Joint Pain
Many musculoskeletal aches arise from joint pain and stiffness that often occurs when there are inefficient loading mechanisms through the body. This leads to inflammation or degenerative changes in the underlying bone and cartilage within joints. If left untreated, may lead to osteoarthritis (OA) that can range from mild to severe and will impact your ultimate health and vitality.
The most common joints affected by osteoarthritis are fingers, hips and knees. It is estimated by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the USA that one in two people will suffer symptomatic knee OA. Some will suffer significant joint pain from OA, whilst others will have mild symptoms. Research shows that x-rays and other investigations often do not correlate well with symptoms so having a treatment plan that is patient specific targeted at your underlying causes is crucial in symptom relief and long term preservation of the joint.
However, there are many other types of arthritis including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, gout and fibromyalgia. These types of arthritis need medical advice for drug therapy, but will rely on expert physiotherapy care to help reduce further damage and relieve symptoms.
At PhysioMotion, we will help you alleviate your symptoms, prevent further damage and return you to optimal fitness including nutritional counselling.
Some overarching treatment principles common to all these injuries are Diagnostics and Treatment & Prevention.
Diagnostics:
∙ Our Physiotherapists will perform a comprehensive assessment to diagnose the stage of the injury and the primary cause of the dysfunction
∙ For optimal healing and prevention of further injury, a whole body individualized biomechanical assessment will be performed looking at your strength, control and any asymmetrical loading associated with compensatory movement strategies throughout your body
∙ A sport specific analysis will also be conducted often including a running assessment.
Treatment & Prevention:
∙ A progressive treatment protocol used will expedite recovery and return to sport by addressing the specific dysfunction in your body
∙ Treatment including your exercise program will be targeted at the cause of your issues and not necessarily the pain generator (where symptoms appear)
∙ Early intervention is paramount to prevent any further injury and unwanted compensatory mechanisms in other regions of the body
∙ Other contributory factors will be discussed such as your exercise program, training regimes, general health and nutrition.
∙ A detailed explanation of your specific issues will be given to support behavioural changes to optimize healing and recovery
∙ Referral to other health professionals to achieve optimal health will also be considered.