Ageing is a part of growing up and one cannot stop growing. But one can certainly manage the pains that grow with time. Arthritis, particularly osteoarthritis, back pain, frozen shoulders etc are common pains associated with aging.
Ignorance is NOT alwaysbliss! Flexibility and stiffness could be quite a challenge especially aftercrossing 60. Most often, we ignore stiffness and joint pains thinking they aretemporary and will cure by itself without medical help.
Here is a list of some chronic pain conditions that mostsenior citizens face:
● Joint pain & stiffness: Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis can be possible reasons for your suffering as you grow older. Senior citizens suffering with this condition complain of morning stiffness in fingers, knees and other joints.
● Lower back pain: Do you face pain that often starts from your neck and then crawls down to your lower back? This pain grows common with age and is called degenerative disc disease.Degenerative disc diseases generally start during forties and might go worse after sixties.
● Another reason of lower back pain could be bone spurs. These are calcified growths along the spine,neck, knees and feet. This too increases with age.
● Frozen shoulder: This excruciating pain arises when connecting tissues around the shoulder joint thicken. This could be a result of arthritis or prolonged shoulder immobilization.
How to manage pain?
● Exercising regularly will help you manage pain. Your doctor may also suggest physiotherapy in order to improve flexibility and reduce joint pain.
● If it is a muscle pain then muscle relaxants for the back and neck could also give you relief.
● Inflammation may also accompany joint pains, with the help of non steroidal pain relief medicines both inflammation and joint pains could be managed. But make sure you suggest a good doctor first.