Managing Osteoarthritis Pain With Laughter

There’s general agreement that laughter is good for you. It offers a cost-free, highly enjoyable ‘medicine’ that leaves us feeling relaxed.

Researchers have been taking a serious look at laughter and have made some encouraging findings. For people with osteoarthritis, laughter can help relieve pain by increasing pain tolerance. Laughter can also help protect us from getting sick by increasing natural immunity from disease. And if we get sick, it can help us get better.

Humour therapy, which uses humorous content (such as videos) to help patients relieve stress and feel more relaxed, is now an accepted part of treatment for many hospitalised patients. Laughter may also protect you from heart disease and can help in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Here are some ideas for bringing more laughter into your life:

• watch a funny movie or TV show
• go to a comedy club
• read the cartoons in the newspaper
• share a good joke or a funny story
• make time for fun activities such as karaoke

With its proven therapeutic benefits, why not have a laugh – you know it’s good for you.