If you can, you may have inherited unusually mobile joints. While they come in handy in yoga class, hypermobile joints tend to wear out and become arthritic earlier because your extra-stretchy ligaments and tendons have trouble holding the joints stable. If your pain results from osteoarthritis, the most common cause of joint pain, your doctor will prescribe specific medications, injections or exercise. But no matter what the cause of your pain, there's a lot you can do on your own to relieve it. Turn up the heat.
Heat helps to relax muscles around the joint.
Moist heat is particularly effective, he says. Take a wet towel, put it in the dryer but remove it while the towel is still wet and hot. Then place it against the joint, putting a dry towel on top to keep the heat in. Or you can use a moist heating pad, wrapping it around the painful joint for 20 to 30 minutes. If you are suffering from a recent injury or from pain that has recently appeared, use cold instead of heat, says Dr. Arnold.