How do you like this damp, cool spring weather? It’s better than a searing hot day in July, that’s for sure. Trouble is, it’s hard on those of us with arthritis. Did you know that 50% of folks over 65 have it? My husband’s physical therapist said this weather has been really rough on arthritis patients. We know it won’t last forever, but we’d like to lessen the pain without resorting to extra painkillers. Over the years, and after numerous therapy sessions, I have come to rely on these 5 home remedies for spring arthritis. All are available online,

Massaging Wrap

You can go online and find a wrap for almost every part of your body—knees, back, shoulders, whatever. The one I like was originally designed for knees but it works great on my shoulders, too. It has 3 buttons: massage, heater, timer. If it gets too hot, you can turn off the heat, and continue with a massage. If you use it a lot, you have to recharge the battery pretty often, but it’s not a big problem.

2. Cold packs

I like the ones that come with a wrap, and a strap, because you can tie them around your arm, leg, or waist while you read or watch TV. I don’t use cold packs very often, but some people alternate between heat and cold therapy. They use the heat to warm up a joint before exercise, and cold therapy to reduce the swelling afterwards.

3. Hot rolling massager

This is a little bit more complicated than the wrap . It’s a fairly heavy device, and the one I use isn’t battery operated. It’s plugged into an electric outlet. Which means that if I turn the wrong way, it’s apt to become unplugged. However, it gives a really deep massage, along with a gentle heat—actually much less heat than the massaging wrap. The first time I used it on my back, I was amazed how many sore spots I wasn’t even aware of. It’s really versatile. Can be used on shoulders, neck, back or knees. Just about anywhere you feel joint pain. It’s timed for 20 minutes, which is about as much as you can take because it gives you a pretty hard massage. But I guarantee you will sleep better that ni

Tens Unit. (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) is used for nerve related pain conditions. The machine works by sending pulses across the surface of the skin and along the nerve strands. The pulses help prevent the pain signals from reaching the brain. This is actually my favorite pain relief device because it’s so portable. I can pack it in an overnight bag if I’m going for an out of town visit. There nothing like a long road or plane trip to cause an arthritis flare up. Not to worry. 20 minutes of Tens takes care of the pain. They’re relatively inexpensive and the tabs are easily replaced.

5 Home Remedies for Spring Arthritis include heat, cold packs, tens and Bio-Freeze.
Bio-Freeze or Vicks VapoRub. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I just rub some of the menthol product, Bio Freeze, into my skin, and I’m back to sleep in minutes. Surprisingly, old fashioned Vicks VapoRub also provides menthol , with some added camphor. You’re not supposed to use Vicks all the time like you do Bio-Freeze, because the camphor can build up in your system. But it’s a good substitute if you’ve run out of Bio-Freeze.

Soon, we’ll be sweating away in the sunlight, watching the INDY 500 or having a picnic in the park on Memorial Day. Hopefully, the aches and pains will ease. But if they don’t, you can always fall back on these 5 home remedies for Arthritis.

Believe it not, when I was in college, words like hell and damn were considered cusswords. It was shocking in Gone With The Wind, when Rhett Butler told Scarlett O’Hara, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Any four letter words referring to the lower body functions were seldom used and never heard in the media. Ladies didn’t swear–at least not in public. It was thought that only ignorant, uneducated people incorporated vulgarity into everyday language. That’s all changed now. But I still believe that over use of dirty words show a poor vocabulary.

Unfortunately, most Netflix shows set in modern times seem to delight in their characters using f**k in almost every sentence that comes out of their mouths. It’s gotten really tiresome. Potty mouthed men and women seem coarse and unappealing. This was especially true in the series called “The Ranch.” It wasn’t just one or two characters, it was every single one of them. Now, it’s happening again in “Dead To Me.” Personally, I find the overuse of these words obnoxious—not only on the screen, but in real life. Which is why the historical series “Bridgerton,” was so refreshing. . I’m sure the writers would have loved having every female character use lots of F words, but they couldn’t. Only “gutter snipes,” used vulgar language in 19^th century Britain. It would not have been historically accurate.

At least network television is still adhering to certain standards of decency. If a nightly news reporter used the F word, they would probably be kicked off the air. I hope that continues, but nothing in this day and age would surprise me. .

I’m not against the occasional use of cuss words. Actually, it’s been shown to be therapeutic. As an example, scientists have found that people can relieve pain by swearing. They’ve proven that swearing, or “the use of taboo language conveying connotative information,” has pain reducing effects. Past research has demonstrated that repeating a swear word helped people tolerate physical pain. If I stub my toe, I’m liable to scream every single dirty word I’ve ever heard in my life. And when I’m done, I do feel better.

Swearing has been proven to relieve pain, but overuse of dirty words show a poor vocabulary.

But the truth is, most people aren’t experiencing intense physical pain all day long, every day in the week. So, if a person does overuse the F word , you have to wonder about their inner pain. I’d like to feel sorry for them, but the trashy talk doesn’t evoke much sympathy.

Tag: pain relief

5 HOME REMEDIES FOR SPRING ARTHRITIS

DIRTY WORDS SHOW POOR VOCABULARY