Donna is one of the 53.2 million Americans living with arthritis. Until recently, she was also one of the many arthritis patients who aren’t physically active due to their symptoms. The persistent pain in her knee kept her from hobbies she’d always enjoyed, but now she loves to garden and explore local walking trails with her friends. And she didn’t even have to undergo surgery!
What changed? The answer is simple: Donna visited the team at Joint Restoration Center. We helped her understand her condition — including the fact that staying sedentary was making her symptoms worse. We also created a customized treatment plan to help her manage her pain, get active, and get back to the life she wanted to live.
Whether you’re living with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or another inflammatory joint condition, we’ll work hard to find a solution that meets your needs. All you need to do to get started is call to schedule an appointment.
In the meantime, check out these five suggestions for managing arthritis pain from our physical therapists.
A Message from Dr. Christian, DPT
5 Ways To Handle Arthritis Pain
- Understand Your Pain: As someone who has been diagnosed with arthritis myself, hearing scary terms like “degeneration” and “bone-on-bone”. This verbiage can send us into a spiral of anxiety and stress. The best first thing you can do is learn why your pain is present. Speaking with a healthcare professional can alleviate the stress of pain by understanding where our pain comes from. Understand that arthritis pain can be reduced simply by taking away the mystery of why we hurt. This can go a long way in reducing chronic pain.
- Movement: Knowing that arthritis pain can ease with active movement is a game-changer for chronic pain. Typically, when we sit for long periods of time, our arthritic joints tend to “stiffen up”. We know that taking short but frequent “movement breaks” can lubricate the irritated joint and improve pain-free range of motion.
- Stabilize the Joint: Strengthening the muscle, tendon, and ligaments surrounding a painful joint can allow the joint to move in the correct pattern and “turn off” the abnormal painful movement pattern. Simply training the muscles in a pain-free way can support the joint and allow for less pain in our daily routines.
- Stay Hydrated: A large portion of our bodies are made up of water. This includes our muscles, meniscus, and ligaments that support our joints. If we are in a state of chronic dehydration, then these support structures become less flexible and supportive, creating an increase in our pain levels. Of course, consult your PCP if you have a contraindication to increasing your water intake!
- Strengthen Above and Below: Often, our arthritis pain can come from instability at the joint above or below the affected area. A weak and unstable hip can create significant wear and tear on the knee joint, for example. Pinpointing the cause of the arthritis and correcting this movement abnormality can certainly take pressure off the painful area. For this reason, an evaluation by a skilled Physical Therapist can certainly assist with getting to the root cause of the pain.
But Don’t Forget to Visit Joint Restoration Center, Either!
As musculoskeletal experts, our team of physical therapists can give you the expert guidance you need to address your arthritis symptoms. We offer two main benefits: additional pain management techniques and customized, guided exercise programs.
How We Help Manage Pain
In addition to showing you self-management options, we offer several pain management approaches in our clinic.
Manual therapy techniques, such as joint mobilizations or soft tissue manipulation, help reduce pain, promote blood circulation, and improve mobility restrictions. We often kick off sessions with a round of manual therapy to help prepare your body for exercise.
Depending on your needs, we might also suggest other pain-relieving modalities, such as ultrasound therapy or electrical stimulation.
How We Help You Exercise Smarter
When managing arthritis pain, pretty much any low-impact exercise will do wonders. However, targeted exercise also plays an important role in addressing pain.
For example, mobility exercises will help improve your joint’s range of motion, making movement easier overall. Targeted strength training focuses on improving the strength of the muscles surrounding your impacted joint, which helps support and stabilize it, helping to minimize pain.
We can also help you get started with a general exercise program. If you’ve been inactive for a while, starting slowly is essential to avoiding injury. We can provide suggested exercises and durations based on your health history and activity level.
Finally, if your arthritis is in a weight-bearing joint (such as your hip or knee), it’s important that you improve your balance to minimize your fall risk — and we can help with that, too!
Call Us Today
No matter your specific needs, Joint Restoration Center is here to help you manage your arthritis symptoms. From personalized guidance to targeted exercise programs, we’ll find solutions that work for you.
Call us to schedule your initial consultation.
Sources:
https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/managing-pain/pain-relief-solutions/natural-relief-for-arthritis-pain
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Arthritis
https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/national-statistics.html
Get Moving Again with Joint Restoration Center!
Don’t let pain dictate your life. Take the first step towards reclaiming your mobility and well-being with our expert support.
Start your journey to a healthier you today.
Feel Better by Eating Better!
Blueberry Muffin Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup blueberries, mashed with a fork
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup unsweet almond milk
Directions:
First, mash 1/2 cup blueberries in a large bowl. Then add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Add in dry ingredients and mix again. Place in the refrigerator, cover for at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve cold. Top with granola, lemon zest, and fresh blueberries.
Exercise of the Month
Standing March
Start by standing up straight (place both hands on the back of a chair for support if needed). Slowly lift one knee up towards the ceiling until it reaches hip height and then lower it back down. Do the same with the other leg keeping the abdominals contracted the whole time. Repeat exercise 10 times.
Our Patients Get Great Results
I had my initial appointment two weeks ago then had my follow-up this week. The people are so friendly and show they respect and value me as a patient. They truly devote considerable time explaining things, testing, showing X-rays, and working out a PT plan. I am so glad I came here. Their methodology with X-rays, and especially the leg brace, has worked wonders for me already! Highly recommend!
– Google 5-Star Review
Meet the Staff!
Gary Merriweather
DPT, Cert. DN
