The 12th of October was arthritis day and it made me think about my mother and how brave she was. Arthritis is a common condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint. My mom had the most common type of arthritis, which was in her spine (osteoarthritis) and affects over 8 million people in the UK. It makes moving more difficult and leads to pain and stiffness. It is often associated with older people but can also affect children and young people – with 15,000 affected by arthritis in the UK. It has no cure just treatments to slow down the condition and ease the pain. Having a healthy weight and exercising can help – but this can be difficult when you are in so much pain.
Problems my mom had due to her osteoarthritis
My mom was often in so much pain but did her best not to complain. You would only really know about it because she would be less active than normal, just sitting in her chair with her TENS machine. She loved to get out and do her gardening but at times but when things got so painful even drinking a cup of coffee was too much for her. She received a motability car because she couldn’t even walk down our short garden path without being in constant pain.
Help for my mom’s osteoarthritis
As said above there wasn’t a lot that could be done to help. She tried to regularly go swimming to help with her weight and took strong pain killers. There were things that I did to help my mom around the house such as brushing down the stairs, vacuuming and making her bed – as especially with the bending it was really painful for her. In the bathroom we had grab bars fitted by the toilet, sink and in the bath to make things easier and so that she could remain more independent. We also had a bath Jacuzzi fitted – it even had aromatherapy oils that you could add to the bath too, making it further relaxing. The benefits of the spatherapy were that it gave a gentle massage effect (it had a range of different settings to how intense she wanted the bubbles); it helped muscles relax, it was a stimulant for her skin and it gave her a feeling of well-being. It was also good for my migraines – as well as being a great treat for in the bath. She also had a chair installed which meant that she could lower herself down into the bath (and back up again) – again giving her independence.
I think we take it for granted sometimes about the things that we can do and what others may find more difficult. That’s why I am glad to help tell you about Premier Bathrooms Seconds Matter campaign which highlights how much longer things can take for someone with arthritis and the difference this can make.
This is a sponsored post.