Manage Your Arthritis

Managing your arthritis may allow you to take control of your condition and is essential to improving your quality of life.

This  section provides ideas that can help you manage your arthritis including:

• Keeping a healthy body weight
• Managing fatigue
• Getting active
• Dealing with emotional changes
• Eating a healthy diet
• Managing your medications

Tips for managing your arthritis effectively

• Accept that for now arthritis is part of your life
• Learn to listen to your body
• Keep a health diary to learn what makes your arthritis worse or better
• Set realistic goals and develop an action plan
• Get support from your health care team, family and friends

Surgery

Sometimes treatments such as medication and physiotherapy are not enough to manage your arthritis pain and problems with day-to-day function. Your doctor may refer you to a surgeon to see if an operation (surgery) is right for you. Learn more about surgery for arthritis. 

General Resources

There are an increasing number of resources, both in-person and online, that can be helpful in managing arthritis. These range from resources and services for managing things that may make your arthritis worse (i.e., smoking and excess body weight) to resources for learning more about arthritis or ways of managing various arthritis-related symptoms – Click HERE for Resources for People with Arthritis. Check out a new hip and knee OA resource created by an interdisciplinary VCH committee and targeting primary care practitioners.