Arthritis is not one single condition, but the name for a family of conditions causing joint swelling and pain. Various kinds of arthritis are among the most common musculoskeletal health complaints, particularly among older people, and it has a severe impact on overall quality of life for the population, with an estimated national cost of $303.5 billion per year in medical spending and loss of earnings.
If you have any form of arthritis, you know it can make daily life difficult in many ways – not just because these conditions are painful, but also because they affect mobility, manual dexterity, and beyond. The good news is that physical therapy is one of the best long-term solutions for arthritis pain relief, and the multispecialty team at JAG PT is always ready to combine varied modalities to create a custom plan that tackles your specific arthritis case so you can get back to living pain-free.
JAG PT is proud to be New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania’s top choice for physical therapy treatment – book your appointment at your nearest JAG PT location now or read further to find out more about non-pharmaceutical arthritis treatment using physical therapy.
What is Arthritis and How Does It Affect Your Joints?
There are actually over a hundred separate conditions that medical science refers to as “arthritis”. Each has a different cause, mechanism, and average level of severity. The commonality between them is inflammation, pain, and even lasting damage to various joints, usually in the limbs, hands, or feet.
The most common form of arthritis, by a considerable degree, is osteoarthritis – which is so common, in fact, that “arthritis” in casual speech usually means this type. Osteoarthritis sets in over time for older people because of the general wear and tear on cartilage and bones and a reduced ability with age to regrow that tissue. In the United States, about 1 in 7 adults have osteoarthritis, and it is estimated as the fourth most prevalent cause of disability around the world. Osteoarthritis is likely to affect the fingers, wrist, hips, knees, neck, and lower back.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the next most common type, and unlike osteoarthritis, it may affect people of any age, although middle age is the most usual time of onset. It is an autoimmune condition in which the body’s own immune system attacks and breaks down joint tissue. This means any joint in the body may be affected, especially in the extremities. Rheumatoid arthritis also has other symptoms, such as formation of nodules in the skin above joints, that may result in deformities. Furthermore, RA can have severe complications affecting the lungs, heart, and blood vessels.
Many of the other types of arthritis pertain to autoimmune disorders, including arthritis resulting from lupus. Little is known as of yet about the causes of RA and other autoimmune diseases – that is, what makes the immune response mistakenly strike out against the body’s own cells. However, current hypotheses suggest that both genetic and environmental factors play a role. Some other, rarer types of arthritis include gout (caused by deposits of uric acid crystals that the body cannot metabolize), septic arthritis (caused by an infection), and arthritis from fibromyalgia.
How Can Physical Therapy Help Manage Arthritis Pain?
For most patients, physical therapy offers lasting, effective, minimally-invasive relief for all manner of arthritis symptoms. A robust arthritis PT plan will use different therapeutic techniques to tackle issues ranging from pain and unusual sensations in the affected joints to fatigue, loss of mobility, and beyond.
For example, at JAG PT, our skilled and empathetic physical therapists often use manual therapy, including therapeutic massage, to deliver effective joint pain management for our patients with arthritis. Depending on each patient’s needs and preferences, they may also employ techniques such as aquatic therapy to improve movement and range of motion, alternating heat and cold therapy for inflammation and joint aches, and many others. But physical therapy’s role isn’t just restricted to treatment in the PT office – we also recommend customized exercise programs that can be used day-to-day to alleviate arthritis symptoms over time.
What Are the Best Exercises for Arthritis Pain Relief?
Exercise is not a cure for arthritis, but it can be very effective at controlling the symptoms. If you have arthritis, the specific movements you should concentrate on will depend on what areas of your body are affected and what condition has caused your arthritis. Overall, a trained physical therapist is the best person to help you make this determination. However, there are some general categories of exercises for arthritis that work well in most cases.
- Range-of-Motion Exercises: One of the most important kinds of exercise for people with arthritis tends to be range-of-motion exercise, because this helps tackle symptoms like stiffness and immobility. Depending on where your arthritis is located, beneficial daily exercises can include hip extensions, shoulder rolls, and others. Many range-of-motion exercises can be undertaken either with or without equipment like weights or resistance bands, making them adaptable to your circumstances.
- Water Exercises: Doing exercise in a pool (preferably a heated pool) is very helpful to many patients with arthritis, as this allows for more intensive training in a way that’s easier on the joints. In a PT setting, underwater exercise is a key part of aquatic therapy, which is often used for arthritis pain relief.
- Slow dynamic movement: Tai chi and yoga are two notable systems that help practitioners put the entire musculoskeletal system in motion in a gentle way. It’s easy to see how such practices can work for joint pain management in almost any area of the body. Since both of these involve a vast variety of different postures, it’s best to find a certified instructor or group.
No matter what kind of exercises for arthritis you utilize, some helpful things to remember are staying low-impact with your movements, beginning with stretching and applying heat, and icing the affected joints afterwards. These considerations are all the more important if your symptoms include immobility and swelling in addition to pain.
When Should You Consider Physical Therapy for Arthritis?
One of the main goals of all physical therapy treatment is to improve the function of the musculoskeletal system in order for patients to return to their normal daily activities. This means that if your arthritis symptoms are getting in the way of your day-to-day routine, it may be the right time to begin PT. Specifically, you could see significant improvement from physical therapy if you notice symptoms worsening, your arthritis specifically affects your mobility, or your ability to perform work or chores is reduced.
Schedule a Consultation with JAG Physical Therapy
If you have recently been diagnosed with any form of arthritis, early intervention can help you begin managing joint pain and other symptoms before they become severe. At JAG PT, the custom treatment you will receive from our skilled physical therapists aims to do just that, so you can keep doing all the things you love.
Our clinics are located all throughout the NJ, NY, and PA area – find your nearest JAG PT location, book your appointment today to get started with effective arthritis pain relief, or contact us now with any questions.