How Physiotherapy can help with Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis can be a very debilitating condition, depending on the severity of symptoms.  It can certainly affect a person’s lifestyle, for example pain in the main joints of the lower limbs can severely limit mobility while pain in the hands and fingers can affect many day-to-day activities.

How Osteoarthritis presents

The main symptoms are pain and stiffness in the joints, which can feel worse after certain activities or after rest.  Osteoarthritis in the knees or hips, for example, can make it difficult for you to walk, in particular up and down stairs or hills. You may experience swelling around the joint and some joints, especially in the hands and feet, may take on a ‘knobbly’ appearance.  When the condition affects joints like the knees, hips or wrists it can lead to either partial or total replacement of the affected joint, with varying degrees of success.

Helping prevent further deterioration

However before you come to that drastic stage there are things you can do to help with your condition.  Simple steps like maintaining a healthy weight and eating foods like oily fish, which contain Omega 3 fatty acids, can help to alleviate the effects of osteoarthritis.  Swimming is an excellent choice for people with osteoarthritis as it allows you to exercise the weight-bearing joints without putting any strain on them.  Many people use painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen and you can buy anti-inflammatory creams to rub on the affected joint.  However, these can only mask the pain for a limited amount of time and if you don’t like taking painkilling drugs you have to look at other ways to help with your condition.

Physiotherapy and Osteoarthritis

Physiotherapy can help a great deal with the management of osteoarthritis symptoms.  The physiotherapist can advise on pain relief and exercise as well as how to manage your condition on a day-to-day basis.  They can devise an appropriate exercise programme especially for you.  They can offer advice on how to improve and maintain movement in your joints, strengthen the muscles around the joints – crucial for keeping them healthy – and they can study your gait and offer advice on how to improve your walking and posture, increasing your range of motion.  Some physios are able to offer alternative therapies like acupuncture, or hydrotherapy exercise where suitable. Physiotherapists can also offer advice on the wearing of appropriate braces to provide joint support and ease the pain of your osteoarthritis.

Physiotherapy is a vital part of rehabilitation after diagnosis and can be a great help in restoring you back to your normal activities.