How To Use Physical Therapy To Treat Arthritis
When your arthritis flares up and it becomes painful to do even basic movements, the idea of using physical therapy to treat arthritis can seem pretty far-fetched.
It’s only natural that people might worry how additional movement could make their condition worse. However, rest isn’t the only way to treat the joint pain and inflammation that characterize arthritis.
Though it may come as a surprise, movement and physical therapy can play a crucial role in reducing pain and improving joint function. More than that, these are safe and effective treatments, and often among the medical community’s most recommended ways to keep arthritis under control.
Still, we get that it may not be the most obvious choice! To make sense of the situation and to know when physical therapy can treat arthritis, we are going to explain a number of ways how this process can support your long-term health.
The Physical Therapy Treatments That Can Help Treat Arthritis
At its core, arthritis involves a swelling or inflammation of our joints. The goal of physical therapy is to help you build strength in those joints so you can continue to move and use your body.
This physical therapy should include a personalized treatment plan, which may include some of the following:
- Easing joint pain and stiffness by applying hot and cold therapy
- Lifestyle or environment modifications, including fewer hard surfaces in your everyday life and more ergonomic designs, especially when your hands are involved
- Modifying body mechanics to reduce pain
- Personalized therapy plans designed for balance, range of motion, and strength
- Proper use of devices like canes and walkers to take stress off joints
This combination of physical treatment, therapy, and adjustments to your daily life combine to both reduce external stressors and strengthen your body.
Types Of Exercises For Treating Arthritis
Now that you have an overview of the range of adjustments and treatments that can improve your arthritis, let’s take a moment to focus on the actual exercises.
These exercises – a combination of range-of-motion and strength training – combine to make managing your arthritis pain easier.
Range-Of-Motion Exercises For Managing Arthritis Pain
When your arthritis is flaring up, moving the affected joints may be the last thing you want to do.
However, to keep those joints healthy, they must go through their full range of motion each and every day. It is precisely this movement that helps to deliver the nutrient-rich lubricating fluid you have internally.
Without this fluid, your joints will gradually become stiffer, function worse, and deteriorate.
With physical therapy, though, it’s possible to mitigate this process. Through specific range-of-motion exercises intended to improve joint movement, a healing and protecting process is stimulated so that further damage can be avoided. This process can also protect against other complications involving ligaments, muscles, and tendons, too.
Strength Training Exercises To Improve Your Arthritis
One common reason that our arthritis can feel worse over time is that we are less motivated to work on the muscles surrounding our inflamed joints. That weakness ends up putting more stress on the joint, which leads to even more pain, then less movement, and the cycle continues.
However, physical therapy can slow down this degenerative process. When you strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint, you improve the joint’s stability. By moving regularly, you keep your joints healthy, and the pain is reduced.
When considering physical therapy to treat arthritis, the strength training is likely to be during the later stages. The focus will first be on the range-of-motion exercises we mentioned, followed by endurance training or light strength training, and then you’ll reach a stage of more serious strength training. In many instances, you will keep at this stage to continue enjoying the benefits.
How Weight Loss Can Also Help Treat Arthritis
According to the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center, “overweight women have nearly 4 times the risk of knee OA” and “for overweight men the risk is 5 times greater.”
Not only does excess body weight lead to a greater risk of arthritis, it can make the pain worse once it develops. That comes from additional stress on the knees, feet, and other weight-bearing joints.
While a physical therapy plan may not specifically target weight loss as a goal, it can also be a worthwhile aim to reducing the overall effects of arthritis.
Working With SportsPro PT To Treat Your Arthritis Pain
At SportsPro PT, we are committed to helping the members of our community heal from injury and treat their chronic conditions so they can live better, more movement-filled lives.
Even if you are currently dealing with arthritis pain, know that physical therapy and aquatic therapy can be effective solutions to help develop range of motion and strengthen your joints.
To learn more about how our expert physical therapists can help get your arthritis under control, including getting your own personalized treatment plan, contact us today for an appointment.
