Many patients with osteoarthritis are used to living with pain, they are resigned", says Eloi Merencio Naudín, coordinator of the Pain Group of the Spanish Society of Family and Community Pharmacy (Sefac). "We have to explain to them that surely we can not take away the pain, but we can reduce it ".
And in this role, in helping the patient to improve their quality of life, the pharmacist plays a crucial role since many of the doubts about their treatment and how they can adapt to day to day can be resolved in the pharmacy that they have closer to home.
Mason Natural, Glucosamine Chondroitin, 90 Capsules, Dietary Supplement Supports Joint, Bone, and Cartilage Health, Promotes Flexibility and Helps Provide Pain Relief for Stiff Joints
Merencio states that their work is important because they can explain what medications are prescribed by the specialist, they can give them detailed information that will help the patient follow it and therefore improve before, as well as explain possible adverse reactions to medications or what other drugs or foods your treatment can interact with.
What can I do to improve?
This is one of the most frequent questions patients ask their pharmacist. The experts, in addition to helping them in aspects that include how to take the medication, how long they should follow it or whether or not they can combine it with other medications can give them other non-pharmacological recommendations that will alleviate their day to day.
These are:
Most convenient type of physical exercise
The spokesman stresses that it is convenient to perform exercises with little impact: soft bicycle without standing up, swimming, walking in the water or performing isometric exercises where the joint does not suffer impact, among others.
Adequate diet and diet habits
This point is very important. "If you are overweight you should follow a diet to lose weight since excess weight is always an aggravating factor of osteoarthritis, " he adds.
Correct the posture and use templates to reduce the impact with the ground
At this point, Merencio highlights two aspects:
- Standing: the top of the head should be aligned with the roof, the chest upright, the scapulas aligned, the knees straight, and the arches of the feet well supported to the ground and with good support.
- Sitting: the back straight, the buttocks well supported to the chair, the knees at a right angle and at the same height as the hip. The feet on the floor and the table at the height of the elbows. Try to avoid the use of chairs that are too small and that do not rotate.
Finally, the specialist emphasizes that the patient can carry out some changes that may favor the disappearance of pain, such as having a muscle mass developed to minimize the weight that the joints carry.
"They can also apply cold after a physical activity to reduce inflammation, use optimal and comfortable shoes, take a good posture and especially pay attention to health professionals .