My name is Jamie Turner and when I turned 22, I started to form a horrible case of acne. I used every cleanser and lotion I could find and I even asked my physician for a topical steroid cream to clear up the zits on my face. After six months of treatment, my physician completed a blood test that concluded that a hormone imbalance was causing my acne. I started on therapy to control the amount of estrogen my body produced. The therapy along with a good diet and exercise regimen helped to clear up my acne. I am sharing my story, because acne is not just a condition that affects teenagers. It can affect adults at any age, and it can cause a great deal of embarrassment. Don't let your acne go untreated. Read my blog instead and learn about both natural and medical treatments that can help you.
Arthritis can slow you down and limit your level of physical activity. However, a physical therapist can work with you to enhance your mobility and help you regain strength in the joints affected by the disease. A physical therapist will develop a treatment plan to help you stay active so that you can continue to do your daily tasks and all the other things in life that you like to do, but with less arthritis pain.
Goals of Physical Therapy
Increase range of motion.
Stiff joints generally are a symptom of arthritis; therefore, if you've lost some range of motion in the knee and/or hip, it becomes more difficult to put on your socks and shoes, or climb into or out of your vehicle. Loss of range of motion in the hands and wrists can make performing certain other activities difficult as well.
Build muscle strength.
Strengthening the muscles surrounding an arthritic joint helps to strengthen the joint. Strong muscles take the strain off joints weakened by arthritis and helps prevent injury.
Relieve pain.
A physical therapist will prescribe an exercise regimen for you and stress the importance of rest when you become fatigued. Resting helps reduce both joint inflammation and pain.
Physical therapists also use treatment modalities, such as applying ultrasound, heating pads, or ice packs, to help relieve a patient's pain. The use of heat on joints and muscles prior to exercise can help you exercise more easily. Heat makes muscles more flexible, allowing for greater range of motion.
Educate you about your condition.
A physical therapist will teach you how to reduce stress on arthritic joints. You will learn the importance of maintaining a healthy weight, as extra pounds put additional stress on weight-bearing joints and may cause cartilage to break down faster.
When you walk, you put three to six times your body weight on your joints. While losing weight can't repair existing damage to your joints from arthritis, it can decrease your pain level and help slow further progression of the disease.
Provide assistive devices.
The use of assistive devices, including walking aids, puts less stress on the muscles and joints, making it easier to accomplish daily tasks you may find difficult because of arthritis.
A physical therapist may recommend splints or other orthotics to support inflamed joints. Custom-made shoe inserts and knee braces can relieve pressure on joints, helping to reduce pain, especially when you walk.
Help you recover from artificial joint replacement surgery.
A physical therapist will develop an exercise program to help speed your recovery following joint replacement surgery, taking into account your particular needs and physical limitations.
A physical therapist can also:
Show you the use of proper body mechanics so that you put less stress on arthritic joints. Practicing good posture is one example. Since strained muscles put more pressure on the joints, improving your posture helps prevent straining the muscles in your body.
Explain the importance of changing body position frequently to decrease pain and stiffness in your back and the joints of your hips, knees, ankles, and feet.
Instruct you on how to use the biggest and strongest joints and muscles in your body to take some of the load off smaller joints. For example, strong quadriceps muscles (the large muscles on the front of the thigh) help absorb some of the shock that impacts the knee joint when you walk or move.
To learn more, contact a physical therapy clinic like Eastern Shore Physical Therapy.
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25 March 2016
