![\"Arthritis:](\"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/182\/2011\/02\/arthritis-hearthside.jpg\" "\\"Arthritis\\"")
<\/a>Learn more about arthritis, and how you can prevent it<\/p><\/div>\n
This winter many of\u00a0us wanted to curl up under a blanket for hours at a time, only to find our knees and hips creaking in protest upon standing. Is this stiffness the result of a winter of inactivity, or some deeper sign of aging, such as arthritis? There are 3 main types of arthritis that we are most familiar with:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Osteoarthritis <\/strong>is the most common type of arthritis and is caused when the cartilage covering the ends of our bones is gradually worn away by year of use. The bones then rub together, causing swelling, pain and inflammation. Osteoarthritis typically affects the joints that bear the majority of our weight.<\/p>\n \u2022 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) <\/strong>is a long lasting disease process, and is caused by the body\u2019s immune system attacking itself, causing inflammation in the joints, pain and swelling. RA can eventually damage surrounding tissue and nerves, and mostly affects the hands, knees and wrists.<\/p>\n \u2022 Gout <\/strong>is an age-old term which refers to the body\u2019s inability to get rid of excess uric acid, causing crystals to build up in the joints, causing severe pain and swelling. Gout typically affects the big toe, knees and wrist joint.<\/p>\n Arthritis is very common, with as many as 70 million Americans affected by the disease. Is arthritis something that we must naturally expect as we age? Maybe, but other contributing factors include gender, obesity, and work factors such as repetitive movements. There are some things we can do to lower our risk of arthritis and protect our joints from damage.<\/p>\n \u2022 Maintain a healthy weight. <\/strong>Being overweight creates more wear and tear on our joints, leading to damage, and an increased risk of arthritis.<\/p>\n \u2022 Exercise daily. <\/strong>Exercise is important to maintain the strength of our bones and joints. Choose exercises that place the least body weight on your joints. Ask your doctor or physical therapist to help design an exercise program that\u2019s right for you.<\/p>\n \u2022 Use devices and techniques at work to protect your joints. <\/strong>Use proper lifting procedures and ask your physician for guidance with any types of braces that may help protect your joints. Consider special adaptive devices such as larger handles on utensils.<\/p>\n \u2022 Eat a balanced diet. <\/strong>Having a diet that is rich in calcium, Vitamin D and other essential nutrients will help protect and support our bones and joints.<\/p>\n Remember, great support and education is at your fingertips! For more information on dealing with the effects of arthritis, contact us today! Toll free 866-808-1351. Locally 336-808-1351<\/p>\n Posting Resources for this:<\/strong><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.webmd.com\/rheumatoid-arthritis\/life-with-ra-11\/protecting-joints-with-ra?page=1<\/strong><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.webmd.com\/osteoarthritis\/guide\/arthritis-basics<\/strong><\/p>\n This information is brought to you by Hearthside Home Care and Tina Glenn<\/strong><\/p>\n Serving the Piedmont Triad since 1999<\/strong><\/p>\n Located in Greensboro NC, at 505 State Street<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 This winter many of\u00a0us wanted to curl up under a blanket for hours at a time, only to find our knees and hips creaking in protest upon standing. Is this stiffness the result of a winter of inactivity, or some deeper sign of aging, such as arthritis? There are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/988\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstlighthomecare.com\/home-healthcare-guilford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}