Physical therapy is often one of the first steps in treating arthritic joints and improving your quality of life, says orthopedic surgeon Michael Raab, MD.
Physical therapy can help improve the flexibility and range of motion in your affected joints – and reduce pain.
“Many times the stiffening that occurs in a joint from arthritis is a source of pain itself,” Dr. Raab says. “Even if the joint is arthritic, once the range of motion and the flexibility of the joint is reestablished, the patient’s
joint pain may diminish greatly.”
He explains that physical therapy can help you:
Reestablish joint motion and flexibility
Strengthen muscles around the joint. “There’s more force on the joint if the muscles are weak.”
Improve your gait pattern. Changing how you walk can help you avoid patterns that may increase joint pain.
Dr. Michael Raab discusses the role of physical therapy in arthritis treatment.
Is physical therapy often used to treat arthritis?
Physical therapy is employed often to treat arthritis. Usually as a first step in combination with arthritis pill and home exercises, the goal of the physical therapy is first to help the patient improve the motion of the joint. Many times, the stiffness that occurs in the joint from arthritis is a source of pain itself. Even if the joint is arthritic, once the range of motion and flexibility of the joint is reestablished, the patient’s joint pain may diminish greatly. So the first step with therapy is to reestablish as much motion as possible in the joint itself, as well as the surrounding joints. And mechanically, this increased motion and flexibility may help the patient’s pain quite a bit. The second step typically with physical therapy, is to strengthen the muscles around the joint. It makes sense that there’s more force on the joint if the muscles are weak. It will also help the patient improve their gait pattern to avoid certain patterns that may lead to more pain within the joint. So, flexibility, range of motion, strengthening, gait pattern, all these things can be helped with therapy. In addition, the therapist can teach the patient how to do a home program to continue these exercises on a routine basis through their whole life, to help self-treat their problem. The home exercises may be just as important as the physical therapy, but it’s important to learn how to do those correctly so as to not create more problems. So the therapy is helpful for the home treatment as well. Lastly, the therapist can help educate the patient regarding self-care, regarding taking care of their joint, and also serve as a resource for the patient to see on a regular basis from time to time.
And to help maintain the gains that physical therapy provides, your therapist can provide you a program of exercises to
complete routinely at home. “The home exercise may be just as important as the physical therapy,” Dr. Raab says.
A physical therapist can also advise you on self-care of your joints and serve as your resource to see as needed.
Find Your Perfect Match
Answer a few questions and we'll provide you with a list of primary care providers that best fit your needs.