Living with arthritis
Arthritis can cause pain in one specific area of your body or widespread joint and muscle pain. Understanding your arthritis helps to manage its effects.
If you experience arthritis, our physiotherapist will assess your condition to help you understand what’s happening to your joints. Your treatment plan will then consist of pain relief methods such as:
- Ice packs for soothing swollen joints
- Hot packs for relaxing tense and tired muscles
- TENS units (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) help block pain by sending pulses to your nerve endings through pads placed on your skin. A tingling sensation helps to soothe painful areas
Mobilizing, stretching and strengthening
Arthritis can cause joint stiffness and muscle weakness, affecting your daily activities. Our physiotherapist will assess your muscle strength and range of movement in your joints to advise on techniques and an exercise plan to improve your range of motion and manage your arthritis pain, typically including:
- Massage Therapy to relax your muscles and make joint movement comfortable
- Acupuncture to stimulate your brain and produce endorphins
- Electrotherapy including ultrasound and low-level laser therapy to stimulate the healing process and reduce pain
- Manual Therapy to improve the range of movement in your joint
Improving your fitness
Improving your overall fitness will help increase your activity level without increasing pain. An exercise plan which starts gently and increases in activity over time will help strengthen your muscles and joints while stimulating the release of pain-relieving endorphins in your body.
Pace yourself and gradually increase your activity. Many people worry that exercise will increase pain or cause more damage to their joints. Your joints are meant to move and the muscles and tissues around them will become weaker if they’re not active. Inactivity can cause your joint to become unstable and reduce your independence. Beyond increasing your overall fitness, exercise improves your general mobility, strength and self-confidence to help you manage your arthritis pain.
Do you need help with managing your arthritis pain?