Osteopathy and Arthritis
Most people feel that nothing can be done for arthritis except take pain medication.
Arthritis is a common problem as we get older and can be a major factor in people stopping doing the things they enjoy. This is partly due to pain, but mostly because they are scared of doing further damage. This is rarely the case. Keeping your joints moving is paramount when it comes to reducing the pain and inflammation of arthritis.
Osteopathic treatment can help relieve pain by:
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Improving stiffness
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Eliminating muscle spasm
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Reducing inflammation and swelling
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Restoring joint mobility
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Preventing neighbouring joints from stiffening up
Reducing inflammation and muscle spasm helps prevent further damage for suffers of Arthritis.
Pain is not nice and stops you from moving the joint comfortably. The main reason we get pain with joint degeneration is due to inflammation and muscle spasm, not the joint itself. Once pain sets in you start to avoid using the joint. This may cause you to over-use other parts of your body which in turn puts extra stress on them.
By gently moving your joints we can begin to break the cycle and greatly improve the stiffness, pain and swelling. Once the swelling decreases and the muscle spasm has eased you can begin to use the joint again, and help prevent damage to other parts.
With improved movement you will need less pain medication.
Once we start to show you how to use your joint more efficiently and you gain more confidence the pain will reduce. This means you won’t need to use as much pain medication or anti-inflammatories. Consequently, side effects such as stomach ulcers and constipation can be avoided.
Using the affected joint in a normal fashion is the best way to prevent further damage and degeneration.
Our aim is to get you back doing what you enjoy most with little pain.
Related story: Chris and his Knee Arthritis
