re not at fault. If you have to give up some tasks to help your body, you should not beat yourself up!

Use special devices to help you perform certain activities. For example, choose items which can help to make long periods of standing or lifting heavy objects easier and less damaging. Avoiding these difficult tasks can mean avoiding joint damage and pain, so keep yourself safe.

Arthritis sufferers can’t manage their disease alone; they need a team full of supportive people to help them. It is important to have doctors, family and friends who are always there for you and sympathize with your condition. Your physician may also be able to recommend a support group for you to attend.

You should aim for adequate rest regularly. You will feel much better after getting a full nights sleep because your body was able to properly rest and repair itself. Pay attention to the little things that could inhibit proper sleep, including bright objects such as alarm clock lights, cellular telephones and night lights.

Hopefully, you’ve learned a valuable tip or two that you can use to fight the discomfort or pain caused by your arthritis. Remember, these are only a few of the many pieces of advice that are out there and if nothing here helps, don’t give up your search! Eventually, you’ll find something that works for you.