Find Relief from Osteoarthritis Pain
Are you experiencing persistent joint pain, particularly in a weight-bearing joint like your hip or knee? Do you ever notice a clicking or grinding sensation in your painful joint? If so, you may have developed osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis in the United States.
Arthritis is an umbrella term for over 100 conditions that cause joint inflammation and lead to pain and restricted mobility. The source of that inflammation will vary depending on the type of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is caused by the degeneration of the cartilage and bone tissue in the affected joint.
Osteoarthritis has no cure and can profoundly impact your overall quality of life, making it harder for you to stay active, keep up with chores, and enjoy time with your loved ones. Fortunately, physical therapy at Beyond Limits Physical Therapy offers several tools and techniques to help you manage your symptoms — often enough that you can delay or even avoid surgical interventions.
Understanding Osteoarthritis: Symptoms and Causes
The primary symptoms of osteoarthritis are pain and stiffness in the affected joint. These symptoms often manifest in the following ways:
- Pain during activity but not while at rest
- Pain when you press on the joint
- Joint stiffness first thing in the morning
- Joint stiffness after sitting or lying down for long periods
- Noises in the joint, including creaking, cracking, or crunching
While any joint can develop osteoarthritis, it most commonly occurs in weight-bearing joints like the knees and hips. However, it’s also fairly common in the hands, spine, and feet.
The causes of osteoarthritis are complex, and several factors can contribute to it. One of these factors is age: approximately 73% of people with the condition are 55 years or older. That’s not to say osteoarthritis is an inevitable part of the aging process — plenty of older people don’t have it. But your chances of developing it do increase as you age.
Other possible factors contributing to osteoarthritis include past injuries to the joint, gender (women are more likely to develop it than men), body weight, and even genetic predispositions.
How Physical Therapy Helps Manage Osteoarthritis Symptoms
The good news is that you can control osteoarthritis symptoms with the help of physical therapy. Although movement can be painful with osteoarthritis, exercise is one of the best drug-free ways to manage the condition. Our physical therapists will help you find an exercise program that suits your needs.
Here’s how we’ll do it:
Comprehensive Evaluation: We start by evaluating how osteoarthritis impacts you, including performing simple tests to assess your strength, mobility, and/or balance. We’ll also ask you about the ways that osteoarthritis is negatively affecting your life. For example, which activities do you find challenging?
Provide Pain Relief: We’ll use manual therapy techniques to help manage your pain and get the joint moving in a gentle way. For example, we might guide the joint through its current range of motion or manipulate the surrounding soft tissue.
Build Strength and Restore Mobility: We’ll develop a customized, progressive exercise program to rebuild lost strength and mobility in the affected joint. Building strength, in particular, can help support and protect the joint so you can move more easily.
Develop an At-Home Exercise Program: You’ll supplement your sessions in our clinic with a personalized home workout program to ensure you keep moving! We’ll find something that suits your abilities and interests, such as a walking program or water aerobics.
Provide Strategies for Activity Modifications: Finally, we can help you identify and avoid any specific activities that might put too much strain on your joints. If needed, we can also show you how to use mobility aids (such as canes or walkers).
Don’t Let Osteoarthritis Pain Hold You Back!
We know that living with osteoarthritis can be difficult, but the physical therapists at Beyond Limits Physical Therapy are here to help you manage your condition and live your life to the fullest. With customized treatment plans, targeted exercise programs, and acute pain management techniques, physical therapy can help you take control of osteoarthritis pain.
Get a Head Start on New Year’s Resolutions
Who said you had to wait until January to make healthy changes? While December is a busy time of year, it also offers that glorious week between Christmas and New Year’s Day when work is slow (if not non-existent). Why not use that time to consider how you might incorporate new health routines in the new year?
You could…
Incorporate a few minutes of jogging on your walks.
Try out a fitness class you usually can’t take because of work.
Perfect a few new healthy recipes.
Experiment with meditation.
3 Simple Movements to Help Alleviate OA Pain
If you have osteoarthritis, it’s important to stay active to help keep your joints healthy. While our physical therapists can help you develop a suitable exercise program, you can also incorporate movement in small ways throughout the day.
These simple exercises will help mobilize your joints, and you can easily do them at home. Of course, check with your PT before starting anything new!
Ankle Circles: While sitting in a chair, stretch your feet out in front of you, keeping them neutral (neither pointed nor flexed). Gently tilt both feet in one direction, then repeat in the other.
Knee Raises: Sit on the edge of your chair with your back straight and your feet planted on the floor. Slowly lift your knee as high as possible without bending your back, guiding it up with your hands if necessary. Then, making sure to keep your core tight, gently lower your foot back to the floor. Repeat on the other side.
Overhead Shoulder Stretches: You can do this exercise sitting or standing. Hold your arms at your side, your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle, and your thumbs pointed toward your shoulders. Then, stretch your arms straight overhead and slowly lower back down. If lifting both arms is too difficult, lift them one at a time. You can guide your arm up under the elbow if necessary.
Clamshells (Exercise Band)
Lie on your side with your knees bent and feet together. Position an exercise band above your knees. The side you want to exercise should be on top.
While keeping your feet together, lift your top knee away from your bottom knee.
Slowly return to the starting position.
You don’t need a doctor’s permission slip to start feeling better.
Not everyone knows this, but if you’re dealing with pain or an injury—new, old, or “I’ve-had-this-forever”—you can go straight to a physical therapist. Yep, in all 50 states! That means you can book an appointment with one of our amazing therapists and get help sooner rather than later.
This magical little thing is called Direct Access. In simple terms? It means you can see a physical therapist when you want, without first visiting a physician or medical provider. Physical therapists are trained to assess and treat injuries on their own, and they do it every day.
New Year, New You!
Make this the year you move better, feel stronger, and get back to the activities you love. You don’t have to wait until January to get started — schedule your appointment with Beyond Limits Physical Therapy today and head into the new year with a plan, more confidence, and less pain. Call us now to get on the schedule before the holiday rush fills up!
Patient Success
“I would give them 10 stars if I could! I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know almost all of the PTs, PTAs, and staff, and they’ve all been incredible. I’ve struggled with horrible back pain for the last few years, and thanks to them, I’m finally starting to feel like myself again. I worked 1:1 with Jacob, and the improvement I’ve had has honestly been life-changing. When I first started, I could barely move without pain. He created a set of exercises specifically for me, and little by little, I started noticing a huge difference. Now I finally feel hopeful, stronger, and more confident in my body again. I 100% recommend them. They truly care about their patients, and it shows in every step of the process.”
Maple-Dijon Salmon with Roasted Winter Vegetables
This easy sheet-pan dinner pairs a sweet and tangy maple-Dijon glaze with flaky salmon, a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, and a colorful mix of roasted sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, and carrots. It’s a cozy, nourishing meal for busy holiday weeknights, with only one pan to clean.
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets (5–6 oz each)
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 2 large carrots, sliced ½-inch thick
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts, for garnish
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, and carrots with 2 tbsp olive oil, the thyme, salt, and pepper. Spread in a single layer on the pan and roast for 15 minutes.
- While the vegetables roast, whisk together the maple syrup, Dijon mustard, garlic, and remaining 1 tbsp olive oil.
- Remove the pan from the oven and push the vegetables to the sides. Place the salmon fillets in the center and brush generously with the glaze.
- Return the pan to the oven and roast for 12–15 minutes, until the salmon flakes easily with a fork and the vegetables are tender and lightly browned.
- Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and serve warm with lemon wedges.
Sources: choosept.com • who.int • arthritis.org • arthritis.ca
