Why Gloves Work at Reducing Arthritic Pain
The right kind of glove can be of significant benefit for general arthritic pain in your hands, fingers, and thumbs. But how do they work?
The key words when looking into the different arthritis gloves on the market are thermal compression. Through providing light compression and warmth, the gloves assist in reducing arthritic pain and improving daily function in the following ways:
Light Compression
When on, the gloves should feel a little bit firm – kind of like a firm hug for your hand. The light compression that is provided by the gloves assists in improving blood flow and circulation by reducing the diameter of your veins so that they can more efficiently return blood to your heart.
Warmth
The light compression and general wear of the gloves also assists in keeping our hands warm. Arthritic hands are generally more painful when they are cold, as a result of decreased blood flow. This also leads to stiff, painful movement. When we are cold, we have reduced blood flow to our extremities because our body is focussing on sending blood flow to our core, where our most important organs are. The warmth provided by the gloves assists in maintaining/improving good blood flow and circulation for reduced pain.
Improved blood flow and circulation
Good blood flow is essential in promoting healing and reducing pain. Our blood carries nutrients, oxygen, and important healing cells to encourage the body to repair damaged tissue. If we can maintain efficient blood flow to our painful joints, we can reduce pain and help our bodies to look after painful tissue and assist in reducing ongoing damage.
Everyday function!
Our hands are warm, the blood is flowing, and we can get on with our day! The other great perks about most arthritis gloves is that they have open fingertips (allowing us to use our phones and flick pages of our favourite books) and are machine washable for easy care.
What are you waiting for? Arthritis gloves could be just what you need this winter to get on top of your arthritic pain and get on with your day.
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