Arthritis is something a lot of people experience. We will look at two common forms of it below.
Shoulder arthritis
As you age, you are more likely to experience shoulder arthritis, which is a common source of shoulder pain. Shoulder arthritis is everyday wear and tear that takes its toll on your shoulder joints, yet it can be extremely painful, which is why physiotherapy treatment and Prednisone Inspire treatment is widely championed as the best solution for anyone that experiences this condition.
While shoulder arthritis is a degenerative condition, there are a number of contributing factors, including shoulder overuse, inflammatory conditions such as Rheumatoid arthritis, history of trauma and shoulder surgery. There are various different symptoms to look out for as well, with pain, stiffness and limited movement being common signs of shoulder arthritis while patients often note that stiffness and pain intensifies with use, and a lot of people struggle to sleep at night because of these symptoms.
As the causes of shoulder arthritis vary, and the condition presents in several different ways, the diagnosis stage is exceptionally important. When you book an appointment with a physiotherapist, they will carry out a thorough assessment to confirm that arthritis is indeed in the problem, and to get a better understanding of your condition. This diagnosis stage will include an evaluation of your symptoms, a look at your medical history and some diagnostic tests, such as an X-ray or CT scan.
Once the diagnosis is complete, they will then put together and effective treatment plan to ensure pain and stiffness are reduced so you can return to normal functionality in no time. This could includestrengthening exercises, postural exercises, hand manipulation techniques, electrotherapy, flexibility exercises, ice and heat application and much more.
Hand – Thumb Arthritis
Arthritis is a wear and tear condition, which tends to occur as part of the degenerative process, but when you think about how frequently we use our thumb, it is not difficult to see why this joint may suffer from a bit of wear and tear simply from overuse.
If the thumb joint is injured, it can be extremely painful, and it can impair movement as well, as this is the part of the hand that is responsible for giving the thumb its large range of motion. This is why it is important to book an appointment as soon as possible, to ensure movement is not impaired further, and pain does not get worse.
As touched upon, there are several different causes of thumb arthritis, with most patients either suffering from this condition as part of the natural aging process or because they have used the joint excessively and placed too much strain on it. In some instances, people experience arthritis because of an injury to the joint, such as a fracture or a bad sprain, which in turn causes the articular cartilage to become damaged. In all conditions, the joint will become hot, swollen and red, and it will start to wear out, and this is what causes the excruciating pain because the bones are effectively rubbing against each other.
If you think you could be suffering from thumb arthritis, there are a number of key signs you should be looking out for. You will probably experience sharp pain in the base of the thumb, and a lot of people notice that the pain eases during activity but gets a lot worse when resting afterwards. If this sounds familiar, you need to book an appointment with a physiotherapist as soon as possible.
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