Nocturnal Joint Pain: Useful Information
If you suffer from arthritis, it means that night joint pain has often kept you awake. This symptom is quite common, being one of the causes of insomnia.
Why does it appear? Is there an effective way to relieve pain? First of all, it is necessary to clarify one thing: in general, there is no cure for pain caused by arthritis.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, there are effective treatments to relieve joint pain to improve quality of life, but the pain is irreversible.
For your general well-being and, above all, to relieve nocturnal joint pain, consider the following tips.
Why are nocturnal joint pain more acute?
Daytime activity
During the day you move around the house, grab various objects, go up or down stairs, you are in constant motion… All these activities “heat” the joints and, although you feel a slight pain, it becomes much more pronounced only at night, when you stop moving .
Adrenal fatigue
You’ve probably heard of adrenal fatigue, also called chronic fatigue. It is related to the adrenal glands and the stimulation of the nervous system which causes pain, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, lack of appetite…
This discomfort is one of the causes of the intensification of pain at night.
Arthritis is a chronic pain that mainly affects women. We recommend that you resort to natural treatments to improve it.
Stress
If your day is full of tension, worries, anxiety and stress that you cannot manage in a healthy way, they will raise your cortisol levels in your blood.
Eating
As you already know, it has been found that certain compounds in the foods we eat daily cause inflammation and promote the storage of toxins in the body.
One of the causes of arthritis is the infection caused by certain external agents that enter the body and weaken the immune system.
An unhealthy diet, rich in fats, sugars and processed foods intensifies pain and inflammation, especially at the end of the day.
Sedentary lifestyle and immobility
If you spend all day sitting on the couch or you think it is better to keep your joints still during the day, the pain may be unbearable when night falls.
The reason? When the joints are immobile, they become stiff and inflexible. If you practice a few simple stretches in the morning and evening, you will reduce the pain.
Tips to relieve nocturnal joint pain
1. Nutrition
Although arthritis can have many causes, one way to improve your quality of life is diet.
A proper diet helps to restore cartilage, nourish bones and prevent inflammation.
Here are the best foods:
- Salmon
- Trout
- Avocado
- Gelatine
- Flaxseed
- Olive oil
- Carrot
- Pepper
- Tomatoes
- Artichoke
- Lemon
- Grapefruit
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Strawberries
- cranberry
- Red grapes
- Cherries
- Plums
- NUTS
- peanuts
- ALMOND
- Black chocolate
- Ginger
- Caraway
- Garlic
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Spinach
- Egg yolk
- Brown rice
- Cereals with added vitamin D.
2. Therapy based on hot / cold alternation
One hour before bedtime, prepare the following:
- A bag of ice cubes.
- A tub of hot (not boiled) water in which you added three sprigs of rosemary.
- Apply the ice pack to the affected area and hold it for 20 seconds.
- Then soak the joint in the tub with hot water.
- Repeat these steps 5 times until the pain is relieved.
3. The best natural painkiller
Ginger tea
ingredients
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- It is very simple, bring the water to a boil, then add the ginger and honey. Bring everything to a boil for 15 minutes, then take the pot off the heat and let the tea cool.
When to drink it?
- One for breakfast and one before bed.
4. Slight stretches before bed
- If you do a few light exercises, both the cartilage and the joint itself will be more flexible.
- An effective way to relieve joint pain is knitting, if arthritis affects your hands and fingers.
- If your knees are upset, you can stretch your legs. Attach some small weights to your ankles and lift each leg 5 times. You will feel relief from the pain when you sit in bed.
