Five Ways to Get Better Sleep if you Have Arthritis

Between normal stress and worry, too-much screen time on smartphones and tablets, staying up late, having to get up too early and many other reasons, getting a good night’s sleep can be elusive. Add arthritis pain into the mix and you just might find yourself on the short end of the sleep equation too often. Pain-Sleep Connection Studies show that pain and sleep are closely connected. Pain during the day can negatively impact your sleep at night and a poor night’s sleep can increase your pain the next day. To fall asleep, the mind and body must calm down. When you are in ...more

5 Ways to Advocate for Yourself

Living with arthritis can be a daily struggle. Your quality of health and life will be affected by how much you speak up for yourself. Here are some ways to be an effective self-advocate. Get Social Social media provides a platform to educate others about the impact of the disease on your life. You can connect with government officials and media outlets as you advocate for changes to healthcare policies. Shining a bright spotlight on an important issue, like medication costs, can help accelerate change. Be a Joiner Arthritis Foundation events can connect you with others living with RA. Being part of a community ...more

Arthritis Pain Relief Without Drugs

Try these 9 simple remedies to ease your pain. Here is a quick list of some popular non-drug therapies for arthritis pain relief. They may be used alone, or in conjunction with each other. Hot and cold treatments. Usually applied directly to the pain site; heat may be more useful for chronic pain, and cold packs provide relief from acute pain. Positive attitude and thoughts. Consciously switching to positive thoughts can distract your brain from feeling pain. Exercise. Keeping your joints and muscles moving helps improve your general fitness level and can decrease pain. Relaxation techniques. You can train your ...more

Empowered to Live Yes! Registration for the 2019 Advocacy Summit is Open!

Together we are empowered to Live Yes! Your story can move mountains. You have the power to influence your elected officials and break down barriers to the care everyone deserves. By sharing with and educating your lawmakers, you can break down barriers for people with arthritis. Join us in Washington, DC at the 2019 Advocacy Summit on March 11-12, 2019 to make these goals a reality. The Summit is a forum for volunteers who are dedicated to making a long-term commitment to leadership in Arthritis Foundation advocacy. It is an opportunity to both build meaningful relationships with your elected officials and cultivate the ...more

Sneak More Vegetables Into Your Arthritis Diet – Deliciously

Vegetables – with their high-fiber, nutrient-rich résumés – are the staple of a healthy diet, yet only 1 in 10 Americans eats the recommended two to three cups of veggies each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Think you don’t like their flavors? Try these dishes, which blend vegetables into favorite recipes with delicious results.  Carrot Cake Oatmeal: Simmer 1 cup steel-cut oats in 2 cups water until tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in 1 cup grated carrot, 1/3 cup ground flaxseed and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; heat 2 minutes. Top with berries, chopped nuts and a drizzle of ...more

Long Awaited Victory in Ohio – Step Therapy Reform Enacted

Major victory for Ohioans as the “lame duck” legislative session concluded!  On January 4, Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 265 into law. Ohio now joins 18 other states that have enacted laws that regulate the use of step therapy. With over 2.5 million Ohioans with doctor-diagnosed arthritis, this law will lead to a safer and more effective step therapy process for physicians and patients alike. Step therapy is the process by which a health insurer can deny coverage of a prescribed medication, requiring that the patient first try a different medicine. The patient must "fail first" on a drug chosen ...more

Five Steps to Prevent a Gout Flare

If you have gout, you know how painful a flare can be. You may wake up in the middle of the night with an intensely painful and swollen big toe or another lower joint. The area affected may feel like it’s on fire and even the weight of a bed sheet is hard to take. What Causes Gout? Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis. It often develops in people who have high uric acid levels. Uric acid is produced in the body when purines – substances that are found naturally in your body and in many foods – are broken down. A ...more

Grocery Shopping Made Easier if you Have Arthritis

Shopping for groceries can be a minefield for people with arthritis. Breakable jars of food. Unwieldy jugs of detergent. Paper bags of flour with all the stability of a bomb. The key to success: Approach the task as a logistical puzzle and employ the right combination of tools, tactics and staff assistance. Here’s how: Plan it out. Shop when you’re most energetic – even if that means taking two short trips weekly instead of one long, exhausting trip. Respect your pain and your stamina.  Shop smaller stores. They require less walking and schlepping than big-box stores.  Lift with large muscles and joints. The ...more

Six Ways to Cut Your Clutter

An uncluttered house is a safer house: Less stuff lying around means fewer tripping hazards. Follow these steps to declutter and get organized. Plan your attack. Commit to getting organized and make it happen, but pace yourself. Spread the workload over several days, even weeks. Sort. Put related items into piles or boxes. Purge.  Re-evaluate essentials and eliminate duplicates – if you haven’t used it in a year or you have more than one, it goes.  Assign a home. Take a hard look at your newfound space and decide where objects should go. They tend to pile up in certain spots, so ...more

Ring in the New Year for Personal Success

New Year’s resolutions are a mixed bag. On the one hand, you’re excited about making personal promises that put you on a new path to better living. On the other hand, you may be skeptical about setting your bar too high and setting yourself up for failure. When you have arthritis, setting goals – and achieving them – can make all the difference. Our pain management toolkit can help you keep checks and balances that work for you. Connect With the Arthritis Community Those who best understand what you’re going through are others who also face the challenges of arthritis. They commiserate with ...more