The Role of Physiotherapy in Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common ailments that plague the people who are more than 45 years of age. Usually the women are more prone to suffer from osteoarthritis after they go through the menopause. The osteoarthritis is a joint disorder in which the joints become inflamed because of degeneration of the cartilages. The cartilage is a kind of soft tissue that makes a soft cushion between the two bones of the joint and lubricates the bones so that they can slide over each other during the movement.

When the cartilages wear out due to some reason or the other, the bones rub against each other since there is no lubrication. The friction that is caused due to the rubbing of the bones causes swelling and pain at the joints. The bones try to repair the damages caused and in the process create a new growth on the bone that is known as the osteophytes. This new growth can also cause a lot of discomfort and pain while also limiting the mobility.

There are many signs that warn about the onset of the arthritis like pain, stiffness in the joints, swelling, difficulty in moving the joints etc. and can affect your personal, professional and also the social life unless you get it treated as soon as you realize the symptoms of the same in your body. There are 127 kinds of arthritis amongst which the most common are the Rheumatoid arthritis and the Osteoarthritis.

Some of the reasons why you can suffer from osteoarthritis are obesity, poor muscle strength, muscle wasting, prolonged standing, and internal derangement of the knee etc. Apart from a specialist orthopedic surgeon, only a physiotherapist can assess the main causes of the osteoarthritis and he can also help you in correcting those predisposing factors. If it is properly treated, it can be controlled to a great extent although you might need to take some medication along with home physiotherapy.

In fact physiotherapy is a great and one of the most effective options that does not require any operations. Physiotherapy as an alternative to surgery is effective in relieving the stiffness of the joint and reducing the pain.

Here are some exercises that can help you in getting some relief from the excruciating pain:

• There are many motion exercises that can help in maintaining the normal movement of the joints and thus relieve the stiffness.
• The strengthening exercises increase the muscle strength and also provide the necessary support, stability and protection for the joints thus preventing the deformity.
• The endurance exercises help in maintaining the fitness of the heart and also increases the body strength, controls the body weight and thus improve the various symptoms of the osteoarthritis.
• Only a home physio would be able to teach you all these exercises.
• There are host of other exercises like the isometric, isotonic and the isokinetic that can be used for tightening of the muscles, maintaining of the muscle tones and prevention of the muscle tone etc.
• however these exercises can only be performed depending on the condition of the patient.