Tips to Less Arthritis Pain
Arthritis pain and inflammation are what we help our patients with day in and day out. Patients often experience pain from arthritis because of stiff joints, muscles, and other tissues. In addition, muscles become weak, therefore not supporting the arthritic joints. Our customized treatments and personalized plan of care promote muscle strength, improve range of motion, increase mobility and ease the pain.
In addition, coupling your physical therapy with the following can help you live life to the fullest and get you back to doing the things you love:
- Education and Self-Management: Your therapist will have equipped you with the knowledge and exercises you need to continue progressing independently when your physical therapy is over.
- Weight Loss: Maintaining your recommended weight or losing weight if you are overweight can lessen your pain by reducing stress on your affected joints. Weight loss specifically helps ease pressure on weight-bearing joints such as the hips and knees.
- Footwear and Insoles: Special footwear and insoles can reduce pain and improve walking if arthritis affects the knee.
- Knee Braces: For osteoarthritis with knee instability, a knee brace can reduce pain. In addition, it improves stability and reduces the risk of falling.
- Heat and Cold: Many people find the warmth of a hot bath, heat pack, or paraffin bath eases arthritis pain. Others find relief in cold packs. Still, others prefer alternating the two. Learn more about what can work best for you by talking to our physical therapists.
- Exercise: Exercise is proven to help reduce arthritis pain while increasing strength and function. Knowing the right kind of exercises to do is the key. Talking with our physical therapists will point you in the right direction.
If arthritis pain prevents you from doing all the activities you love, we can develop a customized treatment plan to reduce your pain and improve your mobility.
By Dr. Billy Beaudreau, PT, DPT, MTC, OCS, FAAOMPT