One of the most common joint degenerative conditions that may affect mobility and physical function is arthritis. Arthritis inflames the joints, causing severe pain and stiffness. Different types of arthritis have different causal factors. However, they all cause severe pain and discomfort that may reduce mobility and ability to perform regular tasks.
Physiotherapy can restore mobility and function in people who have suffered injury, degenerative conditions, and disability. Therefore, it is an effective treatment method for arthritis and offers preventive and rehabilitative functions. This article will discuss what a physiotherapist at Dynamic Physiotherapy can do to help with arthritis.
Types of Arthritis
Several types of arthritis may affect the joints, tissues around the joints, and other connective tissues. These types of arthritis have different causes, affecting people of all ages and genders. The following are some of the types of arthritis:
Osteoarthritis
This condition is the most common type of arthritis, affecting millions globally. Osteoarthritis is due to the wearing down of the cartilage (protective tissue) that cushions the end of bones. While osteoarthritis can affect any joint, it commonly attacks the joints of the hands, hips, knees, and spine. Osteoarthritis causes severe pain and stiffness in the affected joints. It also limits your range of motion and makes it impossible to carry out your normal daily activities.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that may also affect other delicate organs of your body apart from the joints. This condition occurs when your body mistakenly attacks your healthy cells and tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis affects joint linings, causing pain, swelling, and stiffness. Severe rheumatoid arthritis can cause inflammation that affects other internal organs, such as the heart, skin, eyes, lungs, kidneys, nerve tissues, and blood vessels.
Gout
This condition is another type of arthritis that causes severe pain, swelling, redness, and stiffness. Gout occurs due to an abnormal buildup of uric acid crystals in and around the joint cavity. This condition is excruciating, limiting mobility and range of motion. Gout symptoms are unstable and may come and go irregularly.
Psoriatic Arthritis
This type of arthritis only affects people who have a skin condition known as psoriasis. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes skin cells to multiply too quickly. It also leads to skin inflammation. Psoriatic arthritis causes inflammation, leading to severe joint pain, stiffness, and swelling. Despite occurring with a skin condition, psoriatic arthritis reduces mobility and ability to perform tasks of daily living.
Reactive Arthritis
This type of arthritis refers to joint pain, stiffness, and swelling due to an infection in another body part. Reactive arthritis usually affects the feet, ankles, and knees. However, the inflammation may also affect other organs.
Other types of arthritis include ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia, enteropathic arthritis, childhood arthritis, lupus, polymyalgia rheumatica, and septic arthritis.
Symptoms of Arthritis
There are numerous symptoms of arthritis, and these may differ depending on the type of arthritis. However, the following are the most common general symptoms of arthritis:
- Joint pain
- Tenderness in the joint
- Swelling of joints and surrounding areas
- Redness of the skin around the joint area
- Inflammation
- Restricted joint range of motion
- Weakness, etc.
What Can a Physiotherapist Do for Arthritis?
Pain Management
Pain is one of the most common and observable symptoms of arthritis. People who suffer from arthritis may experience harrowing pain that may render them helpless and unable to carry out activities of daily living. However, physiotherapists help with arthritis by relieving the pain and discomfort associated with the condition. The following are pain management techniques that physiotherapists employ:
Manual Therapy
Manual therapy is a physiotherapy technique in Okotoks, AB that uses hands-on techniques to manage pain, improve joint mobility, and restore soft tissues and nerves to optimal condition. Manual therapy techniques include massage therapy, myofascial therapy, trigger point therapy, soft tissue mobilization, joint mobilization, taping, stretching, etc.
Exercise Therapy
Since regular physical activity can help prevent joint stiffness and muscle tightness and improve blood circulation, Okotoks physiotherapists may recommend exercise therapy for someone with arthritis. Exercise therapy can relieve pain by strengthening the bones and muscles and improving one’s ability to perform activities of daily living.
Modalities
Physiotherapists may also combine their physiotherapy techniques with some therapeutic modalities to manage and relieve arthritis pain. These therapeutic modalities may use thermal, electrical, mechanical, electromagnetic, and light energies for therapeutic purposes. Common examples of therapeutic modalities that physiotherapists may employ to treat arthritis pain include transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS), ultrasound therapy, laser therapy, biofeedback, TECAR therapy, cryotherapy, infrared therapy, thermotherapy, etc.
Improvement of Mobility and Physical Function
One of the primary aims of physiotherapy is reversing the damage inflicted by injury, traumatic events, and medical conditions. Arthritis causes severe pain and restricts your range of motion in the affected body parts. This restriction makes it difficult for you to move and perform other activities of daily living. Therapeutic exercise is one of the most common physiotherapy techniques physiotherapists in Okotoks use to improve mobility and physical function.
Therapeutic Exercises
A therapeutic exercise program includes movements a physiotherapist recommends to correct impairments and restore muscular/skeletal function. Patients must be actively involved in therapeutic exercises to ensure effectiveness. Types of exercises that physiotherapists may recommend for mobility and physical function include range-of-motion exercises, strengthening exercises, balance exercises, and flexibility exercises.
Assistive Devices and Adaptive Techniques
Physiotherapists may temporarily recommend external devices to help patients move around comfortably and perform particular tasks. Assistive devices for arthritis may range from walkers, splints, reachers, crutches, and grab bars to home appliances such as phone holders, electric can openers, and button hooks. Physiotherapists may also teach adaptive techniques to help arthritis patients move around and perform their daily tasks comfortably.
Education
In addition to various physiotherapy techniques, physiotherapists educate and provide self-management strategies, lifestyle modifications, joint protection techniques, and ergonomic advice to their patients.
Conclusion
Arthritis is an inflammatory condition that causes severe pain and discomfort while restricting mobility and physical function. It makes it difficult for people to perform activities of daily living, and it reduces their overall quality of life. Okotoks physiotherapy exists to reverse the effects of arthritis and improve your mobility and physical function. If you’ve been diagnosed with arthritis, you should consider physiotherapy for arthritis at Okotoks with Dynamic Physiotherapy.
