How to help yourself

There is much you can do to help yourself, whether or not you are currently seeing a physiotherapist:

Top tips for helping yourself

• Keep mobile – Keeping active helps reduce stiffness in joints. Even if you are in discomfort, the advice is generally to move the affected joints as much as possible, as this will speed up your recovery. Exercise regularly, following the advice of your GP or physiotherapist. However, after an injury or a long break, ask a physiotherapist to review your exercise programme.
• Increase your muscle tone – Classes such as Tai Chi and pilates help strengthen your muscles and core stability. This improves your balance and reduces your risk of falling. If your physiotherapist has given you exercises to strengthen or stretch the muscles, build these into your daily routine, as they will make a big difference to your life. Training with weights can help build muscle strength, but take advice before embarking on a new programme.
• Learn about your posture, and find out which activities cause your muscles to tense up. Make sure your workstation and driving position are set correctly for your height, and try to shift positions regularly. Ask your physiotherapist about how to approach repetitive or strenuous tasks in your daily life – for example, heavy lifting or extended hours at the computer. Classes such as yoga and pilates can help you relax and become more aware of your body.
• Know your limitations – Spread repetitive or strenuous activities through the day, taking short rests when you need to. If your joints feel hot or swollen, rest them. Learn to recognise the difference between setting yourself a healthy challenge and pushing yourself too hard.
• Maintain a healthy weight – Maintaining a body weight within the recommended range will help avoid putting excessive pressure on your joints, and may prevent osteoporosis, which could cause you further problems.
• Be creative – Modify any activities that cause you discomfort. For example, if you have sprained your wrist you may need to use the other arm to lift heavy objects for several weeks. If you find a particular daily task difficult, talk to others for ideas, or seek help from a physiotherapist – there may be a way around it.
• Use the support available – If you have a specific condition, find out about organisations providing specialist information and services such as factsheets and helplines. If you may experience long-term discomfort, ask your physiotherapist about gadgets and tools to help with specific tasks, such as a walking stick to improve your walking posture, or heat pads to soothe sore muscles.
• Don’t ignore minor injuries – After a sprain, remember the rules of RICE and HARM:
  • Do:   Rest, Ice (apply a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a teatowel to the area), Compression (for example, a tubigrip), Elevation
  • Avoid:   Heat, Alcohol, Running (any exercise will exacerbate the swelling), Massage.
• Know when to seek help – If you are in severe pain or have had a severe injury or blow to the head, go to the GP or visit your physiotherapist as soon as possible. Some conditions are best treated as soon as possible after the event. If you are using simple pain relief or prescribed medication, follow the instructions on the packet, or ask your GP or pharmacist for advice.
• Maintain your overall health and well being by eating a balanced diet, giving up smoking and drinking alcohol (if any) in moderation. See Promoting health for more information.
• Stay positive! – Taking a positive attitude and trying to avoid stress will help you to manage any pain and be motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle as far as possible.