About Arthritis:
- Arthritis does not always lead to pain and disability.
- Weight loss is especially important for managing arthritis – A 10% reduction in weight equals a 50% reduction in pain!
- Movement and exercise to strengthen the muscles surrounding a joint reduces pain.
- Arthritic joints should not be completely rested.
- The amount of Arthritis on a scan is a poor predictor of pain levels.
- Many factors contribute to the overall ‘volume’ of pain, a thorough assessment should be conducted to address what is influencing your pain.
WHAT CAN I DO NOW? (before seeing a physio)
- Heat packs on your joints can assist with pain relief
- Continue to gently keep things moving
- Consider weight loss options such as pain free strength training, low impact activities such as swimming and cycling. As well as and addressing your diet.
- Avoid complete rest
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?
- Bodycare Physiotherapists are highly trained in assessing and managing patients with arthritis.
- Every patient with arthritis has different contributing factors to their pain and therefore management needs to be tailored to the individual.
- Bodycare Physiotherapists will spend time to identify the individual factors linked to your pain and set a plan to help you return to the things you love.
- Developing an exercise plan to strengthen the surrounding muscles will often be at the core of management along with treatments to offload the sensitive area.
Credit to BodyLogic Physiotherapy for contributions to material. For more information visit: https://bodylogic.physio/conditions-2/
