Osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms of arthritis, found in over 27 million people in America.
This form of arthritis is a chronic condition where the cushion in your joints breaks down. This cushion is known formally as cartilage, when the cartilage breaks down is causes bones to rub one another which can lead to the symptoms of arthritis. Common problems with arthritis are stiffness in the joints, pain during movement or activities, or loss of motion all together.
There are many ways that you can help manage the pain and discomfort that comes along with osteoarthritis. Oahu Spine and Rehab is here in Kailua to help you with a regimen of chiropractic procedures so that we are able to east your pain as much as possible. Between visits to OSR, there are some important steps you can take in order to ensure that you are avoiding pain or worsening your arthritis symptoms.
Aerobic exercising is good for your muscles. You may feel a little old fashioned and silly signing up for water aerobics, but we promise you that it will be worth it. Cardio is great for your body, overall health, and your heart. If you don’t want to go to the gym and run on a treadmill, there are plenty of other options for cardio. Join a sports team, water classes, or start doing active things when hanging out with friends and family.
Very light strength training can be a good healer for osteoarthritis because the stronger that your muscles are, the less your joints are going to have to work. While trying to get stronger, make sure you aren’t picking weights that are too heavy for you or trying exercises that are uncomfortable for you. Often times, first-time strength trainers use resistance bands in the beginning in order to build up muscles slowly and safely. If you do have osteoarthritis, consider very light weights for those areas.
Warm up before an exercise. Warming up your body before a workout is crucial in order to make sure that you are easing into your activity and not putting too much intensity on your joints without them being warmed up. Stretch the areas where you usually experience pain. If you don’t know what to stretch, do simple things like reaching towards your toes or stretching your shoulder muscles.
Know your limits. Just like we mentioned before, it’s important that you are not trying to exercise too intensely if your body is not ready for it. If your muscles are sore after new workouts that is normal, but if you are experiencing extreme pain in any joints during or after the exercise then do not continue.
Our chiropractor here in Kailua is able to detect degeneration in the joints very early on. Here at OSR we are trained to relieve the pain and improve the function of your joints. Whether our chiropractor is helping you with an adjustment or with trigger point therapy from our massage therapists, we are here to help you.
Let OSR relieve your osteoarthritis today!
Call us to schedule an appointment 808-488-5555!
Resources
https://www.arthritis.org/arthritis-facts/disease-center/osteoarthritis.php
https://www.acatoday.org/content_css.cfm?CID=1465
