Massage ?not the areas that hurt
Some experts think that arthritic conditions or pain conditions in general aggravate and flare up trigger points, and that one can get additional relief to arthritis symptoms trough self massage.
The idea is not to massage the area where it hurts, but to find pressure tender areas in your muscles near the actual pain area, and massage them instead.
For example, if your arthritis pain is in your knee joint, then you would find and massage tender points from your quadriceps muscles.
Exercises -lose it or use it
Not moving will only make matters worse in the long run, it's important to maintain as active lifestyle as possible.
Besides maintaining functionality, exercise can work as a natural pain medicine, because it helps to release endorphins, body's natural pain killers.
Just a half an hour long walk, can be all what's needed to release enough endorphins to make a difference.
Nutrition ? dietary supplements may help
While not everybody agrees that supplements are useful, there is quite a lot of anecdotal evidence to support them.
Here's a Lists of supplements that are thought to help in maintaining joint health, and which may be helpful in some arthritic conditions.
Glucosamine - amino sugar that may have a role in cartilage repair
Chondroitin - component of cartilage that works similar to glucosamine
Msm or methylsulfonylmethane - a big supplier of sulphur
Omega 3 fatty acids - can be obtained from fish oils
More information at Pain relief guide com
Read more about glucosamine & arthritis
Here's a list of other natural & herbal supplements for arthritis
You might also want to check herbs for arthritis page