Chemotherapy involves the use of very powerful drugs to attack and kill the fast growing cancer cells. Unfortunately it also destroys a lot of healthy cells in the body along with the cancer cells, which leads to various side effects. Joint pain is one of the side effects during chemotherapy treatments; like ACT chemotherapy. Most of the side effects including join pain subside once the treatment is over but in some cases it takes much longer time to subside. Chemotherapy joint pain can also be severe in some cases as it leads to joint damage so they should not be taken lightly and care needs to be taken if side effects persist.

Tips to ease joint pain during chemotherapy?

• Consult your physician or talk to your doctor about joint pain and the other side effects you are experiencing. Doctors can prescribe a few medications to ease the pain and reduce inflammation. Take the medications as directed by the physician and do not discontinue or change the dose without your physician’s knowledge.
• For mild pain, you can use over the counter medications such as naproxen or ibuprofen. These drugs come quite handy for minor pain.
• The affected area can be kept warm with the help of a heating pad. Pain and swelling can be eased with warmth. Make sure the temperature of the heating pad is set to the lowest setting and before sleeping make sure that the heating pad is turned off.
• Indulge in low impact exercise during chemotherapy that can sooth the joint pain. Do not over exert yourself. Swimming and yoga are good examples of low impact exercise program. Before you begin with any regime, make sure that you talk to you doctors or physician to avoid any long-term damage. You can take the help of professionals to do these exercises.
• Food during chemotherapy should be very nutritious. The intake of fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds and cold water fish needs to be increased in the diet. Inflammatory diet such as sugar, saturated fats and white flour needs to be avoided as these foods increase inflammation in the body.

• Natural supplements such as ginger, turmeric, holy basil, omega-3 fatty acids, evening primrose oil and glucosamine sulfate can ease inflammation. Try massaging the area of pain with these remedies to get some relief.

Before you begin with any of the treatments, make sure that you consult with the physician or medical advisors for proper guidance. The doses of medications should also be kept in mind while taking it. If you are using any other prescription to ease the pain, that needs to be bought to the doctor’s attention. With a little care and proper guidance, you can certainly keep the pain at bay and also avoid damage to the joint in the long run.

Although chemotherapy joint pain is common among most of the cancer patients, a little care can keep the symptoms to the minimum. Patients should also not exert themselves and worry unnecessary about the disease. Talk to your health care provider about this side effect and record the pattern of the pain before you go for your next visit.