How exercise can ease arthritis

From navhindtimes.in

World Physiotherapy Day is observed on September 8 to raise awareness about the vital role that physiotherapy plays in enhancing public health and well-being.

This year, the focus of World Physiotherapy Day which is observed annually on September 8 is arthritis, with an in-depth look at some of the forms of inflammatory arthritis including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and axial spondyloarthritis (AS). This follows the theme for 2022, which focused on osteoarthritis (OA).

Arthritis is a broad complex. It’s an acute or chronic inflammation that often co-exists with pain and structural damage. Arthritis is often associated with older age groups but it can also affect children. Being a joint disease, arthritis also has systemic repercussions. A few forms of degenerative arthritic conditions include osteoarthritis, spondyloarthritis, autoimmune or autoinflammatory process causing rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, arthritis due to septic infections, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis in children.

Arthritis affects people in different ways and each condition has specific symptoms. However, some common symptoms are pain, swelling, redness, warmth, morning stiffness or reduced movement of the joint, fatigue, rashes, fever, and weight loss. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease where joint complaints are in the foreground. Joint involvement occurs insidiously over a period of months and in some cases, it may occur over weeks. It includes polyarthritis of small joints of hands and morning stiffness in the joints like wrist, elbows, shoulders, hips, knee, and cervical spine which may last up to several hours. Patients also complain of difficulty in walking or doing daily activities of living. Late in the course of the disease, patients may present with different deformities. Other symptoms include symmetrical joint swelling and tenderness, positive rheumatoid factor, and radiographic erosive bone loss.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) or axial spondyloarthritis is a type of arthritis that causes stiffness and pain in the spine. It causes some of the bones in the spine called vertebrae to fuse. This fusing makes the spine less flexible resulting in structural and functional impairment. In advanced stages, it can give the spine a similar appearance to bamboo. Hence, this condition is also called bamboo spine. Along with the spine, it also affects the hips, knees, shoulders, eyes, skin, and the cardiac as well as intestinal systems.

Many people are unaware that early intervention by the physical therapist will help preserve the integrity and function of the affected joints. Early intervention can also stave off the unnecessary suffering from debilitating pain and a possible recourse to surgery. Hence, physiotherapy is an important part of your overall treatment of all forms of arthritis. Being part of a multi-disciplinary team, physiotherapists will be able to assess your condition and abilities and guide you to keep active, and help manage your symptoms.

People with RA and AS have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Hence, a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, is important. Physiotherapists will devise an exercise programme tailored to help you to maintain the whole body flexibility and reduce pain, manage swelling, and support you in developing skills for daily activities of living. Even when you are in pain, continuing exercises at the levels that suit you has significant benefits. Physiotherapy helps to slow down the degenerative process by improving the strength and stability in the muscles that surround a given joint, thereby decreasing the wear and tear to your joints from activities of daily living.

In brief, physical therapists help you strengthen your muscles around the affected joints, advice on stretches to maintain the range of the movement of joints, teach you proper postures and body mechanics to ease the activities, suggest modifications to your environment such as ergonomic advice like using proper chairs or cushioned mats, and help you choose assistive devices, braces, splints and shoe inserts to relieve stress on the joints, and to control deformities.

Hydrotherapy (aqua therapy), a form of exercise in water, is also an excellent treatment procedure to improve your mobility as well as strengthen muscles as water reduces 50% of body weight. Hydrotherapy enables people with RA to exercise with ease as water supports your body weight and there’s reduced pressure on the joints. In addition, physiotherapists will also take care of socio-psychological factors along with rehabilitative options to improve the patient’s quality of life. While it is impossible to turn back the hands of time to eliminate the effects of arthritis, physical therapy is proven to help individuals decrease their symptoms of pain and stiffness associated with arthritis.

https://www.navhindtimes.in/2023/08/30/magazines/buzz/how-exercise-can-ease-arthritis/