Take a Proactive Approach to Arthritis Pain with Physical Therapy

Have you recently learned that your persistent joint pain is the result of arthritis? For many, this can be a challenging discovery, as the most common forms of arthritis have no known cures. But rest assured that you do not have to spend your life living with debilitating joint pain — physical therapy can help!

Arthritis refers to several conditions that cause joint inflammation, leading to its two primary symptoms: pain and mobility restriction. The most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, can cause pain during movement. It’s no surprise, then, that many people with arthritis wind up avoiding physical activity. In reality, regular physical activity is one of the best ways to manage arthritis pain. Physical activity can also help delay the progression of arthritis — and help you avoid surgery.

As movement experts, the team at Rebound Fitness & Rehabilitation is well-equipped to help you manage your arthritis pain. The physical therapy approach to arthritis management focuses on drug-free pain relief and regular movement. Best of all, it allows you to take a proactive role in your treatment. Let’s look at what happens when you exercise regularly with arthritis — and what happens when you don’t. And if you’d like to learn more, call us to schedule an appointment today!

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Got Arthritis? What To Expect if You Skip Regular Exercise

  1. Your muscles will weaken: One of the big benefits of exercise is that it builds muscle mass. If you don’t exercise regularly, your muscle mass will decrease — especially if you’re older, as muscle mass naturally decreases as we age. What does this mean if you have arthritis? Without strong muscles, your impacted joints don’t get the strength and stability they need to function, which puts even more stress on them — and means more pain in the long run.
  2. You increase your risk of injury: When you don’t exercise, you start to lose everyday abilities like balance, stability, and coordination. You can also develop muscular imbalances, improper biomechanics, or postural issues, all of which increase your odds of suffering an injury.
  3. Your joints will get stiffer: Our bodies are made to move, and when we don’t move them frequently enough, our joints don’t get the lubrication they need to run properly. This is as true for people with arthritis as it is for anyone else. Plus, since arthritis causes joint stiffness, not moving will only worsen your symptoms.

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“So thankful for the team at Rebound! Not only did they help me in strengthening my ankle following an injury, but also helped to get me in competing shape for my upcoming track season!”

– M.S.

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What Happens When You Do Exercise with Arthritis

  1. You’ll experience less pain: While it’s true that activity can initially worsen arthritis pain, regular exercise will decrease your pain symptoms over time. 
  2. You’ll experience fewer mobility restrictions: Just as regular exercise can decrease pain, it will also help improve your range of motion — meaning you can move more easily.
  3. The progression of your arthritis may slow: Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis — the two most common forms of arthritis — will gradually worsen over time and may eventually require you to undergo surgery. Exercising won’t cure arthritis, but it will slow the damage to your joints.
  4. You may feel more empowered: Living with a chronic condition is hard. Regular exercise can help you feel like you’re taking an active role in managing your condition and reducing your pain.
  5. You’ll experience other physical and mental benefits: Exercise offers many benefits beyond pain management. It can improve mood and quality of sleep, protect you from heart disease and diabetes, and help you stay active and independent well into old age.
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A New Year Means a New You

We all know what happens when the New Year hits! Everybody starts attempting to set goals to improve their lives over the next 12 months. While there’s never a wrong time to prioritize your health and wellbeing, the beginning of a brand new year certainly feels like a great time to make significant changes! It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for new ways to become more active, or you just want to put a stronger pulse on your overall health, we are here to help you!

We want all of our patients to know that we are behind you 100% when it comes to maintaining their fitness and embarking on a journey to better health. That’s why we wanted to share some of the best things you can start doing today to get your health on the right track for the New Year!

Aerobic activities 

When it comes to getting fit, exercising more often is truly a no-brainer. Tons of targeted stretches and exercises may help you feel better and get into better shape at the same time. Aerobic stretches and exercises help increase your stamina. They keep you healthy, improve your fitness, and allow you to have an easier time doing the things you love.

Some forms of aerobic endurance exercises include:

  • Biking
  • Dancing
  • Swimming
  • Playing a sport
  • Climbing 
  • Walking, sprinting

Strength training exercises 

Strength training makes your muscles stronger and also helps to prevent fall injuries. Some common forms of strength-building exercises include: 

  • Lifting weights 
  • Using resistance bands during a workout 

The beginning of a new year is certainly a wonderful time to set forth expectations about improving our health! If you’re interested in learning more about how you can put your health first, contact our team today for more information.

Ready to Start Exercising? Rebound Can Help!

While the benefits of regular exercise for arthritis are undeniable, getting started can be challenging. Which movements are safe for you to perform? Which will provide you with the most benefits? What should you do if even simple movement is too painful? This is where our physical therapists shine! We’ll create a customized arthritis treatment plan that speaks to your needs and abilities. Here’s a taste of all that we can offer:

  • Acute pain management using manual techniques and pain relieving modalities
  • Personalized exercise programs with targeted, progressive exercises that build strength and improve mobility
  • Specialized exercise programs to address balance and other functional challenges
  • Guidance on general exercise programs to keep you moving outside our clinic

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Insurance Deductible Reminder

There’s no way around it: health insurance benefits can be absolutely mind-boggling. 

Time after time, we’ve seen patients come through our doors with their insurance cards in one hand and their cell phones in the other as they call their insurance companies in an attempt to figure out what they need to pay for their treatment.

Now that the end of the year is getting closer, many patients have met their insurance deductibles. If this is you, this means your physical therapy treatment could cost you absolutely nothing! 

Patients with family plans or those who have had major surgeries or chronic illnesses are especially likely to have a $0 balance remaining on their out-of-pocket expenses. This means that the cost of treatment at Rebound Fitness & Rehabilitation could be minimal or entirely covered by your insurance plan!

You should be enjoying time spent with your family instead of stressing about insurance and whether or not you can afford treatment. 

If you’ve met your insurance deductible for the year, it’s a good idea to visit Rebound Fitness & Rehabilitation for treatment. We specialize in treating a variety of acute and chronic pain conditions and injuries and hold ourselves to high standards regarding our treatment methods and techniques. 

Are you in need of physical therapy? Check in on your insurance deductibles and visit our clinic today. We’ll guide you through safe and affordable physical therapy treatment this fall!

Meet Our Team

Stephanie Berman
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Stephanie Berman

ATC, General Manager

Samantha Lodygowski
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Sam Lodygowski

M.Ed, LAT, ATC

Rennie Stefani
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Rennie Stefani

MS, CSCS

Start Your Own Journey to Arthritis Relief Today

Don’t let arthritis keep you from living an active, healthy lifestyle. Call us today to find out more about our arthritis treatment programs!

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Easy Sausage & Herb Stuffing

Ingredients:

  • 8 cups (400g) store-bought unseasoned stuffing cubes
  • 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
  • 1½ cups diced yellow onion (from 1 large or 2 small onions)
  • 1 cup diced celery (from 3 large celery stalks)
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage (i.e., sausage with the casings removed) 
  • 2¾ cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
  • ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with butter.
  2. Place the stuffing cubes in a large mixing bowl.
  3. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the onions and celery and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the vegetables to the stuffing cubes. (Don’t wash the pan but scrape out every last bit of vegetables, otherwise they will burn in the next step.)
  4. In the same pan, cook the sausage over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until browned and cooked through, breaking up the sausage with a metal spatula while cooking (the largest pieces should be no greater than ¼-inch). Add the browned sausage and fat to the bread cubes and vegetables.
  5. Add the chicken broth, egg, rosemary, sage, parsley, salt and pepper to the bread cube mixture and mix until the bread is soft and moistened. Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish and bake for 65-75 minutes, uncovered, until deeply golden and crisp on top.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Quick Dive

Most discussions of arthritis focus on osteoarthritis, and for good reason: it’s the most common form of arthritis in the United States. However, about 2-3% of the population develops rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It causes similar symptoms as osteoarthritis, including joint pain and limited mobility. The good news is that physical therapy can help manage rheumatoid arthritis just as it can osteoarthritis. If you’ve recently received an RA diagnosis, schedule an appointment to learn what we can do for you. 

What You Should Know About Rheumatoid Arthritis

What It Is

RA is an autoimmune condition occurring when your body’s immune system attacks otherwise healthy cells–in this case, the soft tissue in your joints. Researchers currently aren’t clear on what causes this to happen, however.

Signs and Symptoms

RA’s symptoms tend to go through cycles of flares and remissions. This means you’ll have periods where symptoms are more intense and periods where they are less troublesome. These symptoms include:

  • Pain and swelling in joints on both sides of your body
  • A gradual onset of joint pain, starting with the small joints in your fingers
  • Stiffness and restricted range of motion in the affected joints, particularly first thing in the morning
  • Redness, warmth, and tenderness in the affected joints
  • Fatigue, low-grade fever, and a general sense of feeling unwell

What Else Should I Know?

  • RA is more common among women than men.

As with other forms of arthritis, regular physical activity can help manage RA symptoms. In fact, physical therapy at Rebound offers a great, drug-free approach to managing RA. Want to learn more? Call to schedule your appointment today!

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