Have the terms arthritis, Osteo arthritis, wear and tear, age related change or degeneration, been used when you’ve seen your GP, chiro or physio?
These terms are all commonly used to describe osteoarthritis. It is a joint condition that typically involves the cartilage but it also involves the ligaments, muscles and bones.
Symptoms range from mild to severe and typically present as pain and stiffness. All joints can be affected but commonly it is the joints of the hand, knee, spine or hips. Some people will have osteoarthritis without knowing about it since they don’t have any symptoms.
Although we can’t fix the osteoarthritis itself, with physiotherapy treatment, you can help to build strength into the muscles that surround the joint which help to decrease pain and improve function. It may provide enough relief that you are able to delay or even cancel joint replacement surgeries
A lot of people with arthritis find that heat packs help, and it is also important to keep moving. As physios we often hear that people are worried the more they use their arthritic joint the more ‘wear and tear’ it will get, although this is not the case. It is likely that it will get sore with use, but it will not create further damage. But following a full physiotherapy treatment plan you potentially will be able to use the joint as normal without the added aches and pains
So whether your arthritis pain is in your knee, back, hip or shoulder, come and see us at Lakeland’s or Miami Physiotherapy and we can set you up with a program to help with those aches and pains.