If you suffer from the pain and stiffness of arthritis, youcan benefit from an understanding of how your own daily habits and behaviorscontribute to your condition. Watch out for these three bad habits which canmake your condition harder to manage.
1. Drinking to Excess
Various research studies have associated alcohol consumptionwith both positive and negative effects on many kinds of ailments, includingarthritis. For instance, one study discovered a correlation between beerdrinking and higher risks of knee and hip osteoarthritis, while another foundthat red wine can actually ease symptoms.
Whatever the co*cktail of choice, too much alcohol can makesome people's arthritis worse. Too much of any kind of alcoholic beverage cantrigger flare-ups of gout, an agonizing form of arthritis caused by the buildupof uric acid in the joints. In fact, even moderate drinking can raise your goutrecurrence risk by 41 percent .
Alcohol's inflammatory effects can aggravate bothdegenerative joint pain from osteoarthritis and auto-immune conditions such asrheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis may flare up in response to aparticular type of whiskey or beer. Alcohol's effects on immune function canalso inhibit normal joint healing.
In your arthritis consultations, always discuss your alcoholintake honestly and accurately with your doctor, who can tell you whethercutting down your intake might improve your symptoms and overall wellness. Ifeven moderate drinking seems to aggravate your arthritis, you may need to giveup the habit entirely.
2. Smoking
You probably already know that smoking poses numerous healthhazards, from cancer to heart disease. You should also know, however, that thisone habit can turn a mild case of arthritis into a more debilitating one,thanks to its effects on cartilage, bone, and the body's healing processes.
The type of arthritis doesn't seem to make a difference.Osteoarthritis patients suffer accelerated joint damage because bone andcartilage tissues can't rebuild themselves properly under the effects oftobacco. The lack of a gene that helps to detoxify tobacco smoke may also makerheumatoid arthritis symptoms worse.
The impaired healing that often plagues smokers can causeadditional problems when those smokers opt for joint replacement or fusionsurgery to cope with crippling arthritis. Surgeons must perform 10 times asmany revision surgeries on smokers whose joint replacement surgeries didn'theal properly the first time.
Since smoking offers no upside and plenty of downside as adaily habit, total cessation offers the smartest strategy for removing thiscontributor to your arthritis issues. At the same time, this behavioral changecan help you reduce many other disease risks.
3. Overeating (or Eating the Wrong Things)
Unwise and/or excessive eating can impact the severity ofyour arthritis. Obesity increases the amount of pressure your weight-bearingjoints must withstand. Over time, those extra pounds can acceleratedegenerative damage and increase pain in the joints of your lower spine, hips,knees, ankles, and feet.
As noted above, uric acid buildup triggers attacks of goutif you drink too much alcohol. However, the purines that create uric acid alsoexist in high quantities in specific types of foods. Examples include organmeats, sugary foods and drinks, fatty fish, shellfish, game meats, and yeast.
Review your current dietary routine with your arthritisdoctor. You may find that the right diet plan, paired with low-impact exerciseand other helpful practices, enable you to shed extra pounds, easing the stresson your joints, while also giving you an opportunity to remove thosegout-inducing foods from your menu.
Sarasota Arthritis Center canadvise you on sensible lifestyle modifications, dietary changes, andrecommended medical treatments for your particular type of arthritis. Contactour office today to schedule an appointment.
