Have you ever woken up with knee pain? It can be quite a nuisance – every step feels like it’s putting more pressure on your joints. Even worse, if you have arthritis in your knee, the pain only increases.
But do you wonder if a chiropractor can help with arthritis in the knee? Yes – experiencing arthritic symptoms doesn’t mean you need to rely solely on prescription medications and invasive treatments. A chiropractor may be able to help!
Chiropractors are practitioners who specialize in treating musculoskeletal conditions through manual adjustments and other natural techniques. While many people think of them as “back doctors,” they can also effectively manage joint pain throughout the body – including arthritis in the knees!
Here, we’ll explore how chiropractic care could help relieve symptoms of knee arthritis without relying heavily on medication or surgery. Let’s dive into what a degenerative joint disease means for someone dealing with arthritic discomfort!
What Is Arthritis?
Arthritis is a common form of joint pain and stiffness that affects millions of people worldwide. It can be caused by inflammation or degenerative damage to the soft tissues and cartilage around the knee joint – resulting in a limited range of motion, swelling, and discomfort.
There are many types of arthritic conditions – such as osteoarthritis (a degenerative form) or rheumatoid arthritis (an inflammatory disease). Chiropractors focus on addressing arthritic symptoms using various techniques applied to soft tissue and joints in severe cases.
What Are Signs & Symptoms of Arthritis?
Arthritis refers to inflammation in one or more joints in your body, which can cause stiffness and pain. But how can you tell if you’re dealing with arthritic symptoms? Here are some common signs:
– Pain around your knee joint or other joints
– Stiffness that comes on gradually
– Reduced range of motion
– Feeling like your limbs are sluggish or heavy
Typically, these symptoms start small but progressively worsen over time – especially as we age. Keep an eye out for these signals to identify a possible case of arthritis early!
What Causes Pain in Arthritis?
Generally, arthritis occurs when cartilage – a soft tissue found between bones – is worn down, making your movements stiff and uncomfortable.
Common types of arthritis include osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease), rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis, among others. In each case, arthritic symptoms develop for different reasons.
Inflammation plays an important role in causing arthritic pain as well – it may cause secondary pain such as stiffness or difficulty with range of motion.
Is Chiropractic Care Safe for Arthritis?
Definitely! Chiropractic care is safe for individuals suffering from arthritis. According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), chiropractors use varying degrees of force with over 150 techniques to manually adjust soft tissues and joints in a patient’s body.
These manual adjustments help reduce inflammation and relieve joint pain caused by inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis without using medications or surgical intervention. However, people with severe forms of arthritis that affect the spinal column must consult their doctor before seeking this form of treatment.
Chiropractic Care Benefits For Arthritis
Chiropractic care can be an effective tool to manage arthritic pain and improve overall joint health. Chiropractors usually focus on the relationships between soft tissues and joints in areas of the body that cause pain – including those affected by arthritis.
Here are some benefits of chiropractic care for arthritis:
Pain Relief: Chiropractors use varying degrees of force in up to 150 techniques that they can apply to manually adjust your spinal or knee joints. This adjustment may help relieve inflammation and pain caused by a degenerative joint disease like osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
Improved Range of Motion: With continued adjustments from a doctor of chiropractic (DC), you may observe improved functionality after experiencing knee stiffness due to cartilage degradation.
Reduced Inflammation in Joints: One study suggests seeing positive effects when applied directly over inflamed knees years after treatment vs. placebo groups that relieved discomfort upon waking up or getting out of bed with less inflammation!
Alternative Treatment Option: A conservative approach takes time but carries less risk than surgery options related to conditions such as psoriatic arthritis that might respond well to family-chiropractic intervention!
It’s important that any DC take a detailed medical history specific only to treating symptoms while considering those underlying issues and forming an ideal modality based on each patient!
Types of Arthritis That Chiropractic Can Help With
There are two common forms of arthritis – osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis – but chiropractic care can also help relieve symptoms associated with psoriatic or degenerative joint disease.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative form of arthritis that occurs when cartilage in the knee wears down over time. Meanwhile, rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease in which your body’s immune system attacks joints throughout the body. Psoriatic arthritis affects roughly 30% of those with psoriasis.
Chiropractors take a holistic approach to treating arthritic symptoms by focusing on relationships between bones and soft tissues around the knee joint using various techniques!
How Can a Chiropractor Help With Arthritis in the Knee?
If you’re experiencing knee arthritis symptoms like joint stiffness or reduced range of motion, chiropractors who specialize in orthopedics can help you manage your condition using natural treatments instead.
Here are a few ways that chiropractic adjustments and other soft tissue techniques can address knee arthritis:
Reducing inflammation: Gentle spinal adjustments may help reduce inflammation around the affected joints.
Increasing mobility: Much of chronic arthritic pain stems from decreased functional motion – however, spine realignment protocols could assist with increasing flexibility.
Relieving pressure on nerves: When there’s too much weight-bearing stress on neuromuscular structures, it can lead to a secondary pain response. However, precise corrective measures of varying degrees via manual manipulation work wonders in providing relief.
Do’s And Don’ts When Living With Arthritis
Living with arthritis in your knee can be challenging – every step feels like you’re carrying extra weight. However, incorporating some do’s and avoiding don’ts could help manage arthritic symptoms effectively.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Do’s for living with arthritis
- Stay active: Maintaining physical activity can boost joint health noticeably.
- Manage your weight: Losing even five pounds of body weight helps relieve the stress placed on joints.
- Stretching exercises: Incorporating vital stretching exercises into your daily routine increases flexibility and range of motion.
- Choose low-impact options: Avoid activities that place a high impact on joints, such as running or jumping. Instead, opt for low-impact activities, such as cycling or swimming.
Don’ts when living with arthritis
One of the biggest mistakes you could make is staying inactive, which will wear down muscles and make it harder to recover from any injury before it causes significant damage. Incorporating some lifestyle changes early on ensures optimal control over arthritic discomfort!
When to Seek Chiropractic Care for Knee Arthritis
If you’re experiencing knee pain that doesn’t seem to go away and is limiting your movement, seeing a chiropractor may help. A chiropractor can assess the underlying cause of your arthritic symptoms and create a plan of action specifically tailored to meet your needs.
Many people who suffer from arthritis have found relief with chiropractic care. Oftentimes, they seek out this type of treatment after traditional medical practices do not work as desired or have undesirable side effects. That’s why it’s always good to reach out!
What to Expect When You See a Chiropractor
- Your initial appointment should include a detailed medical history and physical exam. This helps the chiropractor understand your symptoms and determine if there are any other underlying conditions at play.
- A specialized approach to arthritis in the knee may involve different types of adjustments or treatments, depending on your specific case.
- Many chiropractors use varying degrees of force, typically relying on their hands to target areas where they aim to relieve pain caused by inflammation around the knee joint.
- Treatment often involves manual manipulation techniques applied directly outside or inside joints as well as soft tissues that surround them – including ultrasound therapy (which penetrates deep into the tissue).
By receiving regular care from an experienced chiropractic doctor who takes time with each patient individually, people suffering from arthritis can experience long-term relief!
Final Words….
So, if you are experiencing knee pain due to arthritis or any other condition, it might be time to see a chiropractor. Chiropractic treatment is an effective and non-invasive approach to treating arthritis that chiropractors have been using for years. They can help relieve inflammation and pain in your joints by addressing the root cause of your symptoms rather than just treating the symptoms themselves.
At The Brost Clinic, our team of experienced chiropractors specializes in natural healthcare treatments such as acupuncture therapy and joint adjustments. We focus on restoring proper function to arthritic joints through varying degrees of force-release techniques applied manually so that you feel comfortable during treatment!
Take control of your knee health with natural treatments – there’s no need to keep dealing with debilitating joint discomfort alone! Consult with one of our specialists about how we can best treat your unique case and get started feeling better today! Give us a call now!