Arthritis Pain Relief: Everything You Need to Know

There’s no one-size-fits-all treatment approach to arthritis pain. Arthritis medication is a good starting point, but joint pain relief requires knowing which of the many different types of arthritis you have and understanding how it uniquely affects your joints compared to the next person.

Complicating matters, other health conditions such as diabetes can contribute to arthritis, making symptoms like stiffness and inflammation worse. The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that largely affects the older population. According to the World Health Organization, 73% of people with osteoarthritis are 55 years or older.

So when your arthritis flares up and it feels like your joints are on fire, what are you supposed to do? We asked our experts to explain how to get relief from arthritis pain at home.

What Causes Arthritis Pain?

Arthritis is caused by different things, depending on type. “With osteoarthritis, there is a breakdown of the cartilage that happens over time with wear and tear as you age,” says Reuben Chen, M.D., a board-certified physician specializing in sports medicine and pain management in Torrance, CA. “Without that cartilage protecting the joints, the bones end up rubbing together as the joints move, causing pain, swelling, and inflammation.”

With inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, your body is attacking healthy tissues in the body, says Dr. Chen. This results in inflammation in cartilage and synovium, the lining of your joints. With this inflammation comes pain, swelling, and sometimes the affected area can feel warm to the touch.

How to Get Arthritis Pain Relief at Home

Arthritis can be uncomfortable, making you want to move less to avoid irritating the joints that are bothering you. By staying on top of symptoms like stiffness and swelling at home, you’ll be able to help control your arthritis so that it doesn’t derail your daily routine.

Apply Heat for Stiffness

“If you have arthritis, you may feel stiffness in the morning for about 30 minutes or so after you wake up,” says Dr. Chen. “That’s because you’re not moving when you sleep, so the fluid in the joints sits there, building up and causing inflammation.”

Heat will make those stiff joints more flexible by circulating that fluid, Dr. Chen says. An easy way to get heat first thing in the morning is to take a hot shower to increase blood flow and flexibility in the joints.

Use Cold for Pain and Swelling

If you’re on your feet a lot during the day or use your hands to type at a computer, your joints may start to feel swollen and painful. Sitting with an ice pack on your fingers or feet for 10 minutes can help as it constricts blood vessels to reduce swelling.

Combining ice and heat therapy may bring you even more arthritis pain relief, says Dr. Chen. “If you rotate between cold, which decreases swelling, and then heat to bring in new blood into the area, it can help pull some of the swelling down faster,” he says. After 10 minutes of icing, try switching to a heating pad for another 10.

Keep Your Joints Moving

If you have arthritis, it’s important to move every day, says orthopedic surgeon Kevin Stone, M.D., founder of the research and joint rehabilitation facility The Stone Clinic and the chairman of the Stone Research Foundation in San Francisco, CA. Through daily exercise, you can strengthen the joints and surrounding muscles impacted by arthritis, which helps with mobility and flexibility.

“If your muscles are weak, more force goes through the joints than if your muscles are strong,” says Dr. Stone, explaining that stronger muscles can absorb some of the impact of daily activities like walking and steady your gait. As your muscles get weak, you tend to walk with a limp or an abnormal gait, which places additional stress on the joints. “Optimizing your muscle strength lets you walk better with less abnormality in the gait, use more of the joint range of motion, and not wear then joint out so fast,” he explains.

Your exercise should be tailored to the kind of arthritis you have, Dr. Stone adds. “If you’re not comfortable with walking, getting on a stationary bicycle or elliptical, going to a yoga class, Pilates, or a pool exercise program are all comfortable ways for people with arthritis to exercise every day.” A physical therapist can help develop an exercise program that’s safe and effective for you.

Balance Activity With Rest

It’s important to stay active when you have arthritis, but you don’t want exercise or activity to ever feel painful. Avoid high-impact exercise like running, jumping, or activities that repeat the same movement over and over again, says Dr. Chen.

Also, it’s a good idea to start slow, exercising one day and taking a break the next. On “off” days it’s still important to stretch. If you have access to a heated pool, Dr. Stone says that stretching in this environment will help joints loosen up, giving you a better range of motion and helping you feel not as stiff.

Try Gentle Massage

Research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that weekly massage therapy can provide short-term benefits for people with osteoarthritis in the knee, including less pain and stiffness and better range of motion.

Another study published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies found that massage therapy incorporating the use of a topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) improved hand function and grip strength in people with hand arthritis.

Gentle massage not only stimulates blood flow to arthritic joints, it can decrease the stress hormone cortisol, which is often elevated, creating a negative feedback loop when you’re feeling arthritis pain, per research in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.

Exercises That Can Ease Arthritis Pain

“If you don’t move your joints, you can’t improve blood flow to the joint,” says Dr. Chen. “This will make it feel stiffer. If you maintain more muscle around the joints through exercise, that will relieve some of the pressure on the joints itself.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults who have arthritis should aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and at least two days of muscle-strengthening activities. You can get specific exercises from a physical therapist, which will likely include options such as:

• Cycling
• Light strength training using body weight or resistance bands
• Range-of-motion exercises or stretches
• Swimming
• Tai chi or yoga
• Walking
• Water aerobics

Remember to stay hydrated as you exercise and throughout the day, adds Dr. Chen. This will help to keep the joints lubricated and reduce inflammation.

Over-the-Counter Medicines for Arthritis Pain

“There’s a long tradition of using NSAIDs to treat arthritis,” says Dr. Stone. An NSAID (like Motrin, Advil, or Aleve) can relieve pain and decrease inflammation. Tylenol, which is a pain reliever but not an NSAID, can still help with certain symptoms, adds Dr. Stone.

People who have a history of gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney disease, or medications that interact may not be able to take oral NSAIDs. In these cases, topical NSAIDs such as a diclofenac gel (sold as the brand Voltaren Arthritis Pain, among others) are usually considered safe because the skin absorbs only a small amount.

Capsaicin is another topical treatment that can help relieve arthritis pain. It works by blocking a chemical in nerve cells that sends pain messages. Common brand names are Capzasin-HP and Zostrix. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, or take certain medications you may not be able to use capsaicin. Always consult with your health care provider before taking an oral or topical NSAID for your arthritis.

Prescription Treatments for Arthritis Pain

If over-the-counter oral and topical NSAIDs aren’t giving you the pain relief you need from arthritis, there are a few prescription options you can discuss with your healthcare provider. Duloxetine (Cymbalta) was originally used as an antidepressant, but is also approved for treating chronic pain and pain related to osteoarthritis. Tramadol, a prescription opioid pain reliever, may also be an option.

Depending on where in your body you feel the most pain from arthritis, your healthcare provider may recommend a cortisone injection into the area. Cortisone is a steroid that can provide temporary relief from pain, swelling, and inflammation.

Do Natural Remedies and Supplements Relieve Arthritis Pain?

The science is mixed on whether natural remedies can have any meaningful long-term effect on arthritis pain. Dr. Chen says a few natural supplements, such as curcumin (the active compound found in turmeric), may be beneficial to some people with arthritis. A 2021 review published in Bioscience Reports looked at 15 randomized controlled trials and found curcumin, as an extract or in supplement form, relieved osteoarthritis pain and stiffness on par with taking NSAIDs.

Another 2020 study published in Rheumatology Advances in Practice found fish oil supplements can reduce osteoarthritis-specific pain, particularly in overweight adults.

Dr. Stone says data is mixed on whether glucosamine and chondroitin, two supplements often touted as a solution to arthritis pain, have any meaningful impact. A 2022 meta-analysis published in Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery found no evidence that the supplements provided any benefit in relieving pain.

And according to the Arthritis Foundation, acupuncture can be used as a tool to treat arthritis pain, although some research states it’s more beneficial in cases of inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. “Massage is another great treatment for arthritis,” says Dr. Stone. “It’s highly effective at mobilizing tissues and joints.”

How Weight Management Can Reduce Joint Pain

Weight management for joint pain is a critical focus when it comes to solving for arthritis pain. “If you look at arthritis from a biomechanical issue, pain may be happening because you are overloading an area of the body, like the knees or hips,” says Dr. Stone. “You take two to three million steps a year at anywhere, with an impact up to five times your body weight—jumping or running will have a greater impact than slow walking. Maintaining a healthy weight can help take a huge amount of force off your joints, relieving pain and pressure with it.”

Mobility Aids for Arthritis Pain

For severe arthritis pain that prevents you from daily activities and movement, mobility aids may be an option to consider, Dr. Stone says. The right mobility aid can redistribute pressure and improve your balance so that you can move more throughout the day.

When a Mobility Aid May Help

A mobility aid can be something as simple as a jar opener, cane, or walker. Its purpose, as the name implies, is to encourage mobility in your hands, legs, knees, or hips. The more you move, the more lubricated your joints will be, leading to less pain and inflammation. So how do you know if it’s time for mobility support, and if it is, which device to use? These are a few options, and who might benefit most.

Walkers and Rollators

A walker or rollator can help with any arthritis-related balance issue, pain, leg weakness, or instability, per the Mayo Clinic. By using a walker or rollator to keep pressure off your feet and hips, you can move more easily.

Mobility Scooters

Similar to walkers and rollators, mobility scooters help take stress off the joints. It’s important to use a mobility scooter when you need it (such as traveling farther distances), but to continue to get in daily movement and stretching, too, which will help strengthen the muscles and joints and preserve your mobility.

When Should You See a Doctor?

Arthritis may be more common as you age, but you shouldn’t ignore arthritis pain. If you have stiffness and swelling in one or more joints, difficulty moving and doing daily activities, and experience persistent symptoms that get worse over time, it’s important to speak to your healthcare provider, says the Arthritis Foundation. They will be able to diagnose what type of arthritis you have and together, you can figure out the best treatment plan to find arthritis pain relief.