Rheumatoid Arthritis and Physiotherapy
By Juliet Dexter at 23 June, 2009
Although rheumatoid arthritis is a painful and debilitating disease, it’s also a risk factor for other problems such as osteoporosis and heart disease. Exercise and other lifestyle changes can hold off these diseases as research shows.
Sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis finds that life is a constant learning experience. Each time a new movement is done, one finds out if it makes the condition feel worse or better, fatigued or they will likely have a great deal of pain and stiffness in their joints.
To combat the effects of rheumatoid arthritis, physiotherapy is probably the most common way. This will be an ongoing therapy that will require dedication over the rest of the patient’s life. However, it’s common that the exercises and other therapies that alleviates the pain so well that the patient will have be motivated to keep doing them.
A physiotherapist understands how all the parts of one’s body work together to create movement. Bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons: the physiotherapist knows how they all fit to make one walk or stand. With this knowledge, the physiotherapist can devise methods to help one keep moving. This is the most significant part of rheumatoid arthritis treatment.
Early in one’s treatment, the plan will take form. It will include ways to prevent rheumatoid arthritis from being a disabling one. Further on, as time goes by, the focus will shift to a more here and now, current problem sort of treatment.
It’s found that various water exercises allows the person to get much needed strengthening and stretching exercises done under water. At the same time, there is little or no pressure on the joints or spine. Physiotherapists use water exercises as an important part of the treatment plan.
Strengthening exercises help the muscles provide more support to the joints of people with rheumatoid arthritis. If there’s not enough muscle tone, the patient will have more trouble walking or doing other normal movements. The rheumatoid arthritis will dominate the movements instead of the muscles dominating them.
Heat therapy can also be used in conjunction with ice therapy. A physiotherapist can tell the patient when and how long to leave on heat packs or ice packs. Other therapies include ultrasound.
People with rheumatoid arthritis can benefit from manual procedures, such as massage. A person with the stiffness that accompanies rheumatoid arthritis can be very limited in how far he or she can move their joints. Massage improves movement and increases this range dramatically.
One of the most important functions a physiotherapist serves for patients with this disease is as a motivational coach. The physiotherapist should be trained in the psychology of chronic disorders and pain management. She will be there to encourage you to keep trying, keeping moving, and never giving up.
Physiotherapy is only a part of the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, so for example,.diet and medications are also used. Yet, without physiotherapy, many people who suffer from this disease would be in much worse pain.
No comments yet.