Years ago, arthritis was considered an inherent part of the ageing process and a signal to a patient that it’s time to slow down, but not so any more. Recent research and clinical findings show that there is much more to life for arthritis patients than the traditional recommendation of bed rest and drug therapy.
What Is Arthritis?
The word arthritis means joint inflammation.
Arthritis may be divided into two types – degenerative and inflammatory. Degenerative (Osteoarthritis) is the most common form, sometimes called ‘wear and tear’ and is usually localised to a specific site such as the hips, knees or spine. Its classic features of pain, stiffness and restricted mobility may often be eased and improved with skilled physiotherapy treatment.
Inflammatory Arthritis refers to Rheumatoid Arthritis. Rheumatic diseases include more than 100 conditions, including gout, fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, and many more. Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto immune disease, affecting about 1 percent of the population. Although rheumatoid arthritis often begins in middle age it is more frequent in the older generation, and can also start at a young age.
Physiotherapy for people with arthritis is aimed at:
Treatments may include:
Manual therapy Mobilisation techniques are passive movements applied to a joint or soft tissue by the physio in a specific manner to help restore full movement to a joint that is painful and restricted. Manual therapy is often useful in the chronic forms of arthritis and is often successful when other methods such as heat and exercises have given little or no relief.
Electrical treatments (electrotherapy) These treatments produce electrical stimulation of your body tissues. They may be extremely useful in the treatment of both acute and chronic arthritis, where pain, swelling and muscle spasms are present.
Exercise A balanced programme of rest and exercise, and careful attention to joint posture is an important part of pain management, joint protection and maintenance of your joint function. Controlled exercise helps lessen pain and stiffness and improves the strength of muscles, so helping to stabilise joints. This is essential in all aspects of self-care and particularly important before and after joint surgery.
Thermal (heat treatments) The application of heat to the affected area can be most beneficial. The most common types of treatment used are hot packs and warm baths or showers.
Self-Management Individuals who participate in self-management programs can notice a decrease in joint pain and frequency of arthritis-related doctors’ visits. Coupled with increases in physical activity and overall improvement in quality of life.
Hydrotherapy is a very useful means of exercising arthritic joints using the buoyancy of water to assist or resist movement. The warmth of the water increases the circulation and helps reduce muscle spasms, producing more effective movement.