Live Life Comfortably: Relieve Arthritic Pain With Physical Therapy

What Is Arthritis?

Do your joints feel achy or stiff in the morning?

Does the pain decrease as the day goes on? These are common signs of early onset arthritis, which is a common ailment that many people experience.

Arthritis is a more complicated challenge than many people realize, if only because the term really just describes any condition that causes chronic joint pain and inflammation.

Over 100 different disorders fall into this broad category, including:

• Osteoarthritis – A degenerative joint condition and the most common form of arthritis. Labor-intensive careers can also cause osteoarthritis to develop. If you have a job where you have to swing tools in repetitive motions (such as a carpenter or roofer), your joints are at a higher risk for developing osteoarthritis. An additional factor that increases the risk of osteoarthritis is obesity, since additional strain is being put on the hip and knee joints.
• Rheumatoid arthritis – the second-most common form of arthritis, in which auto-immune reactions target (in in some cases, disfigure) the joints. When someone is diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, it means that their immune system sees the joints as a threat and decides to attack them. This causes pain and inflammation in the joints
• Psoriatic arthritis – Another type of arthritis triggered by the immune system, seen in individuals who also have psoriasis.
• Gout – A painful form of arthritis that likes to attack the joints of the toes.

What are the most common symptoms of arthritis?

Those suffering from any type of arthritis tend to have similar symptoms. A common report amongst arthritic patients is a feeling of stiffness within the joints as soon as they wake up, with the discomfort fading throughout the day.

Arthritis can also limit your daily life, as pain may be experienced during exercise or work, fading once the activity is over. You may also notice “popping” or “clicking” sounds when moving your joints, and they may feel sensitive or painful to the touch.

Pain Relief for Arthritis

Has getting in and out of your favorite chair become one of your least favorite activities? Do your joints feel decades older than the rest of you?

Do you wish you could enjoy all your favorite activities without paying the price in pain and stiffness? If so, you’re probably one of the millions of Americans struggling with arthritis.

The Cleveland Clinic states that as many as 1 in 5 people in the U.S. experience some form of this joint disorder.

Drugs may promise temporary pain relief, but their risks and side effects can outweigh the limited benefits they provide for your aching joints. But there’s a way to obtain a healthier, more effective form of relief — by contacting our physical therapist today and scheduling a course of physical therapy.

How Physical Therapy Helps Arthritis

Standard medical recommendations for arthritis include drugs and, in the most extreme cases, surgery. Most of the medications available for arthritis can do nothing more than ease pain and swelling for a few hours — with no meaningful aid to joint health and flexibility.

At the other end of the scale, invasive surgery to fuse arthritic joints creates its own set of painful issues while permanently robbing you of joint motion. Physical therapy can help you achieve more pain-free flexibility and mobility, on a lasting basis, without any of the downsides of these other treatments.

Our physical therapist will get to know your arthritis in as much detail as possible before recommending a physical therapy program.

Once we understand the underlying cause of your arthritis, and exactly how that arthritis is affecting your quality of life, we can devise a personalized treatment regimen which may include:

• Exercise – The Arthritis Foundation heartily recommends physical therapy exercises for osteoarthritis; this approach can also prove invaluable for rheumatoid arthritis. Depending on the severity of your condition, we may prescribe underwater exercises, passive range of motion exercises, strengthening exercises to stabilize the joints, and/or light aerobic exercise to get the blood flowing and boost your cardiovascular wellness.
• Soft tissue therapies – Manual therapy techniques such as Swedish massage therapy or deep tissue therapy can do a great deal to relieve arthritis pain, stiffness, and inflammation. Low-level laser therapy, electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, and other soft tissue therapies can also help.
• Dietary and lifestyle changes – Our physical therapist can recommend specific strategies to get your weight down, improve your nutritional balance, and adopt a more joint-healthy lifestyle.

Contact a therapist today to schedule your visit.