Arthritis Care at Home

Types of Arthritis

Other forms include psoriatic arthritis, gout, and ankylosing spondylitis. The care needs are broadly similar regardless of type — managing pain, maintaining function, and supporting daily living.

Daily Challenges with Arthritis

Arthritis affects tasks that require joint function — which is almost everything in daily life:

• Morning stiffness — particularly in RA, joints are stiffest in the morning and may need an hour or more to loosen up
• Cooking and food preparation — opening jars, peeling vegetables, lifting pots, gripping utensils
• Dressing — buttons, zips, putting on socks and shoes
• Personal hygiene — getting in and out of the bath, hair washing, managing taps
• Medication management — opening childproof bottles, handling blister packs
• Mobility — walking, climbing stairs, getting up from chairs or the toilet
• Shopping — carrying bags, reaching shelves

How Home Care Helps

A home carer tailors support to the tasks affected by arthritis:

• Meal preparation — handling all the preparation tasks that cause pain, from chopping to cooking to clearing up
• Housekeeping — cleaning, vacuuming, laundry, ironing — all tasks that involve sustained grip or repetitive motion
• Shopping — carrying shopping, prescription collection
• Medication prompts — ensuring pain relief and DMARDs are taken on schedule; helping with childproof caps if needed
• Companionship — chronic pain is strongly associated with depression and isolation. Regular visits provide social connection and emotional support.
• Timing to match symptoms — for RA in particular, visits later in the morning (when stiffness has eased) may be more effective than early visits

Equipment and Adaptations

Many small aids make a big difference for arthritis:

• Jar openers — electric or manual grip aids
• Kettle tippers — avoid lifting a full kettle
• Lever taps and door handles — far easier to operate than knobs and round taps
• Raised toilet seats — reduce the strain of sitting and standing
• Grab rails — in bathroom, by stairs, by front door
• Long-handled grabbers and shoehorns — avoid bending
• Velcro fastenings — replace buttons and laces

An Occupational Therapist assessment can identify which aids would help most and may arrange provision free of charge. Ask your GP or local council adult social care team to arrange one. See also our Home Adaptations guide.

Pain Management

Pain management in arthritis is ongoing. A home carer supports this by:

• Ensuring pain relief medication is taken regularly and on time — taking it before pain becomes severe is more effective than catching up
• Applying prescribed topical treatments (gels, creams) to affected joints if the person cannot reach themselves
• Using heat pads or ice packs as directed by the clinical team to manage flare-ups
• Encouraging gentle movement — complete rest worsens arthritis; maintaining gentle mobility is important
• Noticing and reporting flare-ups or significant changes to family or healthcare professionals