2 Ways To Treat Your Arthritic Knee
Arthritis is kind of a fact of life. Most people will have some form of osteoarthritis in their lives, whether it's in their fingers, their knees, or their ankles. If you are having problems with arthritis in your knee, you don't have to suffer through the pain and frustration of having a knee that doesn't work as well as it used to. There are various things that you can to do treat your knee and help deal with arthritis.
Physical therapy
One thing you can do is to go to physical therapy at a place like Town Center Orthopaedic Associates, P.C. Your doctor will prescribe this therapy for you and then you will go see the therapist for a few sessions. The therapy will start with the physical therapist taking a look at your knee and evaluating it. They are going to look for things like range of motion, tenderness, and how much you can straighten or bend your knee. Once they have that information, they are going to ask you to walk so that they can see how well your knee works. Then the therapist will talk to you about your goals and what you would like to get out of therapy. Your therapist will then be able to give you some exercises for you to do at home. At each appointment, they will work with you and give you more exercises to do at home so that they can make sure that you are doing them right so that your knee can get stronger and hurt less.
Light Exercise
It may seem counter-intuitive to exercise when your knee is bothering you when you use it, but doing light and gentle exercise can help with your arthritis. For one thing, it can help keep the muscles around your joint limber. If you don't use those muscles, then they are likely to freeze up and limit your range of motion, which will make it harder and more painful for you to walk. What you are looking for is exercises like swimming or water aerobics or things like yoga and tai chi. These are all gentle exercises and can help with your pain levels and can help you feel better. Make sure that you check with your doctor before you start any exercise plan so that you aren't doing anything that would hurt you.
Having arthritis may be something that you will have to deal with, but you don't have to let it control your life.