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Knee Arthritis Exercises
23 Sep

Knee Arthritis Exercises

Knee pain can be caused for a plethora of reasons, but one of the key causes is knee arthritis. 

This is characterised by pain, swelling and stiffness in the knee joint. This can affect anyone at any age but is seen more in women above the age of 50. You may not be able to cure arthritis but you can improve all of the symptoms. In this blog, we provide you with treatment advice and knee arthritis exercises to do at home. 

 

 

Treatment of symptoms for knee arthritis:

  • Warm up/Cool down before exercises
  • Stretching/improving joint range of motion
  • Increase muscle strength in all muscles surrounding the joint and lower chain
  • Improve functional abilities
  • Improve balance
  • Stay mobile
  • Low impact activities (swimming, biking, hydrotherapy)

 

Knee Arthritis Exercises: 

  • Hamstring stretch

    • Use a towel to help pull the straight leg closed;
    • 4×20 seconds for each leg

Knee arthritis exercises - Hamstring stretch

 

  • Calf stretch  

    • Hold a chair or on to the wall for balance; 
    • Press your heel towards the floor whilst bending your opposite knee;  
    • 4×20 seconds each leg.

Knee arthritis exercises - calf stretch

 

  • Straight Leg Raise

    • Raise your leg up and  down while contracting your quad; 
    • Repeat  10 times and hold for 3 seconds. 

Knee arthritis exercises - straight leg raise


 

  • Quadricep setting: 

    • Tighten your thigh and contract your quads; 
    • Repeat 10 times and hold for 5 seconds. 

Knee arthritis exercises - quadricep setting .

 

  • Pillow Squeeze: 

    • Squeeze your knees together squishing the pillow; 
    • Repeat 10 times and hold for 5 seconds. 

Knee arthritis exercises - pillow squeeze


 

  • Calf Raises: 

    • Hold the back of a chair and raise your heels off the ground; 
    • 2×10 reps. 

Knee arthritis exercises - calf raises


 

  • Sit to stand: 

    • Sit down and stand up; 
    • The lower you go  the more difficult  it is; 
    • 1×10 reps. 

Knee arthritis exercises - site to stand


 

  • One leg balance: 

    • Hold the back of the chair if needed; 
    • 2×20 sec holds.  

Knee arthritis exercises - one leg balance 


 

For most of us, exercises at home will help manage the pain, but help from a professional is always beneficial, particularly a knee pain physio.  Essentially, someone who knows that joint inside out. 

At Total Restore, we offer tailored treatment programmes to make sure that we deliver the fastest possible results and get you back to your best quickly.  If you’re based in Manchester, call to book to speak with one of our knee pain specialists on 0161 833 3008

Arthritis in Hands Treatment
02 Sep

Arthritis in Hands Treatment

Are you experiencing constant pain in your hand and fingers? Particularly in the joints? Then there is a chance you may have developed arthritis in your hands. In this article, we discuss arthritis in hands treatment specifically including hand-on physio sessions as well as at-home exercises. 

 

There are two types of arthritis that can happen in your hands and it is not always easy to distinguish between the two:

  • Osteoarthritis (OA) – This is caused by wear and tear on the joints;  and  
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) – This is caused by an inflammation of the joints and is an autoimmune condition. 

Both types of arthritis cause pain, swelling, tenderness and joint stiffness, especially in the mornings. 

OA is the most common type of arthritis and it usually comes hand-in-hand with getting older. Over time the cartilage that cushions your joints starts to degenerate causing the two bones that form a joint to rub against each other. This leads to the symptoms of pain and inflammation. For more info, check out the NHS website

Facts on hand arthritis:

  • More common in women than men;
  • There is no cure but symptoms can be relieved;
  • It can be genetic;
  • More common in >60 years of age;
  • OA can be caused by post-trauma in sports or car accidents.

Osteoarthritis symptoms: 

  • Bony lumps at the middle finger joints; 
  • Bony lumps at the finger joint closest to the fingernail;  
  • Pain deep under the base of the thumb; 
  • Stiffness, especially in the morning;  
  • Difficulty pinching and gripping items. 

Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms: 

  • Pain at the wrist and finger knuckles;  
  • Deformities of the wrist and fingers (not able to straighten); 
  • Tendon ruptures (not able to straighten fingers); 
  • Unexplained fatigue; 
  • Achiness throughout the body (similar to the flu). 

Arthritis In Hands Treatment

In order to ease the pain in your hands there are a couple of things you can do:

  • Keep warm – arthritis tends to get worse during the cold season. Make sure you stay warm and wear gloves during the winter. 
  • Keep moving – Nothing makes stiff joints worse than avoiding movement. It is important to keep your wrist and fingers moving properly and keep tendons and ligaments flexible. 
  • Hand exercises – Exercises prescribed by your physiotherapist, especially an arthritis physio specialist,  can help strengthen the muscles that support the hand joints. It can also help keep the joints flexible and improve range of motion. 
    • Example of some exercises are:
      • Make a fist 
      • Finger bends
      • Thumb bends
      • Make a “C” or an “O” by curving your fingers
      • Lift fingers one-by-one off the table
      • Wrist stretches into flexion and extension with opposing hand
  • Painkillers – This will help ease the pain on those days where it feels unbearable.
  • Hot and cold therapy – ice for swollen joints and heat to help with the stiffness. 
  • Splinting – In cases that the pain is very high, sometimes splints that hold the joints still can help reduce pain.
How To Prevent Muscle And Joint Pain In The Winter
22 Nov

How To Prevent Muscle And Joint Pain In The Winter

We detail 13 ways to prevent muscle and joint pain in the winter when temperatures drop.

It is that time of year again where you just want to cozy up by the fireplace while sipping on some hot coco and spending some time with the family. However, for those of you who suffer from joint and muscle pain, this cold season can really be difficult and aggravate those aches while making you feel not so jolly.

If you are someone who suffers from arthritis you are not crazy to think it gets worse when the temperature drops. There is a real reason for why this happens. Besides the fact that it is harder to stay active and physically motivated during the cold periods there is a scientific reason for your worsening joint and muscle pain. According to a medical Professor from the University of Harvard, Robert Jamison, this can be explained not necessarily by the cold, rain or snow but a change in the barometric pressure.

What is the barometric pressure you are probably asking?

This is the atmospheric pressure. In other words, this is the force exerted onto a surface by the weight of the atmosphere. High barometric pressure pushes against the body externally, preventing internal tissues from expanding. This is what happens in warm temperatures. When the temperature drops the barometric pressure drops with it and the tissues tend to expand, which allows them to put pressure on our nerves that control our pain signals. This triggers the pain and makes these wintery days feel unbearable on our joints and muscles.

So here are 13 tips to keep your aches and pains from getting worse during the Holidays:

1. STAY WARM: especially head, hands and feet

2. Beat the winter blues and STAY active inside
a. Walk indoors
b. Swim indoors/Hydrotherapy
c. Pick up some weights

3. AVOID strenuous activity

4. Go to a Yoga or Pilates class or stretch while watching your favorite Christmas movie

5. Use the stairs instead of the elevator

6. Stay Hydrated

7. Try not to gain those extra holiday pounds and STICK to your DIET

8. Stock up on bubbles and enjoy a nice warm bath

9. Get yourself some Vitamin D supplements

10. Invest in a good pair of winter boots so you do not slip and fall during this icy period

11. Fish Oil tablets have been shown to reduce inflammation

12. Treat yourself to a nice massage

13. AND do not miss any of your physiotherapy appointments!!