Are you experiencing persistent joint pain, particularly in a weight-bearing joint like your hip or knee? Do you ever notice a clicking or grinding sensation in your painful joint? If so, you may have developed osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis in the United States.
Arthritis is an umbrella term for over 100 conditions that cause joint inflammation and lead to pain and restricted mobility. The source of that inflammation will vary depending on the type of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is caused by the degeneration of the cartilage and bone tissue in the affected joint.
Osteoarthritis has no cure and can profoundly impact your overall quality of life, making it harder for you to stay active, keep up with chores, and enjoy time with your loved ones. Fortunately, physiotherapy at Aldergrove Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Centre offers several tools and techniques to help you manage your symptoms — often enough that you can delay or even avoid surgical interventions.
If you’re tired of living with osteoarthritis pain, call us to schedule an appointment today!
Understanding Osteoarthritis: Symptoms and Causes
The primary symptoms of osteoarthritis are pain and stiffness in the affected joint. These symptoms often manifest in the following ways:
- Pain during activity but not while at rest
- Pain when you press on the joint
- Joint stiffness first thing in the morning
- Joint stiffness after sitting or lying down for long periods
- Noises in the joint, including creaking, cracking, or crunching
While any joint can develop osteoarthritis, it most commonly occurs in weight-bearing joints like the knees and hips. However, it’s also fairly common in the hands, spine, and feet.
The causes of osteoarthritis are complex, and several factors can contribute to it. One of these factors is age: approximately 73% of people with the condition are 55 years or older. That’s not to say osteoarthritis is an inevitable part of the aging process — plenty of older people don’t have it. But your chances of developing it do increase as you age.
Other possible factors contributing to osteoarthritis include past injuries to the joint, gender (women are more likely to develop it than men), body weight, and even genetic predispositions.
How Physiotherapy Helps Manage Osteoarthritis Symptoms
The good news is that you can control osteoarthritis symptoms with the help of physiotherapy. Although movement can be painful with osteoarthritis, exercise is one of the best drug-free ways to manage the condition. Our physiotherapists will help you find an exercise program that suits your needs.
Here’s how we’ll do it:
- Comprehensive Evaluation: We start by evaluating how osteoarthritis impacts you, including performing simple tests to assess your strength, mobility, and/or balance. We’ll also ask you about the ways that osteoarthritis is negatively affecting your life. For example, which activities do you find challenging?
- Provide Pain Relief: We’ll use manual therapy techniques to help manage your pain and get the joint moving in a gentle way. For example, we might guide the joint through its current range of motion or manipulate the surrounding soft tissue.
- Build Strength and Restore Mobility: We’ll develop a customized, progressive exercise program to rebuild lost strength and mobility in the affected joint. Building strength, in particular, can help support and protect the joint so you can move more easily.
- Develop An At-Home Exercise Program: You’ll supplement your sessions in our clinic with a personalized home workout program to ensure you keep moving! We’ll find something that suits your abilities and interests, such as a walking program or water aerobics.
- Provide Strategies for Activity Modifications: Finally, we can help you identify and avoid any specific activities that might put too much strain on your joints. If needed, we can also show you how to use mobility aids (such as canes or walkers).
3 Simple Movements to Help Alleviate OA Pain
If you have osteoarthritis, it’s important to stay active to help keep your joints healthy. While our physiotherapists can help you develop a suitable exercise program, you can also incorporate movement in small ways throughout the day.
These simple exercises will help mobilize your joints, and you can easily do them at home. Of course, check with your PT before starting anything new!
Ankle Circles
While sitting in a chair, stretch your feet out in front of you, keeping them neutral (neither pointed nor flexed). Gently tilt both feet in one direction, then repeat in the other.
Knee Raises
Sit on the edge of your chair with your back straight and your feet planted on the floor. Slowly lift your knee as high as possible without bending your back, guiding it up with your hands if necessary. Then, making sure to keep your core tight, gently lower your foot back to the floor. Repeat on the other side.
Overhead Shoulder Stretches
You can do this exercise sitting or standing. Hold your arms at your side, your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle, and your thumbs pointed toward your shoulders. Then, stretch your arms straight overhead and slowly lower back down. If lifting both arms is too difficult, lift them one at a time. You can guide your arm up under the elbow if necessary.
Looking for more simple arthritis stretches? Call Aldergrove Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Centre for an appointment today!
Exercise of the Month
Seated Leg Extension
(Quadriceps, Knees)
Sit up straight in a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Slowly extend one leg out in front of you until it’s straight, squeezing your thigh muscle. Hold briefly, then lower it back down with control. Alternate legs or complete all reps on one side before switching. 3 Sets, 10 Reps (each leg). (Materials needed: chair)
Don’t Let Osteoarthritis Pain Hold You Back!
We know that living with osteoarthritis can be difficult, but the physiotherapists at Aldergrove Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Centre are here to help you manage your condition and live your life to the fullest. With customized treatment plans, targeted exercise programs, and acute pain management techniques, physiotherapy can help you take control of osteoarthritis pain.
Ready to get started? Call us to schedule your initial consultation today!
Healthy Recipe: Lemon Herb Salmon with Roasted Vegetables
A simple, anti-inflammatory meal rich in omega-3s and colourful vegetables — great for supporting joint health.
Ingredients
- 2 salmon fillets
- 1 zucchini, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss vegetables with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on the baking sheet.
- Place salmon on the baking sheet. Mix remaining olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano. Spoon over salmon.
- Roast for 18–20 minutes until salmon flakes easily and vegetables are tender.
Serves 2. Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon may help reduce joint inflammation associated with osteoarthritis.
