CreakyJoints interviews experts including HSS occupational therapist Preston Lockwood, OTD, OTR/L, CHT, who offer tips for creating an arthritis-friendly kitchen to make meal prep and cooking easier.

Lockwood recommended using lightweight pots and pans, with two handles, to ensure the weight is more evenly distributed across the joints as you lift and carry cookware.

Additionally, using kitchen tools with wide, lighter handles for a better grip can be helpful, however you don’t have to always buy a new set of utensils. Lockwood suggested taking a washcloth and wrapping it around the handle of the tool to increase the diameter by ¼ inch or so. “By increasing the diameter, you’re easing the pressure and offloading the tension across the joint space,” he said.

“Any time you can cut out an entire step and save your joints, it’s always a good idea,” he continued, such as purchasing precut and pre-peeled produce. If unable to purchase everything precut or pre-peeled, prioritize the fruits and vegetables you eat the most often or that give you the most trouble to cut or peel.

Lockwood also mentioned some of his clients have trouble opening the knob on their dish soap. He suggested transferring the detergent to a container with a pump dispenser, and using the palm and force from the shoulder and arm verses small finger joints. Opening a jar with arthritis can also be tough, which Lockwood recommended investing in a mounted jar opener that rotates and pops it open for you.

Read the full article at Creakyjoints.org.