Disclaimer – I am not a doctor or a physical therapist or a hair stylist. I am no sort of professional. But. I do like to avoid pain when I can.
So while I’m not giving any medical advice, I have found a few hacks that help me avoid pain.
Here are some of them. Try them out at your own discretion.
Open Can Tabs With a Spoon
Using a spoon to lift a can tab is nothing new. But once it’s lifted, I almost weep with the strain it puts on my finger to lift the lid.
And if you have beautiful nails, you might not want to ruin your mani getting ones of those puppies off.
I’ve found that after the ring is lifted slightly, I turn the spoon around and use the bowl of the spoon as leverage and the lid pops off with no stress on my hand.
Mounted Jar Opener
Ugh. Jars. There are so many old-fashioned tricks for opening jars, but the Pampered Chef Jar Opener mounted under a cabinet works best.
It’s stable so no tweaking wrists and lids loosen immediately.
Steam Mop
Using the Shark Steam Mop makes sense on a lot of fronts, starting with using no chemicals. The power of the steam cleans the floor.
The water reservoir holds enough for about half my house. There is no filling a bucket, lugging it around and twisting out a mop head. No elbow grease required!
Cleaning takes a big toll on my aging body, so any tool that alleviates a bit of manual labor is appreciated.
Use a Vegetable Peeler Frontwards and Backwards
Did you know that a vegetable peeler works both frontwards and backwards? If you use the peeler back and forth, you’ll peel your vegetables twice as fast.
You can also use the peeler to make nice carrot ribbons for salad or baked goods. No need to get out the grater and risk losing a bit of skin.
Long Handle Shoe Horn
I’ve talked about my shoe horns before and they are still a daily use item. Even donning shoes from a sitting position puts strain on the back.
If your shoes are like mine, the heel always folds in and pulling the heel out can be very painful for arthritic hands.
The long-handled shoe horn keeps me upright and the back of the heel up and out.
Biofreeze Roll On
Ok, this may or may not be considered a drug, but I have been using Biofreeze Roll On gel for about a month now and unbelievably, it DOES relieve a bit of pain.
Knees, hands and wrists have benefited from a bit of gel a few times a day. I haven’t tried it on my back, but that might be next.
There is a little light menthol odor when it’s first applied, but that fades right away and I’m not left smelling like a Bengay factory. Remember that stinky stuff?
Alka-Seltzer & Epsom Salt
What? Okay, hear me out.
I found this hack on a pharmacist’s TikTok channel. Mix ½ cup Epsom salt and 4 Alka-Seltzer tablets in ½ gallon warm water and soak affected hands or feet for 15 minutes.
Save the mixture because it can be used for a few more days.
The aspirin in the Alka-Seltzer works with the salt to relax and ease the pain. So far, I have only used it once for my hand but it did help a bit.
I read the reviews on the channel and people love this hack.
Wrap Up
Do you have any tricks or tips you can share with us on how you avoid pain and make the day just a little easier?
Thanks for coming along with me and enjoy your weekend!