According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 23% of Americans have some type of arthritis. This issue can easily affect your ankle, and the pain it causes can seem worse at night. Your ankle arthritis pain can even keep you from falling asleep or staying asleep. Fortunately, there are options you can try that could help reduce your pain. Here are three tips for treating arthritis ankle pain at night:
1. Exercise during the day
Physical activity is important for treating ankle arthritis, and it can even help you deal with arthritis ankle pain at night. For one thing, exercise releases endorphins, and these are the body’s natural painkillers. Doing even moderate exercise like walking during the day can also help tire you out, and this typically makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. However, some people may find that exercising too close to bedtime can increase pain. If this is true for you, make sure to do your exercising well before it’s time for you to hit the sack.
2. Cushion your ankle
Another tip that can help treat your arthritis ankle pain at night is giving your ankle some extra cushioning. This can be an especially important tip for side sleepers. When you sleep on your side, the ankles rest on top of each other. This can cause them to grind together, which can lead to an increased level of pain. To help prevent this, you can place a small pillow between your ankles. This will provide some cushioning between your ankles, and it can also help improve your spinal posture.
3. Create a relaxing pre-bed routine
Everyone relaxes before bed in different ways. For some people, watching television helps them to fall asleep. Other people have a sound machine that soothes them to sleep with ocean melodies. There are also the people who need a glass of hot tea before bed. The important thing for treating arthritis ankle pain at night is to figure out what helps relax you. This is important because mental relaxation can help relax the body as well, and this can help reduce your pain. Once you figure out the technique or techniques that work for you, you can weave them into a helpful nightly routine.
Panther Physical Therapy offers treatment for arthritis ankle pain
Arthritis ankle pain can strike during the day and at night, and Panther Physical Therapy is here to help you treat the pain. Our plans are personalized to your specific needs, and they make use of multiple helpful therapy methods, such as:
Are you ready to start reducing your arthritis pain so it doesn’t keep you up at night? Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.