Therapists Who Can Help
Your family doctor and rheumatologist make up the foundation of your medical team, but there may be room for other allies in your OA care. Combining hands-on, psychological, and self-guided treatment with your prescribed medication could bring more relief than you might imagine. Consider visiting a new therapist to complement your current OA management program:
Physiotherapist
It’s no secret that a good physiotherapist can make a huge difference in anyone’s OA management. After all, they know the best movements to improve strength and flexibility, and can teach you how to do them safely.
Regular physiotherapy is a must if you want to see improvement: you may need to begin with frequent visits, but will soon be able to integrate into your self-care at home. An occupational therapist is a different, but related, expert in movement and health; ask for a recommendation or referral from your doctor or physio.
Yoga Instructor
Yoga gets more popular by the day, and for good reason: it’s as good for the body as it is for the mind, plus it doesn’t strain your joints and muscles like most aerobic exercise. Most people living with chronic pain can benefit from a regular yoga practice (especially when led by a trained instructor), but the postures are especially helpful for OA patients: a study published in the Journal of Rheumatology found that OA patients who practiced yoga had a noticeable improvement in pain, tenderness, and range of motion, especially in the hands and fingers.
Behavioral Therapist
OA can seem like an entirely physical disorder, but it also brings very real emotional and psychological distress. Feelings of isolation are all too common, and they can spiral into depression, anxiety, and even more sensitivity to pain.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you understand where your pain stems from, what it’s doing to your mind, and how to overcome it. For some patients, hypnosis or other psychodynamic interventions will get to the heart of the matter more effectively.
Nutritionist
What you eat (and don’t eat) will definitely play a role in how your body feels, your energy levels, and how your symptoms wear on you. Consider visiting a nutritionist to get on the right track: even if you consider yourself to be a fairly healthy eater, a small adjustment here and there can have remarkable effects. As you age, maintaining a healthy weight becomes more difficult, but it’s vital to stay within the recommended range in order to avoid stressing your joints to the point of pain and injury.
There are dozens of alternative and complementary therapies out there, but it’s not always clear if they’re safe to try. For instance, chiropractic can help to relieve the pain and pressure around the joints throughout your body, but it isn’t a good idea if there’s any inflammation present. Acupuncture doesn’t seem to have any clear benefits, but there’s not much risk of side effects either, so many doctors are fine with it if that’s something you want to try.
However, it’s important to speak with your own doctor before adding any complementary therapy to your routine, because new activities or nutritional supplements could interfere with your current treatment more than you might imagine.
