Does Yoga help relieve arthritis pain? If so, what type of Yoga?
I аm іn debilitating pain frοm arthritis аnd саnnοt sleep аt night. Nοt even pain pills аrе working. I heard thаt Yoga іѕ gοοd fοr arthritis. If ѕο, саn anyone tеll mе whаt poses hеlр? Whаt type οf Yoga іѕ gοοd fοr arthritis pain? Hаѕ anyone bееn cured οf arthritis bу doing Yoga?
If not yoga,acupressure works really well.I have used it on my wife for over 30 years and it has helped her. Another thing to try is WD-40 on the joints.Sounds odd,but it actually works.
I saw this post and your other post and I really feel you need to understand a few things so that you can make a FULLY informed decision.
You did not mention what analgesics and muscle relaxants (as you mentioned in your other post) you take but just because whatever you take does not help enough does not mean you can’t control your pain. Do you have Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)?
If it is possible you should see a pain specialist or at least a doctor with a good understanding of pain physiology, the different pharmacological effects between drugs, and someone who is comfortable prescribing. It is not uncommon for multiple medications to be required to have pain control with only minimal side effects. Unfortunately it can take time to find the best medication so you may need to try several things and if your pain is moderate to severe and constant or almost constant you really should talk with your doctor about using a controlled-release medication that you take either once or twice a day to provide 24hrs of pain relief. I think you mentioned that what you take has acetaminophen? If you take hydrocodone or codeine in particular then you likely need to talk with you doctor about stronger opioids. And often people with significant pain are given hypnotics to help them sleep (also not sleeping well can end up increasing pain).
People who take opioids due to chronic pain typically take a controlled release drug like
MS Contin (morphine sulfate continuous-release) and OxyContin (oxycodone continuous-release). In addition most people will take break threw pain medication to take when pain spikes and the continuous-release drug can’t control it. So fast acting drugs like OxyIR (oxycodone), morphine sulfate, Dilaudid (hydromorphone), and Opana/Numorphan (oxymorphone).
If you speak with a pain specialist and you really talk about the severity of the pain and how it has impacted your life you will most likely get a lot of good answers so you know what is available.
A large part of the reason I answered is because if people need pain medication but they refuse to take it, they don’t take enough, or they don’t tell the doctor how bad the pain is and often just present a smaller amount of mediation is fine.
Unfortunately people who do NOT get proper pain control have a much greater risk of developing worse pain, there is a higher risk of imprisonment, risk of disability, risk of developing severe depression, anxiety, or insomnia, there is a GREATER risk of developing a substance abuse problem, and several other things. So aside from making yourself miserable by not taking proper analgesics you actually do put yourself in a more dangerous situation.
Having said that, personally being a person with chronic pain and having a substantial a medical perspective I would hate for you to just think one or two medications failed and there is no more possible help. I think on your other question you said this is a new diagnosis and I will tell you that people with chronic pain will typically have a hard time in many other ways because chronic pain will play with your head and it easily leads to depression and anxiety. And if you are one of the people who tried conventional treatment and it failed and opioids are the major option it can take time to accept that and (as corny and melodramatic as it sounds) it can take time to accept your situation and where you are. Many people with chronic pain will actually see a therapist a few times because many people need a few sessions and it can be extremely helpful.
When it comes to yoga and other “natural” treatments they are, at best, complimentary to the more conventional approach. NOTHING (as least right now) can cure arthritis. Yoga can help people relax and unwind but there really is not much that shows yoga is an effective treatment, especially for pain. If it does work (and based on the severity of the pain you describe) it won’t be able to eliminate or even significantly reduce the pain.
What you need is to talk to experts on pain. Physiotherapy may be useful, cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to help but the best treatment is multidisciplinary. Most of the time medication alone is not as useful as medication and other things.
Lastly pain medication is somewhat complex and people develop tolerance (a perfectly normal thing) to opioids so a dose that may have once worked may not help anymore. It is also common and effective to use adjacent medication to help with specific types of pain and to increase the efficacy of the opioid. Tylenol (acetaminophen), NSAID’s like ibuprofen, muscle relaxants (especially diazepam, carisoprodol, and orphenadrine), hypnotics (for sleep), and many other drugs ranging from drugs to lower blood pressure to amphetamines. And as long as you do not take too much acetaminophen (over 1 gram at a time or over 4 grams a day) you will be fine and since a huge number of drugs just have the opioid it is not a problem.
Matthieu has provided you with an exceptionally fine and balanced answer – as he points out Yoga is a good compliment to a treatment regime that includes all weapons in the battle against arthritis pain…
I started doing yoga after a bad car accident years ago – not just to increase flexibility, but to deal with stress. The physcian in charge of my physical rehab actually prescribed it – so doctors are often aware that it is available to use as treatment – I would speak to yours regarding adding it to your care.
Plug your zip code into the search feature on the page here – and then give your local chapter a call – they might be able to point you in a good direction
http://www.arthritis.org/