Joint Protection Principles Part 1

I am trying not to freak out because I have osteoarthritis from overusing my sound hand for 18 years.  Xrays confirm I have bone-on-bone contact which causes pain.  I cannot count on another disease killing me before my sound hand becomes useless.  So I am using the pain in my index and middle finger to tell me which joint protection strategies are helpful.  For example, when I put away a stack of clean cereal bowls, it hurts to lift a stack of 3 bowls but not 2.  My hope is that reducing pain means I am putting less stress on my joints which will make my hand useful longer.

Slide Rather Than Lift.  I used to fill up my kettle and then carry it to the stove.  Now I put in water for only 1-2 coffee cups and slide it on a dishrag from the sink to the stove.  No pain.

I use my kitchen cart to roll clean dishes from my dishwasher to the cabinets.  This means I do not have to make multiple trips to carry all these heavy objects to put them away.  I lift dishes from waist height to only the 1st cabinet shelf.  No pain.   

Avoid Repeated Gripping.  I cannot stand to watch the same commercials 4 times every hour for months so I constantly change the TV channels with my remote control.  My remote is not heavy, but my painful thumb and middle finger have to hold it tightly because it wobbles as my painful index finger pushes a button. 
 

Now I place the remote on my palm while my sound hand rests on my couch. When my thumb reaches over to press a button, my palm presses the remote against my thigh which holds it still. No pain.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com