Physical and Chiropractic Therapy for Arthritis

More than 50 million Americans suffer from the stiffness, swelling, joint pain, and inflammation that comes with arthritis. Many say that pain medication alone does not give them relief from the pain. 

If arthritis pain is keeping you from enjoying an active lifestyle, there are treatments such as physical therapy and chiropractic care that can help you find relief. Here’s how:

Chiropractic Care for Arthritis 

While many people may think that chiropractic care is only beneficial for people who have been injured or need an adjustment, many people seek chiropractic treatment for medical conditions like arthritis. 

Chiropractic care can be used to help treat the symptoms of osteoarthritis—one of the most common types of arthritis that people suffer from, as well as psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. 

Chiropractic care can offer:

Pain reduction and relief: Chiropractors will use techniques to properly align the spine. When the spine is in proper alignment, the spinal nerves send signals to the brain to balance chemical production, which in turn decreases how the body relays pain. 

Muscle tension release: When the spine is misaligned, the muscles tend to hold onto pressure—causing inflammation. Chiropractic care can relieve the tension in the muscles by aligning the spine and reducing the amount of pressure. 

Increased range of motion: Proper spinal alignment increases the range of motion in the spine, hips, and shoulders. This allows joints to become looser and helps reduce stiffness throughout the body. 

Is Chiropractic Care Right for Me? 

If you have active inflammation due to an arthritis flare, a fused spine, or osteoarthritis in your neck or spine, you should not be treated with chiropractic treatments. Inflamed joints should be off-limits, but there are several therapies that chiropractors can offer that can help with the inflammation and swelling including:

• Ultrasound: When applied to joints and soft tissue, the sound waves produced by the ultrasound can help reduce swelling and decrease stiffness. 
• Electrotherapy: These tiny electric pulses are used to treat soft tissue injuries by stimulating the nerves and muscles. 
• Low-level laser or “cold laser” therapy: During this therapy, a non-heat-producing laser penetrates deep into the tissue, reducing inflammation. 
• Infrared sauna: These saunas use controlled amounts of heat to relieve pain and increase circulation for those who suffer from arthritis. 

Even if a chiropractor never touches your arthritic joint, treating the surrounding inflamed tissues can help reduce overall pain and discomfort. 

Physical Therapy for Arthritis 

Physical therapy isn’t just for people recovering from an accident, surgery, or other health condition, it is one of the highest-rated treatments to help relieve arthritis pain. 

Here are ways that physical therapy helps alleviate pain from arthritis:

Physical therapy can improve your range of motion: Range of motion supports optimal joint functionality. 

Physical therapists can target the source of pain: Working with a physical therapist can give you greater insight into what is causing your arthritis pain, and help you make adjustments to alleviate the pain. 

Physical therapy can help improve muscle strength: Weakness in your muscles can add stress to your joints and cause pain during movement. 

Physical therapy can target arthritis pain with specialized treatments: To provide optimal pain relief, many physical therapists use specialized therapies such as:

• hot and cold therapy
• manual
• chiropractic treatments

Is Physical Therapy Right for Me? 

It does not matter what level of arthritis or severity of joint function, pain, or range of motion that a patient may have. Manual therapy performed by a physical therapist, as well as home exercises, can help alleviate pain, increase range of motion, and improve muscle strength. 

In most cases, you won’t need to visit a physical therapist every week. Periodic visits are sufficient. The key to successful pain relief from physical therapy is learning the exercises from a physical therapist and then continuing to practice them at home. 

Improvement will be gradual as your body gets stronger, so consistent exercise is essential. 

Relief from Arthritis Pain 

Say goodbye to the stiffness and pain from arthritis and come visit our physical therapy or chiropractic team at Impact Med in Sun City Center. We will create a treatment plan just for you so you can enjoy an active lifestyle free from pain! 

Call Impact Med Sun City Center to schedule a physical therapy or chiropractic consultation today: 813-938-5195!