21 Jul Heat and your arthritis symptoms: How PT can help.

Arthritis and Summer Heat

Although almost everyone looks forward to the warm summer weather, for people suffering from arthritis it could mean feeling more pain than usual.  Heat and humidity affect people with chronic pain because people with these circumstances have trouble regulating their bodies in extreme weather changes. The change of temperature and moisture in the air can cause people with arthritis to feel more symptoms than they normally would.

The heat and humidity sometimes causes the inflammation in a person’s body to increase and can lessen the effect of anti-inflammatory medicine. People with arthritis usually have stiff joints because majority of them try to avoid moving and increasing the pain that they feel, thinking that doing so will help with pain. But what they might not know is that not moving can actually cause the arthritis pain to worsen, but that’s where physical therapy comes in.

Physical therapy can be very successful in lessening the pain and keeping the body less tense. When someone comes in for treatment for arthritis to a physical therapist, they look to improve the mobility and restore the use of any joints that may be affected. A physical therapist can evaluate you and your specific condition and come up with a plan just for you. They can create a specific routine of exercises for you to do that will help recover your flexibility and strength. A physical therapist can also teach you the correct posture for your usual activities that will help dismiss your pain and improve the functions of your body.

At Lake Country Physical Therapy and Sportcare, PC. , we have a number of different treatments that can help with your arthritis pain this summer. Treatment could be as simple as our hands-on bodywork known as manual therapies such as our Primal Reflex Release Techniques, Associated Awareness Techniques, relaxation techniques, or exercise, down to long term programs that are more involved. No matter what kind of treatment is needed, Lake Country Physical Therapy and Sportcare, PC. is here to help.