Health blog Category: osteoarthritis
How Can I Fix My Arthritis?
There are many things that can cause you to feel pain in your joints. One of the more common diagnoses is arthritis. Arthritis is inflammation and swelling that happens in our joints. There are many different types of arthritis but the one we see most commonly in our clinic is Osteoarthritis. This is swelling and pain that affects our bones and joints. This can occur in any of our joints, but is most common in our hands, spine, hips and knees.
Read full blogWhy Does My Knee Hurt When I Sit Too Long?
Has your knee ever started to hurt after sitting for a period time? This may mean you have arthritis. Luckily, physical therapy can help eliminate the symptoms you experience with arthritis.
Arthritis:
Osteoarthritis: caused by the mechanical wearing away of the cartilage (cushion) between joints. Pain can be caused by frayed pieces of cartilage getting caught or from two boney surfaces being in greater contact with each other.
Read full blog3 Prevalent Knee Problems, and How to Treat Them
Knee problems are one of the most common injuries that we see in physical therapy, whether it’s due to a sports-related injury or due to degenerative changes that occur as we age.
Some of the most common knee injuries include:
- Ligament injuries
- Meniscus injuries
- Osteoarthritis
All of these cause pain, weakness and a decrease in functional activities.
Ligament injuries
Ligament Injuries are more common knee problems that occur among the active patient population.
Read full blogCommon Hip Pathologies
While the pain or limitations you feel are at your hip, the evaluating doctor of physical therapy can determine where and what is causing your pain (even if it’s coming from another region, like your low back or pelvis). If the condition proves to require further medical testing, the evaluating therapist will be able to determine that and direct you accordingly.
Common Conditions:
- Osteoarthritis: wearing of the joint surfaces (cartilage) of the hip joint
- Mechanism of Injury:
- Wear and Tear
- Prior trauma
- FAI: see below
- Symptoms:
- Pain worse with prolonged positioning (e.g.
- Mechanism of Injury:
Common Sources of Knee Pain
Knee pain has many sources, but all of them can be treated here at LSTC!
- Osteoarthritis: wearing of the joint surfaces (cartilage) between the tibiofemoral joint; wearing is most often on the inside (medial) portion of the joint
- Mechanism of Injury:
- Wear and Tear
- Lack of muscular support
- Reduced motor control
- Wear and Tear
- Symptoms:
- Pain worse with prolonged positioning (e.g.
- Mechanism of Injury:
Structures of Our Hips
The hip joint is one of the most stable joints in the body, but unfortunately that does not keep this joint and region of the body from developing issues and producing pain.
There are multiple structures in and around this joint that can produce pain in this area of the body:
- Labrum– the ring of cartilage around the rim of the socket of the hip joint. Tears can produce symptoms of:
- catching
- locking
- giving out of the joint
- Hip abnormalities– abnormalities in the shape, size, or position of the ball or socket of the hip joint that can cause instability of the joint, pinching of the hip and a deep pain.
Osteoarthritis in the Knee
Osteoarthritis of the knee results from the breakdown of the cartilage (a protective tissue) that covers the end of the bones in the knee joint (femur and tibia). This breakdown of cartilage results in bone on bone (femur and tibia) contact which is the primary reason for pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. Age, mechanical wear and genetics all contribute to this breakdown of cartilage over time. The treatment for osteoarthritis is especially important because without proper education, you can make it worse and rely too much on pain medication or walk yourself into surgery.
Symptoms of Osteoarthritis
- Pain in the knee joint (especially when you stand or bend the knee)
- Swelling (especially after standing for prolonged periods of time or after exercise)
- Stiffness/restricted range of motion (inability to bend or extend the knee without pain)
- Creaking or crackling sensation in the knee joint
- Weakness in the knee joint or surrounding muscles
Causes
- Overuse- age, excessive load on the knee with weight bearing exercises or repetitive movements
- Muscle imbalances or weaknesses- creating uneven stress on the bones in the knee joint
- Injury- trauma to the knee joint from contact or weight bearing rotation of the knee specifically the meniscus (a cushioning and protective structure that sits on the tibial surfaces both medially and laterally)
- Weight- excess weight or obesity
- Genetics- inherited abnormalities in the shape of the bones in the knee or biochemical factors such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Why is treatment so Important?
Read full blogHip Pain and Fractures and Tears, Oh My!
Let’s talk about pain…
When talking with your physical therapist or your doctor about your hip pain it’s important to be able to describe exactly where your pain is located to help confirm that your hip is actually the problem. It’s not uncommon to hear “My hip hurts!” when in turn it may actually be related to the back. Symptoms located in the upper buttocks or upper thigh may be due to lower back problem.
Read full blogOsteoarthritis VS Rheumatoid Arthritis
What is arthritis and who can get it?
Arthritis is actually not a single disease, but rather an informal way of referring to joint pain or inflammation. Two of the most prevalent types of arthritis are, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. While arthritis is often associated with increased age, people of all ages, sexes, and lifestyles can develop arthritis.
Common Causes of Arthritis
The most common cause of arthritis is just the normal wear and tear we put on our joints throughout our lives, known as osteoarthritis. Any injury or illness to a joint can further exacerbate this natural breakdown of cartilage.
Read full blogInflammation of Our Joints
The term arthritis is often used in everyday conversation with family and friends and is usually associated with topics of joint pain.
What Arthritis Is…
This term refers to the inflammation of a joint. The two most common forms of arthritis:
- Rheumatoid arthritis, often abbreviated to “RA,”
- Osteoarthritis, often abbreviated to “OA.”
RA is more of a whole body presentation affecting multiple joints at once as a result of an autoimmune disease.
Read full blog