Ageing people have come to expect arthritis. However, a recent study by the American College of Rheumatology in Chicago found that the disorder is manifesting at an increasingly younger age. During the 1990s, the usual age of the onset of arthritis is 69; come the 2010s, the age has dropped to a youthful 56. Fortunately, an effective treatment for arthitic pain is readily available in the form of physiotherapy for London residents.
A reliable London physio clinic like CK Physio can provide arthritis sufferers with effective treatments that will help relieve the pain and give the limbs back their normal range of movement. To better understand what physiotherapy can do for those with arthritis, you’ll need to know more about how the condition occurs.
There are two main types of arthritis: rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a result of the body mistakenly treating one of your internal proteins as a foreign body. Your body’s immune system will then attack this protein; unfortunately, this reaction will cause inflammation in your body’s joints. On the other hand, osteoarthritis is a natural effect of aging, with your joints becoming weaker because of overuse and your cartilage eroding. In both instances, physiotherapy can significantly help the patient.
Physiotherapy can assist sufferers in manage the disease so that they aren’t as inconvenienced as they would normally be. This is done through a combination of treatments. Joint protection strategies help with the inflammation that is causing of rheumatoid arthritis; for example, splinting has been seen to help to control the pain and inflammation. Moreover, physiotherapy stops the deformation of joints, usually evident in the hands or feet.
Massage therapy can also relieve the pain and inflammation. Therapeutic exercises help sufferers to regain their range of movement and ability to act. Exercises aimed at strengthening and flexibility are vital components of the regimens recommended to rheumatoid arthritis sufferers.
For those with osteoarthritis, physiotherapy can offer them a lot more than pain relief. A strength and stability exercise program can return to them a full range of movement and operation. For instance, regular knee-strengthening exercises can increase the joint’s endurance and stability, while reducing the sheering action inside the knee that causes the pain. Combined with manual therapy techniques like massaging and ultrasound therapy, the swelling in the knee can be reduced. This suite of treatments also removes the pain caused by the cartilage fragments and bone spurs that develop because of constant use.
(Source: Knee OA on the Rise in Younger People, Arthritis Today)