Arthritis

Chronic arthritis can make some or all of your joints miserably painful, stiff, and weak. If you have problems with any form of arthritis, the team at Holsman Physical Therapy can help. They have 17 locations throughout New Jersey and New York City, where their team offers safe, effective arthritis treatments that reduce your need for medications and help you avoid surgery. To find out how you can benefit from the team’s expertise in arthritis, call Holsman Physical Therapy or book an appointment online today.

What is arthritis?

Arthritis is a musculoskeletal disorder that causes chronic joint pain. The condition takes many forms, with osteoarthritis being the most common. Osteoarthritis usually starts causing symptoms when you reach middle or older age, although younger people can get it after joint injuries.

The gradually worsening stiffness and pain in your joints that osteoarthritis causes result from the wearing away of cartilage, a smooth tissue layer covering and protecting the ends of bones. You might experience flare-ups when the pain worsens to an excruciating level and then recedes again, but the symptoms never go away completely.

The next most common form of the disease is rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disorder where a fault in the immune system causes it to attack cells in your joint linings. This condition is more likely to develop at a younger age and is sometimes known as juvenile arthritis.

Arthritis can cause severe joint inflammation, loss of function, distortion, and long-term pain. It has no cure as of yet and often progresses over time. Living with arthritis is generally very challenging and can cause significant disability.

What treatments can help with arthritis?

Medication can mask arthritis pain but doesn’t tackle the root cause. Also, patients may become dependent on potent opioid pain-relief drugs.

Other medical approaches to combating arthritis symptoms include steroid or hyaluronic acid injections. The final option is joint replacement surgery.

Physical therapy offers a highly effective complement or alternative to other treatments.

What physical therapies help with arthritis?

Your provider at Holsman Physical Therapy could use various techniques to treat your arthritis, such as:

• Active range of motion (AROM) exercises
• Active assistive range of motion (therapist-assisted AROM)
• Gait or walking training
• Isometrics (muscle contraction without joint movement)
• Isotonics (muscle contraction with resistance)
• Soft tissue mobilization
• Maitland/Kaltenborn mobilizations
• Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation
• Posture training
• Progressive resistive exercises
• Stretching/flexibility exercise
• Cryotherapy
• Heat therapy
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
• Whirlpool hydrotherapy
• Occupational therapy

Your personalized care plan may include some or all of these treatments. Your Holsman Physical Therapy provider thoroughly assesses your arthritis and factors in relevant information like your age and other health problems before preparing your program.

If arthritis is causing you pain and distress, get expert help from the team at Holsman Physical Therapy. Call the nearest office or book an appointment online today. The practice has convenient locations in Lyndhurst, Fair Lawn, Cedar Grove, Caldwell, Bloomfield, Maplewood, Newark, South Orange, Clifton, Paterson, Kearney, Jersey City, and Rahway, New Jersey, and the Crotona and Van Nest neighborhoods in the Bronx and the Cypress Hills neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City.