Knee osteoarthritis is one of the most common types of chronic joint condition that affects the daily functions and quality of life. It is usually a degenerative type of arthritis, in which the cartilage that’s responsible for cushioning the joints gets worn out as you age. Over time, the ‘tear and wear’ of the cartilage increases the friction between bones while in motion, and this leads to the bone surfaces becoming less secure.
The friction ultimately results in swelling, loss of mobility and pain. However, one can incorporate Knee Osteoarthritis Physiotherapy which suppresses the symptoms linked with the disease and slows down the process.
Causes of Knee Osteoarthritis
Movement and load keep the articular cartilage of your knees healthy. By exposing the articular cartilage to heavy loads that it cannot withstand for an extended period, there’re high chances to develop knee osteoarthritis. Thus, many factors can make you develop knee osteoarthritis. These factors include:
Weight – overweight not only increases the chances of developing osteoarthritis, but also the risk of it advancing.
Age – although young people can still develop knee osteoarthritis, it is primarily more common among the people aged 45 and above.
Gender – the rate of developing osteoarthritis in men is higher before the age of 50, while women have a higher risk of getting osteoarthritis after hitting 50 years.
Other causes include a history of knee surgery or trauma, family history of knee osteoarthritis, heavy physical occupations, natural leg posture, and muscle weakness.
Signs and Symptoms of Knee Osteoarthritis
- Swelling of the bones because of the excess fluid in the joint
- You may feel a cracking sensation at knee joints
- Bony outgrowths can occur under the skin while they may become substantial over time
- Frequent pain around the knee joints
- Stiffness at the joints
Using Knee Osteoarthritis Physiotherapy to Curb Osteoarthritis
Physiotherapy certainly helps in a couple of ways when it comes to curbing knee osteoarthritis. There are some physiotherapy management tactics which are deployed on all patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis. However, there’re those which are tailored to a person’s type of knee osteoarthritis, lifestyle, and other contributing factors.
For instance, your physiotherapist can customise a program to assist you strengthen the knee muscles and also enhance how you control your knee position. This is incredibly essential since individuals suffering from osteoarthritis have meaningfully lowered quadriceps strength. Since physiotherapists are experts when it comes to prescribing exercises, they can teach you types of effective and safe strength exercises that reduce pain significantly.
Precautions such as changing work routine, weight reduction, diet, postures, participating in physiotherapy, avoiding injuries, and regular workouts are advised. Other types of relief like ointments, acupuncture, magnetic pulse therapy, prescription drugs, topical pain relievers, and vitamin regimes are temporary. Using surgery and prescription drugs need to be a mutual decision between a practitioner and a patient.
Now, are you suffering from joint mobilisation, knee osteoarthritis, back pain, sports injuries, headache, and neck pain? If so, get in touch with Turramurra Sports & Spinal Physiotherapy. With many years of experience and expertise, we’re best suited to solve your arthritis problem. Make an appointment today by dialling this number 9144-1510.