When you’re plagued with aches and pains from arthritis, there are many things you may try. From medication to exercises to supplements, your options are numerous.
Understanding what’s causing your arthritis pain in your joints and muscles is an important first step in finding relief. Whether you experience pain in one area of your body or you feel it more widespread, it can hinder your everyday life.
One way many people find relief is through physiotherapy or physical therapy.
Here we share six ways physiotherapy can help ease your arthritis pain so you can get back to enjoying life.
1. Get Moving
According to Prairie Trail Physiotherapy Clinic in Winnipeg (https://www.prairietrailphysio.ca/), a key feature of physiotherapy is engaging in movement to bring pain relief. Whether you work on standing, walking or even get up to running at some point, physical therapy encourages you to get moving as much as you can.
An article from WebMD encourages you to keep working on a full range of motion as an element of your physical therapy routine. With training with a physical therapist, you can learn proper movements and actions that will work to alleviate rather than aggravate your arthritis.
Another article from arthritis.org notes that physical therapy emphasizes the body’s ability to engage in movement.
When you strive to continue to exercise, it’s important to not overdo your movement. While it’s important to get moving, you also want to be mindful of pushing yourself too far and causing more damage to your joints. Pace yourself when beginning a new program.
In choosing a form of exercise to keep yourself moving, be sure to pick something that you enjoy doing. When you choose an activity that you look forward to doing, it will be easier to stick to a schedule of regular movement and exercise.
2. Build your strength
When your joints are constantly in pain from arthritis, it can be difficult to work on building your strength. However, with physiotherapy, you can discover ways to build and grow your strength easily and without much pain.
When your muscles are weak and unused, your arthritis has the potential to become worse. In working with your physical therapist, you can develop a program and system to help build your strength in manageable steps.
Whether through lifting weights or engaging in regular exercise, building your strength makes you feel stronger and helps prevent further joint damage.
3. Be supported
Also engaging in physiotherapy includes the use of support options. These options, according to arthritis.org, includes things such as braces and splints which are designed to support your painful joints.
An article from Arthritis Research notes that you can wear splints on your wrists to soothe your pain. Your physical therapist can help you determine which support device is best for you.
You can also use shoe inserts to alleviate stress and excess pain on your legs and back. Using hot and cold therapy is also effective in pain relief. In a physical therapy session, you’ll also learn about how different shoes can affect your levels of pain, according to WebMD. Knowing which shoes work and don’t work can help alleviate your pain.
During a physiotherapy session, you may also learn how to properly use resources such as walkers and canes to help you gain your mobility back.
4. Improve your posture
Having improper posture can greatly affect your level of pain you experience from arthritis. With training and education from a session in physiotherapy, you can learn to improve your posture. Arthritis.org notes that you can improve your function with physical therapy.
Not only will you learn the proper way to stand up straight to make sure all your joints and muscles are comfortable, you’ll also learn basic body mechanics you engage in daily activities.
5. Learn new techniques
When you suffer from arthritis, there are some things you may just need to do differently. With physiotherapy, you’ll learn new techniques for your everyday activities.
For example, WebMD notes that engaging in proper bed rest can help calm inflamed joints. Especially when many joints are in pain, it’s often best to take it easy and rest your aching joints.
Physiotherapy also emphasizes using heat and cold to relax joints. Loosening up your joints and calming them down with heat or ice can help improve your ability to exercise and your movement in general.
6. Find ways to relax
Whether through acupuncture or massages, Arthritis Research notes that there are ways you can alleviate pain and alleviate stress at the same time. Finding ways to relax can help ease your joint pain in a natural and often inexpensive way.
Manage Your Pain Easily
Dealing with arthritis doesn’t need to be an overwhelming, troublesome and costly process. With these easy methods of physiotherapy, you can keep your arthritis under control.
