You may not have known it, but knee osteoarthritis has likely been sneaking up on you for years. This is because the condition is typically the result of the body’s natural aging process. If you’ve just been diagnosed with arthritis in your knee, you may be thinking that there are some tough times ahead. However, there are three knee arthritis treatment tips that El Paso, Texas, residents can use to help make their lives a little easier.
1. Keep moving
When arthritis is causing pain in your knee, your first reaction may be to move around as little as possible. After all, it only seems like common sense that if something hurts, you don’t move it. The reality of the situation is that moving around can actually help reduce the pain of knee arthritis. Moving your knee can help reduce knee arthritis pain for several reasons; one reason is because movement helps lubricate the joints and reduce stiffness. Moving around also helps strengthen muscles that support the knee joint. For these reasons and more, low-impact activities are commonly used in knee arthritis treatment plans in El Paso.
2. Take a serious look at your weight
An article by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 54 million Americans have some form of arthritis. The report also states that about 39 million of these arthritis patients are overweight. If you’re carrying a few more pounds than you should be, one way you can help treat your knee arthritis is to take a serious look at losing some weight.
The most important reason you should do this is because you can significantly reduce the pressure moving around puts on your knee. The CDC article says that for every one pound you lose, four pounds less pressure is placed on your knees, and this means that you could reduce your pain and improve your mobility with just a small amount of weight loss.
3. Come to Border Therapy Services for physical therapy-based knee arthritis treatment
Our team of physical therapists at Border Therapy Services in El Paso can help you find effective physical therapy for your arthritis. To begin your treatment process, we’ll do a one-on-one screening to determine which joint or joints are being affected. We’ll also take the time to talk with you about your level of pain and any mobility issues you have. All of this information is then used to create a personalized therapy plan for you, which may include therapy techniques such as:
Start fighting back against the symptoms of arthritis today. Contact our team for more information or to schedule an appointment.