COVID – 19 AND JOINT PAIN MANAGEMENT
The main aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic is your ability to take care of yourself in the weeks and months that follow after you are infected. One of the main concerns is pain management during the infection period, especially the pain in the joints.
Managing Inflammation
Joint pain is caused by inflammation in the body, which attacks joint tissues. The condition leads to fluid in the joints, swelling, muscle damage and pain. So, you need to understand how to manage inflammation in your joints at home and for this, you need to follow the RICE system, which, when expanded, means rest, ice, compression and elevation.
Anti-inflammation Medications
At the beginning of covid-19, people were concerned whether the NSAIDs used to treat inflammation will worsen COVID infection. In truth, there is no evidence to suggest that NSAIDs worsen the COVID condition. The type of medication may differ from person to person. The right medication will depend on other medicines you are taking, co-morbidities and the sort of inflammation you have.
Avoiding flare-ups
Joint pain flare-ups are always a problem and make pain management quite challenging. The flare-ups usually occur due to the overuse of your joints, like when you overdo your exercise. Other causes of flare-ups include stress, weather, repetitive motionsss and infection.
There are few things you can do to prevent flare-ups. You can avoid flare-ups by avoiding sitting on low chairs, avoid running long distance when you are in pain, do exercises that don’t require deep bending etc.
Diet Control
In the COVID-19 condition, it is mandatory for us to stay at home and be less active. Meanwhile, we are in easy reach to the pantry, which means eating more than we need and leading to weight gain. The result is putting more weight or pressure on our body joints. It is to be understood that small changes in body weight will cause significant changes in joint pain. Diet control and healthy eating is what will control body weight and, in turn, help manage joint pain.
Exercise at Home
COVID – 19 infection does not mean you have to be inactive. There are few exercises you can do at home to strengthen your hips and knees. The most important muscles for hip and knee health is the quadriceps muscle. Extending your knees or straightening your leg out is one exercise for the particular strength. Most of these exercises do not need machines or weight systems. Thus you can use your body weight to strengthen the quadriceps muscles thus.
Consult a Doctor
If you still feel that you are unable to manage your joint pain through home care, it is time for you to consult your doctor. Your physician can talk you through steps which include medication, recommended exercises and physical therapy and if this does not give proper result, your doctor will suggest imaging tests and treatment based on the results.
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