HealthInfo West Coast-Te Tai Poutini
Self-care for osteoarthritis
Tāu ake whakaora i te pona ngoikore
There are many things you can do to help manage your arthritis.
Keep physically active
Keeping active is one of the best things you can do to manage your osteoarthritis. It can help to reduce your pain and keep you moving. It can also restore your flexibility and protect your joints against further damage.
Some people worry that they will wear out their joint if they use it too much. But we know that regular physical activity can help to strengthen your joints, muscles and bones.
Some people also worry that pain during physical activity means they are causing harm, but it does not. Some pain is OK and will not cause harm. But if you have a lot of pain during physical activity or feel a sharp pain, you should stop. Then ask your general practice team or physiotherapist for advice.
If you have pain that is worse than usual the morning after your physical activity, consider reducing your exercise time or repetitions by half then slowly building up again. Morning stiffness can also be due to other things you did such as sitting longer than usual or other activities such as gardening.
It is important to find an activity you enjoy as you are more likely to stick with it. Excellent activities for osteoarthritis include:
- tai chi
- walking
- cycling
- swimming
- water-based exercises
- gentle exercise classes.
These exercise videos provide instructions on how to do a series of exercises at home. They and have been designed for people with hip or knee arthritis. Each weekly session takes approximately 20 minutes, and you can repeat it over the course of the week.
If you are not sure which activities are right for you, talk to your general practice team or other health professional about a Green Prescription. This includes a free consultation with a physical health advisor to create a personal activity plan suited to you. It also gives you the opportunity to take part in group physical activity sessions.
For more information see Arthritis and exercise on the Arthritis New Zealand website.
Heat and cold treatments
Heat relaxes your muscles and increases your blood circulation. Try warm baths and showers, saunas, wheat packs or hot water bottles. These can relive stiffness and pain in your arthritic joints.
Cold numbs the painful area and reduces swelling. Try applying ice packs wrapped in a towel to the painful area for no more than 15 minutes at a time.
Ask your doctor or physiotherapist whether heat or cold is best for you.
Eat well and aim for a healthy weight
There is no special diet that will make your arthritis better, but the Mediterranean diet may help.
Being overweight increases the strain on your weight-bearing joints such as your knees and your hips. Losing 5 to 10% of your weight (for example, losing 5 to 10 kg if you weigh 100 kg) can help to relieve some strain on your joints and reduce your pain. Read about How to lose weight.
Learn how to manage pain
Arthritis is a changeable condition. Some days you may have no pain and other days you will. Having pain can be the hardest part of having arthritis. Healthy lifestyle changes such as, eating well and staying active can be very helpful. So can having a good sleep routine and managing stress. Self-care for chronic pain has more information about how you can help manage your pain.
Retrain Pain is a free course that teaches you techniques for overcoming chronic (persistent) pain. Through a series of one-minute videos, it uses a science-based approach to reducing symptoms.
Find out about aids and devices
There are many aids and devices for osteoarthritis that can make a big improvement to your day-to-day activities.
Contact Arthritis Assist
Arthritis New Zealand has a service called Arthritis Assist that can help you to live well with osteoarthritis. The Arthritis Assist team consists of health coaches, a healthcare educator and a pharmacist. They can answer your questions and provide information and support. They can also provide information about ways to live well with osteoarthritis. To contact an Arthritis Assist educator, phone 0800-663-463 or fill in this online self-referral form. Arthritis New Zealand also provides a range of other services and resources.
Have regular check-ups with your general practice team
Have regular check-ups with your general practice team. They will monitor your symptoms and check whether any treatments are working for you.
Your general practice team may refer you to a dietitian for support to lose weight, a physiotherapist or a podiatrist. They may also refer you to Green Prescription.
Find out about financial support
There is funding that your general practice team might be able to use to reduce the cost of your health care. See Funding schemes at your general practice.
To find out about the disability allowance benefit, see Disability allowance.
Transport and parking has information about mobility parking permits, the Total Mobility half-price taxi scheme, and other transport options.
HealthInfo recommends the following videos
- University of Melbourne Centre for Health, Exercise & Sports Medicine – Words of wisdom about living with osteoarthritis
Advice about living with osteoarthritis from people who have osteoarthritis.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Arthritis New Zealand – Living well with arthritis
A variety of advice about ways to help you cope with pain and live well with arthritis.
- FREE from Knee Pain, University of Otago
Information for people with knee arthritis, including videos.
On the next page: Treating osteoarthritis
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed July 2024.
SourcesReview key: HIOST-35589
