EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF YOUR OSTEOARTHRITIS
As Movement Specialists, we have developed a complete philosophy to help manage your Osteoarthritis. Helping you get on the road to recovery quickly and effectively, while building the long term strategies needed for your movement health & well being.
Understanding the issue
Firstly, at Body Logic Health, we like to think about ‘wear & tear’ as opposed to Osteoarthritis. Essentially for most this is a natural process that is accelerated in some due to how they move, habitual postures and the time these factors have been in play in their life. As such the earlier we can assess and manage your issue the better the chance we have of making a great long term impact on your life and activities.
Osteoarthritis is a condition that causes joints to become painful and stiff. This is due to the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones breaking down, causing pain, swelling and problems moving the joint. Bony growths can develop, and the area can become inflamed (red and swollen). Osteoarthritis can affect any joint in the body, but the most commonly affected joints are the back, knee and hip as well as joints within foot, ankle, hand and wrist. Within the hand, the joints at the base of the thumb and the ends of the fingers are most often affected. Joints within the spine (back and neck) are also affected by Osteoarthritis, particularly the joints of the lower back.
Osteoarthritis is a long-term condition but it doesn’t necessarily get any worse over time and the pain connected with it can sometimes gradually improve with the help of regular exercises to help maintain muscle strength and stability, losing weight as well as lifestyle changes and footwear. It is about building the long term plan to help maintain your improved levels of movement and pain.
OUR FIRST ACTION: SETTLE YOUR PAIN
Body Logic Health, working with the latest evidence based treatment information, have put together a complete solution for your Osteoarthritis management. Our full treatment pathway will take you beyond the ‘quick fix’ and through the necessary phases to make sure you return to the activities your enjoy.
Important First Step
Your pain must be addressed first, it is important to be able to get on with your daily activities, and there are huge benefits to returning to normal activities. Your movement specialist will complete a full assessment to understand the best way forwards for you with your management.
You will then have your diagnosis and the reason for your symptoms fully explained to you along with an outline of your treatment pathway. This is also your chance to ask questions about your specific issue so you understand the underlying long term mangement more fully.
You will then begin the best treatment plan to help your recovery, and our highly skilled team will give you the best outline of the time frame for this first step.
N.B.
If you have made it this far previously and find yourself in treatment again due to recurrence then there are a few key factors that you need to be aware of;
CAUSATIVE FACTORS IN OSTEOARTHRITIS
The exact cause of OA isn’t known but there are several factors which increase the likelihood of suffering with it such as:
- Previous joint injury
- Age – your risk of developing the condition increases as you get older
- Family history – Osteoarthritis may run in families, although studies haven’t identified a single gene responsible
- Weight – being overweight puts excess strain on your joints, particularly those that bear most of your weight, such as your knees and hips
The essentials we do know are that this is primarily about habits. The sustained postures and movement patterns we adopt over time can increase stress and loading into some areas of the body. Any from the list above can set these phases off but the problem really comes through control of your movement – good joints that have a healthy range of movement with good control decrease the risk factors dramatically and there are a number of studies now showing how strength and stability training assist in the long term management, reducing the risk of surgical intervention and leading to an improved lifestyle.
Recurrence is the toughest area to address in Osteoarthritis management, primarily if you only completed the first step previously then the chances are you have not changed how the body is moving to prevent loading and issues returning at a later date.
The ability of our team to identify poor movement patterns, muscle imbalances, timing faults and related issues related to your Osteoarthritis means the team are ideally placed to explain and address these factors to move you to a better long term result and allow you to spend more time doing the activities you enjoy.
BUILD YOUR FOUNDATION
Building your foundation is the key to step 2, to complete this phase we need to identify the underlying movement faults that you have. You have a couple of options here depending on your specific requirements and end goals;
1. Movement Screen – a brilliant way to understand how you move affects your tissue loading and can be easily related back to many of the reasons behind the injuries we see in clinic each and every day.
2. Pilates Discovery Session – can be an exciting option looking forward at your long term movement health, the the screen helping identify issues in your movement that can then be addressed through targeted Pilates sessions.
3. Walking / Rehabilitation Evaluation – your lower limbs are crucial to walking and understanding how you move and load joints that can affect your arthritis is important, the pathway options to improve patterning and create long term movement health
You will have the ‘how you move’ identified and explained in full detail to you, and this will allow your movement specialist to plan the next phase of your OA management.
The main goal in building your foundation is to not only identify the underlying causative factors but explain why they are there so you can make lifestyle changes to improve long term management and begin the movement retraining phase to adapt how you move to change excessive loading and tissue stress building up again in the body which can affect your Osteoarthritis.
ELEVATE YOUR PERFORMANCE
The hardest part for everyone is to stay motivated once you are moving well again. We all know life gets in the way of looking after you, however with Osteoarthritis you need to stay on top of your movement management. If you feel you need further help to achieve your performance goals or to maintain your lifestyle, there are ways we can help you.
If you have completed the first two steps, you are now ready to achieve lifestyle and performance goals, step 3. At this phase our great rehabilitation team will often take over your management.
There are plenty of options for you depending on your specific goals, so please discuss your options with your physiotherapist. This step will be a big part of your ongoing Osteoarthritis management, and will involve individually designed programmes to complement your home exercise programme.
You can see the whole pain to lifestyle pathway for you to improve your Osteoarthritis management long term. This will help you create movement health and enjoy the life you want to live.
Start your journey today and enjoy your life again.
Ready to start your recovery?
Get in touch with us now
Have a question?
Wondering how we can help you? Give us a call and one of our expert team will be happy to answer all your questions!
Ready to book?
You can book your appointment online by clicking below. If you’d prefer to talk first you can call us on 020 7924 6068 or email battersea@body-logic.co.uk