Figuring out a rheumatoid arthritis management plan can be tricky. A lot of well-meaning advice people offer you may not actually be helpful, because like many autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis is very widely misunderstood. For example, it’s not something that only older people get—in fact, it most commonly shows up between the ages of 30 and 50, according to the American College of Rheumatology. And it doesn’t happen because of overuse of the joints or an injury, like the better-known osteoarthritis (which actually does typically set in when you’re older). While experts are still trying to figure out the specific cause of rheumatoid arthritis, they do know that it is caused when the immune system isn’t working properly, leading to stiffness and soreness in the joints.
In addition to taking medication, many people make lifestyle modifications to help with rheumatoid arthritis management. Many things, like trying to reduce stress levels, identifying dietary triggers, and incorporating low-intensity exercise, can work in conjunction with treatment to improve your quality of life with rheumatoid arthritis. Below are some life hacks for managing rheumatoid arthritis with lifestyle modifications, straight from people living with the condition.
1. Meditate.
Some research suggests that meditating regularly may help people cope with rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. Also, stress is a very common rheumatoid arthritis symptom trigger, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and meditation can help keep stress levels low. There’s not one special type of meditation you need to do, so the key is finding a method that works for you and your schedule—and sticking to it consistently.
Katy A., 37, a professional writer who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2019, says that she makes time for meditation daily, even if it’s just for a few moments while watching the sunset. Samantha M., 49, a public relations professional who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in her early 40s, meditates during the hour she is stretching in bed in the morning. “I’ve found that 15 minutes of guided meditation everyday really helps,” she says.
Julie M., 51, a health coach, says that meditation was life-changing for her. “When I started a truly dedicated mediation practice, I finally started to wake up with energy in the morning. Which, after a decade with RA, I didn’t think I’d ever do again,” she says. She also noticed a difference in her pain levels. She meditates every single day, even if it can’t be for long. “It’s a daily practice,” she says.
If you’re interested in meditation but not sure where to start, here’s a guide that will help you learn how to meditate and make it a habit.
2. Take time to wake up slowly and stretch.
For many people with rheumatoid arthritis, joint stiffness is often the worst first thing in the morning, according to the American College of Rheumatology. Samantha says that because of this, it takes her about an hour from the time she opens her eyes until she is able to get out of bed. “When I wake up, I just start rolling my body from my ankles to my shoulders. I slowly start pulling my knees to my chest,” says Samantha. Overall, she says it’s important to not rush herself in the morning.
So instead of rushing out of bed when her alarm goes off, Samantha now sets her alarm for an hour earlier than when she needs to start getting ready for the day. She uses that time to slowly warm up her body to get out of bed.
Julie also sees the value in a lengthy morning routine. She spends about 90 minutes each morning doing things for herself, like meditating, journaling, and reading, before diving into the rest of her day.
3. Switch from typing to talk-to-text.
Rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect the smaller joints first, like those in the hands and feet, the Mayo Clinic notes. For Samantha, the hand inflammation and pain has become worse over time and has gotten so bad that typing can be very difficult. “I was someone who could avoid typos, who could zip out a four-paragraph email in 40 seconds. But my hands got so bad. It was so painful,” she says. Because she is an owner of a business that relies heavily on emails, this presented a real problem. She tried various talk-to-text apps so that she could dictate her emails and just edit the translation instead of typing out every word. But the best technology ended up being even simpler.
“Someone taught me that Google Docs can listen from your laptop. No special software required, and it’s 100 times better than my iPhone at picking up what I’m saying,” Samantha says. “It was really hard for me to get used to in the beginning,” she adds, “but there were days I had no choice. I couldn’t even type two words.” Now, she says she has gotten used to voice typing and uses it all the time to get work done even when she has a flare-up affecting her hands.
4. Try to really listen to your body.
Samantha says one of the best things she’s done for rheumatoid arthritis management is learn to listen to her body and do what it tells her it needs. “If my body says it’s done, I don’t pretend not to hear it anymore. If it tells me I need a nap, I take a nap. If it tells me I need to lie down on the floor for 30 minutes because I just need everything to be still, I do that.” Similarly, Katy says that she’s learned what will happen if she ignores the signals. “I have learned that I need to allow myself to rest and even take a power nap when the fatigue is hitting me hard or I will literally spike a fever and have multiple joints in my body ache and swell simultaneously,” she says.
Being in tune with your body can also help you figure out how to potentially avoid flare-ups in the future. “As soon as I get a flare, I turn into a detective,” Krista-Lynn L., 49, a health and wellness coach, motivational speaker, and mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor who specializes in self-care, tells SELF. “Looking back, I track every move I’ve made. Did I work out too hard? Sleep wrong? What is my stress level? RA requires me to remain present and mindful in every moment,” she says. Krista-Lynn has found that she has very few “time out” or bad days since she has learned to listen to her body. In fact, she says, learning how to listen to her body has been a gift of rheumatoid arthritis: “It has forced me to connect with my body, pay attention to its needs, and tend to issues swiftly, making adjustments as needed.”
Julie also scans her body daily, “simply breathing while tuning in with all my parts and pieces, head to toe,” she explains. “When we start to listen we realize our body is always talking—the key is to listen before it starts screaming for attention.”
5. Try walking and doing other low-intensity exercises.
Regular exercise, and the ensuing strength and flexibility gains, can be really beneficial to people with rheumatoid arthritis. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise can help reduce fatigue and prevent loss of muscle mass and bone density (which rheumatoid arthritis normally accelerates). It can also help prevent heart disease and diabetes, which often develop alongside rheumatoid arthritis. Exercising may even help you cope with depression, whether it’s related to your rheumatoid arthritis or not.
Katy has personally found that movement is important for keeping joint stiffness at bay. But it’s a delicate balance. “If I push my body too hard, I risk additional swelling and pain,” she says. To walk that line, she sticks to low-impact exercise, like walking, using the elliptical machine, and Pilates—all of which help instead of hurt her. Krista-Lynn prefers muscle-strengthening exercises like squats and using weights, along with daily stretching. “While I’ve done yoga for decades, I now do gentler poses [more slowly], as overextending myself can cause injuries, which I’ve noticed take much longer to heal,” she says. Another go-to for her? Daily dance parties. “It’s cardio that gets my heart rate up, and I do it in a way that allows my body to stretch, wiggle, and shimmy, working out kinks and finding its proper alignment. Plus, it’s fun!”
As Julie notes, it’s important to be thoughtful about movement and stick to what you know your body can tolerate—even if you’re feeling really great one day. “When you have a bunch of bad days and then you have a good day, you can end up overdoing it because you can. And then you’re back to recovering from the good day,” she says. Her favorite ways to get moving are enjoying nature on a walk and riding her horses. If you’re not sure what level of exercise will help your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms instead of sending them into overdrive, talk to your doctor for advice.
6. Practice good sleep hygiene.
Getting quality sleep is beneficial for health in general, of course. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), skimping on sleep can increase the risk of a whole host of health conditions, including high blood pressure, depression, and diabetes. Unfortunately, as you may well know, many people with rheumatoid arthritis find it difficult to get quality sleep because of the pain and discomfort. On the flip side, sleeping well may help reduce the associated fatigue and help you feel better overall.
Practicing good sleep hygiene—which just means developing habits and behaviors that promote sleep and increase the chance you’ll fall asleep quickly then wake up refreshed—is a great way to get better rest. Julie has a whole nighttime routine to wind down and get her body and mind ready for bed. “I avoid blue light at least two hours before bed and have a red light in my bedroom. I can feel my brain kind of sigh when the red light comes on. That’s the beginning of my body anticipating bedtime,” she says. She’s also conscious of what she does between dinner and bed, making sure to do only calming activities. She also showers and journals as part of her nighttime routine. Julie also tracks her sleep, which she’s found helps her figure out what’s influencing her rest. Sleep tracking isn’t for everyone, but if you’re curious about how it might impact your rest—and your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms—consider giving it a try.
7. Lean on your support system.
Depression and anxiety are common with painful chronic illnesses like rheumatoid arthritis. Not only can the pain impact your mood, but having to turn down plans and miss out on things can also add to the mental health strain, Samantha notes. Having someone to talk to can help you sort out your feelings. In addition to listening to you, a mental health professional like a therapist can also help give you tools you can use to actively improve how you’re coping with rheumatoid arthritis.
Katy says she met with a therapist in the past who helped her break her patterns of negative self-talk. “I also learned about the importance of self-care and how it does not equal selfishness,” she says. Samantha also works with a professional who understands her situation and talks through her frustrations with her. “I find if I talk about how I’m feeling physically, it releases the power it has over me. The more I talk about how I feel mentally and physically, the more it brings me some peace,” she explains.
Friends and family may also be good sounding boards. Even if they don’t understand what you’re experiencing, they can be empathetic and supportive. Finally, don’t underestimate how helpful it might be to find other people who know what you’re going through. For example, the Arthritis Foundation has virtual social and support groups for people with rheumatoid arthritis to connect with one another.
8. Use heat and cold to relieve pain.
Applying heat, either with a heating pad or warm water, can help relieve rheumatoid arthritis pain temporarily, the Mayo Clinic says. Katy says that taking regular baths with generous handfuls of Epsom salt helps ease her pain and stiffness.
Samantha sometimes uses a heating pad and she also swims in a heated pool when she is feeling well enough. “When I get into an 80-degree pool, all the pain goes away,” she says. “I don’t do it more often because of all the pain it takes to get to the pool.” She also has a bathtub that she uses occasionally to get some relief.
On the flip side, exposure to cold temperatures may also reduce pain and inflammation, says the Mayo Clinic, which suggests using cold packs on your muscles after intense exercise. Be sure to put something between your skin and the pack to protect yourself.
9. Identify any foods that seem to make you feel worse.
First things first: There’s no specific diet that will cure rheumatoid arthritis. With that said, some people with rheumatoid arthritis do find that certain foods seem connected to their flare-ups, the Mayo Clinic notes. Different people with rheumatoid arthritis have different triggers, and there’s not really any clear science on which foods may contribute to or reduce inflammation tied to rheumatoid arthritis (or affect symptoms in other ways).
Even so, if you notice you consistently get flare-ups after eating certain things, that’s worth paying attention to. Krista-Lynn has found that tracking how she feels after eating has been helpful. Samantha has also kept a food journal and rated her pain from 1 to 10 at the end of every day. Julie says it took her years to figure out what specific way of eating kept her feeling good, but that she, too, has found that cutting out certain ingredients has made a big difference in how she feels and how many flares she has.
The key here is to not take on any sort of drastic elimination diet on your own. Paying attention to how certain foods make you feel can absolutely be helpful, but if the results make you want to significantly change how you eat, the best course of action after that would be to talk to an expert like a doctor or a registered dietitian who has experience with rheumatoid arthritis meal plans.
10. Be kind to yourself.
“When I’m having a bad day with my depression or with physical pain from rheumatoid arthritis, I always remind myself that I won’t feel this way forever, even if it feels like it at that moment,” Katy says. She says she’s learned to give herself some grace, to accept that some days simply she simply won’t be able to accomplish her to-do list.
Part of being kind to yourself means accepting that there is no shame in asking for help. “Asking for help is a mindset change that took time and training to become natural,” Krista-Lynn says.
Krista-Lynn also notes that taking care of oneself isn’t selfish—it’s what allows you to take care of others. “There’s a saying that goes, ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup,’ and self-care is how we fill our cup,” she says.
“Our bodies need a break, every body, not just the bodies of people with RA,” Krista-Lynn says. Before, she adds, she had a hard time letting herself rest this way. “Now, I relish putting my legs up, turning off my phone, no texting or typing, just relaxing and allowing my body time to recharge.”
Related:
5 Questions People With Rheumatoid Arthritis Should Ask Their Doctors
How to Find the Right Treatment for Your Rheumatoid Arthritis
5 Things That Can Cause Rheumatoid Arthritis Relapse If You’re in Remission