Physical therapists (also known as physiotherapists) have the main goal of helping you to keep moving. When you are living with rheumatoid arthritis, it can be difficult to maintain your mobility but doing so for as long as possible is important for maintaining your quality of life. Alongside the help you get from other medical professionals, physical therapy can be an important part of your overall treatment plan.
What is rheumatoid arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the immune system incorrectly identifies healthy body tissue as being an infection and attacks it. This causes inflammation and damage throughout the body, although it is often most apparent in the joints where the immune system has attacked the cartilage. There is no known cure for rheumatoid arthritis, but there are medications and other treatments that can help to manage it.
The main symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints. It usually appears first in smaller bones, such as those found in the hands and feet.
How physical therapy can help with rheumatoid arthritis
While rheumatoid arthritis is a progressive disease, physical therapy can help you to maintain as much function and movement as possible at each stage of the disease.
In the earlier stages of rheumatoid arthritis, the main goal of physical therapy will be to improve your strength, muscle tone, and fitness levels. This is done mainly through a personalized exercise program that aims to keep your joints as healthy and supported as they can be. Improving the strength of the muscles surrounding your joints is a good way to keep them stabilized, which will reduce your chance of injuring them further. Exercise can also help to improve your flexibility and range of motion, which will help to keep you moving for longer.
As rheumatoid arthritis progresses, these elements of maintaining strength, flexibility, and fitness levels will remain important. Alongside this, physical therapy can also help with pain management, which can include a variety of treatments. Heat and ice therapy can help to reduce inflammation and pain, Massage can also help to reduce pain and improve mobility. In some cases, electrical stimulation can help by interfering with the electrical signals sent by pain receptors, stopping the pain signals from reaching your brain.
Your physical therapist will also be there as a guiding hand and motivator in keeping you moving and as active as possible, and this can become invaluable as it is so easy to become demotivated when dealing with a lifelong disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. There is usually a mix of exercises done at therapy sessions and exercises to be done at home, and your physical therapist will monitor your progress as well as making adjustments to the treatment plan if needed.
Physical therapy can be a useful addition to the treatment plan for rheumatoid arthritis, Physical therapists can help you to maintain your mobility and reduce your pain using a combination of exercise therapy and pain management therapy. They can also help to keep you motivated and work with you to make sure that your treatment plan is one that works for you.