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A Physical Therapist’s Advice on Joint Pain

It’s practically inevitable: As we age, so do our joints, often causing aches and pains we haven’t experienced before. Or, if you are relatively young and physically active, you might sustain a joint injury that makes movement painful.

In either case, you can take pain-relieving medication and/or limit your activity, but these treatments may not be enough to ease the discomfort – much less restore your mobility and enable you to enjoy your active lifestyle.

That’s where the advice and services of a physical therapist can be greatly helpful. Let’s talk about what a physical therapist advises for treating arthritis and joint pain, and where you can go to receive noninvasive and nonmedicinal physical therapy treatment that works to alleviate your joint pain.

What Causes Joint Pain?

Joint pain and stiffness may develop for any number of reasons, the most common of which include:

  • An acute sprain or strain in which your muscles, tendons, or ligaments have been damaged. This often results in painful and immobilizing inflammation.
  • An injury to the soft tissues of the joint that develops slowly over the course of weeks, months, or years – such as tendonitis or bursitis. This can be the result of repetitive stress caused by your job or sports activity.
  • Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of joint pain and stiffness stemming from age-related or sports-related deterioration of the cartilage in a joint. When the cartilage has become worn down at all, this causes the bones in the joint to rub against each other upon movement and leads to inflammation.
  • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is an especially painful joint condition that is caused by an autoimmune issue. The immune system mistakenly attacks the lubricating synovial fluid in your body (in the joints and elsewhere), and this can lead to disabling symptoms.

How Physical Therapy Can Help You Control Joint Pain

There are different types of physical therapy that can address your symptoms, ease your joint pain, and restore your range of motion. Once the precise source of your problem is determined, your physical therapist will recommend specific types of therapy, such as:

  • Stretches are designed to help heal injured muscles and connective tissues and to restore their previous integrity and range of motion. Stretching is also effective in keeping arthritic joints from becoming stiffer.
  • Exercises that strengthen the muscles surrounding a joint, which thereby alleviate direct pressure on the joint itself during movement. Strong muscles will naturally support nearby joints.
  • Joint mobilization techniques can help improve your range of motion and increase function without pain. Certain techniques may help to break up internal scar tissue that has formed over old injuries in a joint, causing chronic stiffness.

Physical Therapy for Joint Pain in Greater Jacksonville, Florida

If you are suffering from joint pain that limits your mobility but conservative treatment measures are proving to be ineffective, seek the help of a licensed physical therapist. Our holistic treatment philosophy at H2 Health is focused on proactively solving the underlying problem, rather than reactively treating the symptoms. Our goal is to provide the rehabilitative tools and hands-on physical therapy you need to fully recover from your movement disorder.

Although we specialize in general orthopedic physical therapy, our therapists also provide a wide range of specialty services that include:

For more information about our comprehensive physical therapy services or to schedule your first appointment with your own personal therapist, call us today at (800) 699-9395 or fill out our appointment request form online now. We look forward to helping you get back to enjoying everything you love to do!