Arthritis presents you with a painful dilemma. It hurts to move, but your pain will only get worse unless you move.
When you’re diagnosed with osteoarthritis, it may be difficult to see a bright side. The condition causes chronic pain, and there’s no cure for it.
It isn’t just the pain that makes having arthritis so difficult. It’s that arthritis robs you of the ability to do the things that you love to do, along with the everyday activities you need to function.
Medication can manage the pain to some degree. But physical therapy can help you reduce arthritis pain while improving your ability to move.
How physical therapy helps with arthritis
The goal of all physical therapy is to reduce pain and improve mobility. When it comes to arthritis pain, physical therapy:
- Strengthens muscles around your joints. Stronger muscles take pressure off of your joints, the source of your pain.
- Helps you keep moving. Physical therapy exercises are designed to improve your range of motion while reducing pain.
- Teaches you to move less painfully. Part of physical therapy involves learning about ways of moving that can cause less pain from arthritis.
If you have arthritis, it’s natural to avoid a lot of movement, because movement brings you pain. However, by not moving, that stiffness in your joins only becomes worse. Physical therapy for arthritis helps you to get more mobile without causing pain.
How occupational therapy helps with arthritis
Physical therapy helps with pain and mobility. Occupational therapy focuses on making sure you can complete your daily activities and do the things that you love.
- Offers tools to make life easier. Whether it’s a brace or an assistive device, occupational therapists find ways to make your daily life less painful.
- Give information on avoiding pain. Occupational therapy helps arthritis sufferers learn how to do daily tasks in a way that avoids pain.
- Shows you how to modify your environment. An occupational therapist can teach you how to change your home in ways that help reduce painful movement.
While physical therapy helps you learn how to move with arthritis, occupational therapy helps you learn how to live with arthritis.
These treatments may not be able to cure your arthritis, but they can help you have a better life with arthritis.
Ready to see how physical therapy can help arthritis? We can help.
Motus Rehabilitation provides physical therapy and occupational therapy to people who are suffering from arthritis. If you think that physical therapy may help reduce your pain, ask your doctor to contact prescribe physical therapy. Contact Motus Rehabilitation for more information.