- September 9, 2023
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Are stiff or tight joints making your morning routine unbearable? Do they ache as you get moving, becoming less painful as the day goes on? If so, this may be a sign of early-onset arthritis. Arthritis is a common condition that so many have experienced but instead of seeking help, choose to live with for far too long. You don’t have to live with painful joints from arthritis, Good Hands Physical Therapy can help you find Arthritis pain relief today.
Arthritis can be managed with the help of our Bridgewater, NJ physical therapists. We will assess what treatments will be best in providing pain relief for your arthritis during routine activities and help you prevent injuring yourself in the future. Our physical therapist will also help you boost your range of motion in painful arthritic joints. If you are suffering from arthritis, or you think you may be experiencing arthritic symptoms, contact Good Hands Physical Therapy today to schedule an appointment.
As the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis is usually easy to diagnose. It can be caused by a sudden injury to the joint, or it can develop even if a previous injury has fully healed. For example, let’s say you were a football player in college who suffers a harsh blow to the knee. Your goal is to seek treatment, recover, and eventually get back to playing the game. Even though the injury healed, damage occurred to the cartilage or surrounding muscles, decreasing support to the joint, or changing the motion of the joint slightly. Therefore, it is still possible for you to develop osteoarthritis from it later in life.
If you are overweight, you may also be at a higher risk for developing osteoarthritis, as additional strain is being put on your knees and hip joints.
The same is true for careers that require overuse or repetitive motions. For example, if you are a carpenter who swings a hammer in repetitive motions as a crucial part of your job, you may develop osteoarthritis in the joints of your elbows or hands.
Rheumatoid arthritis is another type of arthritis, although it is not as easily understood. It develops as an autoimmune response, meaning that the immune system sees your joints as a threat and decides to attack them.
Researchers have come to believe that your environment, medical history, and hormones could play major factors in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Because arthritis is an autoimmune condition, it is common for it to affect the same joints on both sides of your body. The condition is also more prevalent in females than males.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, arthritis affects more than 50 million people and as of now, it is the leading cause of disability across America. Arthritis causes pain and inflammation, and it can affect one or multiple joints at once.
Since osteoarthritis is caused when the cartilage of the joint wears down, whether it be due to age or overuse, the most common symptom is joint pain as the cartilage is no longer acting as the thick cushion that it once was. If there isn’t any cushion, the bones grind together, which in turn causes an inflammatory response in the joint.
Movement like bending of the knees has the capacity to make arthritis pain significantly worse. You might hear popping or clicking sounds in the affected joint(s) with movement, and the joint may be sensitive or painful to the touch. Arthritis can also cause pain when you exercise or work, and the pain may go away after you stop doing that activity.
Rheumatoid arthritis is referred to as “inflammatory arthritis,” and causes soreness around joints, which can be worsened after prolonged sitting, standing, or inactivity.
