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Last Updated: Oct 23, 2019
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Osteoarthritis - Exercises You Must Follow to Ease the Pain

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Dr. Sanyam MalhotraPhysiotherapist • 17 Years Exp.BPTh/BPT
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Osteoarthritis is a disease that affects the joints and bones of the body and causes a steady loss of cartilage. It causes deterioration in the constituency of calcium, drying of the synovial fluid within the joints that lubricates and eases movements and makes the bones brittle. It also involves declining in the cartilage. This disease, that mostly affects women, worsens over the time and should be treated as early as possible. It causes deformation of the joints and can lead to hard bone cysts. The muscles around the joints get weaker. They lose their ability to bear weight, causing extreme pain.

The form of arthritis which is characterized by a growing pain that gradually wears down the joint cartilages is called osteoarthritis. Usually, people over the age of 40 are most commonly affected by this type of arthritis.

The symptoms of osteoarthritis include are as follows:

  1. Sudden and severe pain in the joints
  2. Sudden pain after performing a stressful job with the pain subsiding once you are on rest
  3. Severe pain after moving the arms and legs for a long time; the pain becoming worse in particular weather conditions
  4. Joints get stiff after waking up in the morning but improve slowly as the day progresses
  5. Pain in the thighs and groin region, coupled with swelled joints and joints which get stiff after rest

Physiotherapy For Osteoarthritis

Physiotherapy alias physical therapy is considered as one of the fastest growing allied areas of present generation medicine. Being an important rehabilitative service needed in a community and a vital therapeutic supplement of the medical profession, it's the treatment of diseases and disabilities using physical exercises, heat radiations, cold therapy, hydrotherapy, acupuncture and therapeutic massage.

A physiotherapist first assesses the patient's condition by performing various tests thoroughly. Once he diagnoses the illness, next thing is to design physical treatment depending on the type and severity of his condition. The treatment can consist of exercise programs such as water exercising and group exercising, massages and joint manipulation that plays a vital role in enhancing the mobility of muscles and joints, reducing stiffness as well as inflammation, and pain and muscle education when there is more severe muscular complications. Physiotherapy for Osteoarthritis involves certain exercises. Below give are some of the most common exercises for osteoarthritis-

  1. Hot compresses help to reduce pain and swelling in the joints and provides relief.
  2. Knee contractions and extensions.
  3. Ankle and wrist rotations.
  4. Hamstring stretch exercises may be helpful in some cases, though such stretching exercises must be performed with assistance and guidance from an experienced physiotherapist.
  5. Straight leg stretching.
  6. It is important to provide adequate rest to your joints and not exert yourself.
  7. Hydrotherapy; exercising in warm water, can be extremely beneficial and relaxing. It improves mobility and strength.
  8. Half Squats: This exercise helps to strengthen the knee and leg muscle.
  9. Abdominal Crunches: Abdominal crunches help to strengthen the core muscles of the body, which contribute to the overall body strength.
  10. Arm circles: In this exercise, one should need to repeatedly make circular arm movements. This exercise helps to develop arm strength and tighten the arm muscles. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Physiotherapist.
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