Arthritis Pain Relief

Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints. There are over 100 types of arthritis, and it is the most common chronic illness in the country. Many people suffer from arthritis long before they receive a diagnosis. If you’re suffering from joint pain or immobility, physical therapy may be the right option for you!

Causes and Symptoms of Arthritis

Arthritis can be caused by a variety of reasons. Hereditary factors, injury, effects of infection, metabolic abnormalities and a misdirected immune system. It is classified as a rheumatic disease. Men, women and even children can have arthritis.

The symptoms of arthritis include limited joint function, pain, swelling, and redness. Arthritis in the knee can cause a loss of cartilage, and arthritis in the fingers can cause bone growth. Arthritis can also affect the organs and cause fatigue, weight loss or fever. The diagnosis of arthritis is typically made by a doctor who takes your medical history, examines your joints for inflammation and abnormality, listens to your symptoms and orders tests like blood panel and urinalysis.

Treatment for Joint Inflammation

The pain and stiffness from inflamed joints can be debilitating. Many prescription pain medications only mask your symptoms, temporarily guarding against pain. An appropriate long-term solution for arthritis pain relief is physical therapy. Our experts will treat the source of your pain to fix the problem, not mask the symptoms. Approximately 60 thousand Americans suffer from some type of Arthritis and rely on physical therapy for treatment. 

For more information, Contact our team at CAPE Physical Therapy to setup your appointment today. Our physical therapists are certified, experienced and committed to helping you feel better. They’ve helped many others recover and Live Pain Free.

A physical therapist can teach you:

• Exercises tailored to improve joint usage, strength and mobility
• Proper body mechanics
• Correct posture to protect the joints
• How to properly use walking aids when needed

The goals of a physical therapy treatment program are to restore lost abilities, prevent further loss of use, maintain fitness and help you to take part in normal daily activities. Treatment for arthritis should start early for the best outcome.

Physical therapy may also entail other methods, such as thermal treatments and joint protection techniques. Heating pads and ice packs can help reduce pain and relax the muscles. With different joint protection techniques, you can reduce stress on your joints. Your physical therapist may even recommend assistive devices, such as sock grippers or bath stools in the shower.

The key to the best outcome from physical therapy is to learn the exercises that your physical therapist shows you and practicing every day at home. Consistency is important. How many times you’ll need to see a physical therapist depends on the severity of your condition. And if you have a flare up, you can return to change your treatment strategy or to update your exercise program.

There’s no reason to let arthritis rule your life. Physical therapy will help you get back to your normal routine. Unfortunately, a lot of people think that physical therapy cannot help because they have arthritis. However, research continues to dispel this myth. Research has shown that physical therapy helps reduce pain and improve mobility. One study “compared patients with knee osteoarthritis who were treated in therapy with both manual techniques (stretching and knee mobilizations) and with exercises versus people who just did exercises at home. The patients who went to therapy had twice the pain relief and improvement of function compared to the people who did exercises on their own. This relief lasted when they were rechecked a year later!” That’s good news.