National Arthritis Week is an annual event that was formed by Arthritis Research UK, which is the biggest funder of research into all forms of arthritis in the UK. The week officially kicks off today.
Many people hold charity events during the week to raise money towards arthritis support and research and raise awareness of arthritis. These events can be as simple as a school bake sale to things like sponsored sky dives.
Can Physiotherapy Help?
Various forms of physiotherapy can be a great help in relieving the pain brought on by arthritis. If you do suffer from arthritis you will usually be prescribed medication by most doctors and will also be able to meet with a physiotherapist.
A physiotherapist will be able to give you a better understanding of how arthritis will affect your joints and muscles. They’ll also be able to give you some useful advice on how to manage your pain with some physiotherapy. These physiotherapy treatments can be done by yourself to help relieve pain or in some cases can be done by professionals.
Physiotherapy Treatments
There are various physiotherapy treatments that can help relieve pain in arthritis sufferers, below we’ve listed some of the most common physiotherapy treatments and explored the reasons why they help with arthritis.
Ice Packs & Heat Packs
Ice packs can be used to soothe swollen joints and reduce swelling and inflammation. Similarly heat packs can also help sooth pain by stimulating blood circulation, if you don’t have access to ice or heat packs then you can always opt to create your own.
Soaking a wet flannel cloth with warm water or cold water will work in a similar way to using the heat or ice packs, however you should be careful to make sure you get the temperature right or you risk injuring yourself.
Massages
Massage therapy is another useful physiotherapy treatment that many arthritis sufferers find helpful and soothing. Massages can usually be carried out on your own, but you may also be able to go to professional massage therapist.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is another useful treatment that works by stimulating the brain to release endorphins. A lot of our physiotherapists are trained in acupuncture and are able to carry out the treatments themselves.
Exercise
While it might seem a little odd, general exercise is actually quite helpful in reducing arthritis pain. Graded exercise is the best way to go, where you start off slow and gently increase as you go along. Regular exercise strengthens your muscles and joints and increases your overall fitness.
These are just some of the many physiotherapy treatments available, your physiotherapist will likely advise you on which ones they think are best for you. Living with arthritis is not easy but by using these treatments you’ll feel a lot like your old self again and be able to have rich and rewarding lifestyle.