As you get older, you're more susceptible to certain disorders. Arthritis is one of those problems that creeps up on you and can really put a damper on your activity. There are many treatments that promise to help, but sometimes the most simple treatment is all you need. This is where physical therapy comes in.
At TruWell Health, our team offers many different therapies to help ease your arthritis pain. Dr. Lora Brown and Dr. Michael MacMillan are our board-certified physicians. They help you determine a treatment plan, which may start with physical therapy.
Arthritis is a very common condition and can affect just about any joint in your body. Most often, arthritis affects you as you get older—but injuries also can lead to this inflammatory disease. But how do you know if it’s arthritis or something else? Some common symptoms to look for include:
You may also have trouble with the range of motion in your affected joint or notice redness in the affected area. This is due to the inflammatory response that happens when you’re affected by arthritis.
Arthritis comes in many different forms, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms of the disorder and is caused by breakdown of the protective cartilage in your joints due to wear and tear.
On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition caused by an over-exaggerated immune response. This leads to the destruction of your cartilage, and pain due to inflammation.
No matter what the cause of your arthritis, one thing’s for sure—you need to find a treatment that helps to tame your pain.
Physical therapy is a type of conservative treatment that has a variety of uses. Most commonly, it’s used after an injury or when you’re recovering from some type of surgery. It also is used to help treat chronic pain conditions, such as arthritis.
Physical therapy aims to help you no matter what phase of healing or disease you’re in. Our physical therapist assesses your condition and determines the best path of treatment, customizing it to your symptoms and condition.
This treatment doesn’t just involve therapeutic exercise, though; it also includes other types of therapies to help ease your pain and strengthen your body, including:
The main goal of physical therapy is to help you regain your normal range of motion so that you can perform your daily activities with ease. This may include things like walking, climbing stairs, or even just getting dressed in the morning.
At TruWell Health, our doctors want to give you the best chance at living without arthritis pain. We offer physical therapy as a noninvasive treatment option to help control the symptoms of arthritis.
One component of our physical therapy is called diathermy. This is a type of heat therapy that’s provided through either ultrasound or a small electrical current. When your damaged cells are heated up, they die off, and you’re left with decreased pain in your joints.
TENS therapy is another type of treatment that also uses a small electrical current. Electrodes are placed over the area where you’re having pain. When we activate the device, electrical currents block pain signals due to arthritis..
Strategic PT exercises also help with joint motion, which helps to increase the lubrication of your joint and reduce less pain. The main goals of physical therapy for arthritis are to:
By increasing your strength and flexibility, you’re also helping to cushion the affected joints in your body, which leads to better mobility and movement over your entire body.
Although arthritis isn’t curable, treatments like physical therapy help you strengthen your body and improve your mobility to help you live a normal and productive life.
If physical therapy sounds like a good option for your arthritis pain, call our office at 727-361-2162 or book an appointment online today to learn more about our treatment plans.
