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Physical Therapy for Arthritis

Understanding Arthritis

What is Arthritis?

Arthritis is a debilitating disorder that affects millions of people across the country and is one of the leading causes of disability today. In fact, approximately 1 in 5 Americans live with some form of arthritis.

Arthritis is actually not a single disease. Instead, it is an informal way of referring to joint pain or joint diseases. There are over 100 types of arthritis, all with their own symptoms and causes. However, all forms of arthritis can be painful or lead to a loss in quality of life, especially when they aren’t treated properly.

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Managing Arthritis Symptoms

The pain and stiffness of arthritis can be miserable for those that suffer from it, and currently, there is no cure for it. Fortunately, the lack of a cure does not mean that there is no solution for arthritis sufferers.

There may be as many as 100 different reasons that arthritis symptoms appear so proper treatment must start with a proper diagnosis. A physician will often prescribe medications for arthritis symptoms that only offer short-term relief. For long-term relief, patients are increasingly starting to rely on physical therapy.

Early symptoms of arthritis can be managed with regular physical activity, hot and cold therapies, and over-the-counter pain medication, but the pain will usually become chronic over time. Motion may eventually become limited enough to negatively impact your quality of life.

Proper management of this disorder can lead to improvement in quality of life. Physical therapy can help in the management of arthritis and enable better performance of daily functional activities without debilitating pain.

Physical Therapy

Your physical therapist will help you understand your arthritis better so that you can make informed decisions. When you gain knowledge about how your joints work and how arthritis impacts tis function, you will be better able to treat it and choose activities that facilitate healing. With arthritis, anything involving an affected joint can be the subject of your therapy.

Specific goals for arthritis-related physical therapy may include: Improving mobility and restoring the use of affected joints, increasing strength to support the joints, maintaining fitness, and preserving the ability to perform daily activities

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Exercise and Movement

Physical therapy focuses on the body’s ability to engage in movement, and a tailored therapeutic exercise program can assist with strength and mobility. Depending on the reason for beginning physical therapy, this movement can range from something as sitting down to athletic abilities like running long distances.

Research repeatedly shows improvements in pain and function with specific, high-intensity exercise. Weight-bearing activity and strengthening can improve joint lubrication resulting in reduction of pain. Your physical therapist will design a program addressing all areas of the body affecting your pain. If you suffer from knee pain, an exercise plan will address impairments at the ankle, hip, and low back which all contribute to proper knee mechanics and control.

Exercise also focuses on proper mechanics and control during functional movements such as squatting, lifting, and carrying objects with minimal to no pain or difficulty.

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Manual Therapies

PT Solutions’ physical therapists train in various manual therapy techniques that are utilized to decrease your pain and increase your mobility. Research states that joint and soft tissue mobilization are beneficial for patients suffering from arthritis.

Manual techniques such as joint mobilizations help improve joint swelling and mobility to improve functional activity performance.

Proper management of this disorder can lead to improvement in quality of life and ability to perform daily activities without debilitating pain.

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Arthritis PT Program Goals

A physical therapist will design a treatment plan based on your arthritis: where it is in your body, how severe it is, and what your goals are for the future.

  • Joint Range of Motion

    Stiffness in the joints is one of the primary symptoms of osteoarthritis. By restoring the ability to bend and straighten your joint easily, joint function can be improved.

    Even small, incremental improvements to this function can make a huge difference in your day-to-day life. For example, the ability to bend an arthritic knee just 10 more degrees may be what allows you to get in and out of a chair.

  • Strengthen Muscles Around Joints

    As the cartilage in joints is worn away, it can cause painful friction between the bones in that joint. One way to prevent this friction is to ensure the surrounding muscles are strong.

    A physical therapist will be able to identify any areas of impairment and teach you functional exercises to strengthen these areas, offering more stability in the joints.

  • Improve Balance and Posture

    The muscle weakness, decreased joint function, and loss of mobility brought on by osteoarthritis can cause impaired balance. Physical therapy may include ways to address this, which reduces the risk of falling and further damaging joints.

    Additionally, improvements to your posture can help with balance and take pressure off your joints, slowing down the progression of disease.

  • Assistive Devices

    A doctor may recommend you use walkers, canes, crutches, splints, or shoe inserts to reduce pressure on particular joints. While these can be helpful, the use of these tools is not always easy to adjust to, and it is not always clear when they should be used.

    A physical therapist can teach you the proper way to use assistive devices while still fostering the goal of your functional independence.

Types of Arthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA)

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis caused by wear and tear damage on the articular cartilage at the ends of bones, which develops from overuse, poor mechanics during activity, or injury. As cartilage around the joints breaks down, bones will start to rub together, leading to the surface of the bone to become diminished and inflamed, and in severe cases, bone fragments can chip off and bone spurs can develop.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Without enough cartilage to act as a cushion, bone moves over bone with no protective layer of cartilage, leading to chronic inflammation, swelling, and pain. As OA progresses, it will impact joint mobility. Osteoarthritis sufferers often notice a decrease in flexibility, uncomfortable grinding sensation of bones rubbing together, unusual stiffness, and tenderness. The most common areas for osteoarthritis are the hands, hips, knees, and spine.

Types of Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder where your own body cells attack the lining of the joints causing chronic inflammation, swelling and pain. This chronic inflammation soon leads to bone erosion and joint deformity. Common side effects include joint swelling/stiffness, particularly with prolonged inactivity, and pain.

Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Common characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis are swelling, tenderness, stiffness, and warmth of the joint. Pain often worsens after rest. It generally impacts the hands, wrists, and feet. If untreated, it may progress to other areas of the body including the hips, knees, and shoulder area. The most common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are chronic exhaustion, continual fever, decreased appetite, and weight loss. Pain is often sporadic, occurring in flares. While the primary treatment is pharmacological intervention, physical therapy can help.

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Treatments at PT Solutions

Physical Therapy
Physical therapy helps restore movement and manage pain after an injury, surgery or illness. It also helps people dealing with chronic conditions that affect their ability to perform everyday activities.

Orthopedic Physical Therapy
We diagnose and treat conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system, including bones, joints, muscles, and ligaments.

Occupational Therapy
We help people adapt in relation to pain, injuries, illnesses, and disabilities that may make it difficult to carry out everyday tasks.

Hand Therapy
Our experienced physical therapists, occupational therapists, and certified hand therapists can provide a comprehensive treatment plan for your hand or wrist dysfunction.

How We Help You Get Better

What to Expect for Arthritis Physical Therapy

Your physical therapist will work with you to design an arthritis treatment program that meets your unique, long-term PT goals to help you perform important activities more effectively. After that, each session will be designed to help you perform these activities safely and teach you to maintain them moving forward. Each session will be around an hour and focus on identifying problems with your current physical function, then giving you strategies to care for them at home.

You may begin physical therapy with visits regularly, such as on a weekly basis, to help you become comfortable with the treatment protocol. From there, your visits may be moved to a more periodic schedule like every few months. Any time you experience a change to your health, such as a flare-up of arthritis or new pain in another joint, you should return to adjust your treatment plan and take proactive steps. Active and supervised treatment is often the best practice when it comes to knee and hip arthritis specifically.

Before any visit to the physical therapist, it can help to think clearly about what is physically bothering you that week, as well as what your goals might be to manage that problem. You may simply want to be able to reach for items in a kitchen cabinet, or you may wish to return to a physical activity like riding a bicycle. One benefit of physical therapy is that the protocol is always tailored to your specific needs.

Treatment & Rehabilitation

Treating Arthritis Outside of PT

While the research is clear that physical therapy is a beneficial treatment for arthritis, it is best used as one piece of a larger treatment plan. Different forms of arthritis, varying severity and locations, as well as a patient’s medical history, may all indicate a need for additional options such as steroid injections for pain management or the use of more invasive methods such as surgery.

Your medical team will be the best people to decide what forms of physical therapy meet your needs.

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Take Control

Discover Physical Therapy for Arthritis

Physical therapy is designed to help keep you moving safely and effectively, and it is a powerful form of treatment for a range of conditions, including some forms of arthritis. While there is no cure for the inflammation in the joints that causes arthritis, the condition can be controlled with pain management and prevention of further degradation. Through a series of exercises and lifestyle adjustments, physical therapy can help those who suffer from arthritis to engage in movement better and for longer.

Find a Clinic

Take Control

Discover Physical Therapy for Arthritis

Physical therapy is designed to help keep you moving safely and effectively, and it is a powerful form of treatment for a range of conditions, including some forms of arthritis. While there is no cure for the inflammation in the joints that causes arthritis, the condition can be controlled with pain management and prevention of further degradation. Through a series of exercises and lifestyle adjustments, physical therapy can help those who suffer from arthritis to engage in movement better and for longer.

Find a Clinic
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