Can rehabilitation help treat osteoarthritis

1. Can Rehabilitation Help Treat Osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major public health problem that mostly affects the seniors. It affects the protective cartilage that cushions your weight bearing bone joints which eventually wear down as one age. Medication, physiotherapy and in rare cases surgery can help reduce pain and maintain joint movement. The stages in osteoarthritis of knee ranges from normal, minor, mild, moderate and severe that has different treatment plans. OA is found to be one of the most common causes of physical inability in the world. The prevalence of OA increases with aging process that often leads to joint stiffness, functional impairment and deformity that affects the quality of life. Mostly the osteoarthritis affects the bone joints of hips and knees. Guidelines to Overcome This Disorder: Treatment of osteoarthritis is mainly concentrated on reducing the pain in joints, easing the stiffness, reducing the physical disability, limiting the progression of joint damage, improving the joint mobility, and most importantly educating the patients about the disorder and its management.

2. Several scientific societies have created guidelines for the management of different osteoarthritis and improve the quality of patients’ life. Apart from medical treatments available there are few other rehabilitation methods that can be performed with proper guidance to help overcome difficulties in Osteoarthritis. It includes education and self management, regular telephone contact, referral to physical therapist, aerobic, muscle strengthening and water-based exercises, weight reduction, walking aids, knee braces, footwear and insoles, thermal modalities, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or acupuncture. Morphological Aspects of OA: Generally the surface of the healthy cartilage appears white, shiny, elastic and firm whereas OA cartilage shows a dull and irregular surface with discoloration, softening and often more synovial fluid is produced. And in most advanced OA cases, the cartilage displays signs of heavy rupture that results in hard surface and it is mostly fractured and cracked. The extent of the damage to the cartilage depends on the surface area of the joint that is exposed to different loading patterns and constant friction in a particular region. Rehabilitation Approaches to OA: Basic analysis on various non-medical therapies for elders or patients with osteoarthritis shows that rehabilitation exercise therapy been performed has major results. Rehabilitation enables reducing pain through massages or heat, stabilizes joints, limits deformation and allows free mobility. In most severe and advanced cases of OA, surgical intervention is necessary. In early post operative stages, it is essential to include rehabilitation exercise therapies in order to restore full function of the involved joints. The analytics available suggests that physical exercise is effective, economical and accessible to everyone and is one of the most important components of post- operative rehabilitation for osteoarthritis. Orthopedic rehabilitation promotes the recovery of muscle strength, range of motion, coordinated walking and mitigates joint pain. OA occurs when joint homeostasis is changed by dynamic steady state between destructive forces and repair mechanisms. Thus a proper rehab physical therapy is a must at very early stages. Rehab with Proper Supervision: Rehabilitation therapy is the most necessary step to overcome both post operative or mild osteoarthritis related to aging. With proper supervision the

3. non-medical therapies will help us to show small to moderate significant improvements on quality of life. With various OA levels the treatments will have different patterns that will help patient recover effectively. Inpatient rehab is one of its kind that provides rehabilitation services to patients after a surgery that includes hospitalization of 2 weeks especially in cases of joint replacement. The goal of inpatient rehabilitation is to achieve maximum level of independence. I.e. to make sure patients can walk independently with or without an assistive device, perform all their activities of daily living independently since this is often affected after a surgery. Smooth transition to outpatient or home rehabilitation is paramount after an inpatient stay to achieve pre-surgical level of function, better strength, improved pain and quality of life. This phase will last for a couple of months. Most weight bearing joints like hips and knee joints are most prone to OA, with proper physiotherapist who can help and guide into various intensity levels in exercises and also does massage techniques and postures that will help reduce pain and partially recover some mobility in suffering joints. A structural defect of the joint, causing increased pressure on the cartilage often promotes the development of osteoarthritis, thus working on that specified muscles will help reduce the excessive pressure. Exercise and physical activity require the active participation of patients, and as such, their effects are proportional to patients’ level of adherence. Thus Physiotherapy rehab like JH rehabilitation provides proper supervision with well trained physiotherapists who will help you recover from OA related impacts and also gives post operative care rehab for osteoarthritis patients.