Physiotherapy in Winnipeg for Arthritis

Arthritis is a common cause of disability. There is no cure for most forms of arthritis, but with physiotherapy, it can be very manageable. With effort and dedication to a custom physiotherapy treatment plan, most people can preserve movement in their joints and substantially reduce their pain.

Physiotherapists are medical rehabilitation experts, and we specialize in drug-free pain relief.  Most doctors refer their patients to physiotherapists for treatment of arthritis and rehabilitation after arthritis-related surgeries, such as joint replacements. Click here to learn more about our arthritis relief program.

We treat clients at all stages of arthritis, from those with mild pain to those recovering from joint replacements.

Your Healthcare Team

In addition to physiotherapy specialists, such as those at River East Physiotherapy, many other types of medical professionals are involved in caring for people with arthritis.  This may include your doctor, your surgeon, rehabilitation nurses, nutritionists, and psychologists. At River East Physiotherapy, we work with your healthcare team to get you to your goals.

Your First Visit

What happens on the first visit to our office?  The first step in your rehabilitation is for our therapist to learn more about you and your joint problems.

History of the Problem

When you first visit River East Physiotherapy, we'll ask you about your story: the history of your issue, your day-to-day activities, and what you have problems doing. Our physiotherapist will usually ask you to rate your pain on a scale from one to ten. Your answers will help guide our examination.

Below are some other questions out therapist might ask you.

• What makes your pain or symptoms better, and what makes them worse?
• How do your symptoms affect your daily activities?
• What treatments have been helpful for you?

Click here to read our FAQs, including what to expect on your first visit to physiotherapy.

Physical Exam

After we understand the history of your problem, our physiotherapists will do a physical exam to see how you're moving. This could include watching you walk, measuring how far your joint bends, or palpating the area that's affected.

Once we have the results of your exam, our physiotherapists will work with you to develop a custom treatment plan.

Learn more about what to expect at your first visit with a physiotherapist in our FAQs, here.

Your Physiotherapy Treatment Plan

Our rehabilitation approach is typically a hands-on form of care and relies on your participation and effort. Given the power of exercise to treat arthritis symptoms, our recommended plans of care usually involve custom exercise programs. They also include learning how to care for sore and swollen joints, and how to minimize unnecessary stress on your joints.

At River East Physiotherapy, we take a patient-centered approach to care.  That means you set the goals for your treatment, and it's our job to give you the information and treatment you need to get you there. 

At River East Physiotherapy. we develop a  personalized  program to get you back to what you want to do.  We help you maintain and improve your strength, and move better overall. With some help from our physiotherapists and special equipment, arthritis won't always stop you from doing the things you enjoy or the things you need to do.

When our patients are at the early stages of arthritis, they tend to benefit most from treatment plans that increase muscle strength and joint movement.  For patients with more advanced arthritis, our physiotherapists often recommend programs focused on pain management and special equipment to help with day-to-day tasks.  For all patients, the rehab programs we recommend will involve managing your symptoms, exercise, and lifestyle changes.

Rehabilitation requires patience. It takes time to strengthen your movements and learn how to do familiar tasks in new ways. The result can be a greatly improved quality of life.

Want to talk about whether physiotherapy is right for you and your joint pain?  Call us for a FREE 15-minute phone consultation with a physiotherapist:

Here's more information about what your physiotherapist at River East Physiotherapy may assess during your physical exam.

Function

Most of our clients have goals related to their day-to-day function.  For instance, their arthritis may mean they struggle to hold a serving platter at Thanksgiving dinner.  Or they have too much pain when riding their bike, and they can no longer tolerate a bike race.  Or they feel they might fall when getting up out of bed, due to their knee pain.  Our physiotherapists care about getting you back to function.  So during our examination, we'll likely ask you to demonstrate the movements that you're struggling with.

Posture and Joint Alignment

By checking your overall posture and joint alignment, our physiotherapist will observe whether you have visible swelling or other signs of inflammation. We will also look to see if you have any nodules or other changes around your joints, which may be present with various forms of arthritis.

Range of Motion (ROM)

Our physiotherapist will check whether your joints move within their normal range of motion ("ROM").  We'll use tools to measure how far you can move the joint in different directions. We'll record your ROM so we can track how it changes over time as you pursue physiotherapy treatment.

Strength

Your strength is tested by having you hold against resistance applied by your physiotherapist. We also have strength-measuring tools to get very precise strength measurements.  When arthritis is present, we may measure increased weakness and you may report increased pain during these strength tests. Knowing your strength at the start of your physiotherapy treatment will help us track how your strength changes over time.

Manual examination

By carefully moving the joint in different positions, your physiotherapist can get a sense of whether your joints are stiff or lax. This may affect the type of treatment we recommend as part of your physiotherapy treatment plan.

Palpation

Our therapist will feel the soft tissues around the sore areas. This is called palpation. Through palpation, we can sense swelling and changes in skin temperature - both of which can be signs of arthrits. Our physiotherapist also pinpoints sore areas and looks for tender points or spasm in the muscles around the sore area. Palpation is important in helping your therapist decide which treatments to recommend.

Planning Your Care

All the information you give our physiotherapist, along with the results of the examination, will be used to create a River East Physiotherapy physiotherapy treatment program especially for you.

We will draft a treatment plan that targets your goals for physiotherapy. The plan will list the exercises and treatments that will be used, and it includes an estimate of how many visits you will need over what period of time. We'll ask for your feedback on our draft plan - we need to know whether it's realistic for you and your unique circumstances. 

Once we've agreed on a treatment plan with you, we'll continue to adjust it every week, based on how you're feeling and how you progress.

What kind of treatments and activities might the physiotherapist recommend?

Controlling Your Symptoms

Physiotherapy involves a wide range of drug-free treatment approaches for arthritis.  You may complement your physiotherapy treatment with drugs and other treatments prescribed by your doctor, to further help you manage the pain and swelling in your joints.

Your physiotherapist in River East Physiotherapy recommendations will depend on your specific symptoms and goals, and may include one or more of the following treatment choices.

Rest

Knowing when to rest painful joints can help ease arthritis pain. Frequently, exercise and movement can reduce the pain from arthritis, so our physiotherapists rarely recommend extensive rest for clients with arthritis.  However, some rest of your affected joints can help reduce the pain from flare-ups.  Your physiotherapist can help advise you on when to rest and when to exercise.  As a common sense rule, if a certain activity or movement causes severe pain, avoid doing it. If you can't avoid it, do it less or take frequent breaks to let your joints rest.  And general exercise, with low impact on joints (such as swimming) tends to reduce pain for most people.

In some cases, our physiotherapist may recommend taping or a resting splint to support your sore joint when you're not using it. A resting splint keeps the joint properly aligned, which limits pain and prevents joint deformity.

Heat

Heat tends to reduce the pain from arthritis, especially osteoarthritis, and improve how joints move. Heat makes blood vessels expand, which is called vasodilation. Vasodilation helps flush away chemicals that make your joints and muscles hurt. It also helps your muscles relax. Moist hot packs, heating pads, and warm showers or baths are usually the most effective forms of heat therapy. we usually recommend applying heat treatments to the sore area for fifteen to twenty minutes. Paraffin (wax) baths, like we have at River East Physiotherapy, can be especially helpful for joints of the hands or feet. 

That said, be cautious when using heat at home. While heat can be very helpful for certain types of arthritis, heat can make inflammation and inflammatory types of arthritis worse. Even if you find heat to be the best treatment for your discomfort, hotter is not better. Your skin can overheat and even burn. We never recommend sleeping with an electric heat pad or other source of heat. Prolonged heat from hot packs and heat pads can burn your skin.

Electrical Stimulation

Gentle electrical currents through the skin can help ease pain and decrease swelling. Electrical stimulation distracts your brain from feeling pain by replacing pain signals with the impulses of the electrical current. Once the pain lets up, the muscles begin to relax, making movement and activity easier.

There are many types of electrotherapy used at River East Physiotherapy, including TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation).  Read our blog post on using your TENS at home, here: 

Topical Creams & Oils

Certain creams and oils rubbed on the skin can give temporary relief to sore joints. Our patients often find relief from White Flower Anagesic Balm, for instance. The rubbing is relaxing, and the creams create feelings of warmth or coolness that are soothing. With all creams or oils meant to reduce pain, make sure to wash your hands after using them (what feels good on your sore joint does not always feel good in your eyes!).

Therapeutic Exercise and Functional Training

Whether at work, home, or play, your capabilities depend on your physical health and function. Custom physiotherapy treatments and exercises can help maximize your physical abilities, including movement, strength, and general fitness. Physiotherapists also use functional training when you need help doing specific activities with greater ease and safety.

Exercise is safe for arthritis patients. In fact, it's necessary if you want to improve or maintain joint function. Avoiding exercise usually makes arthritis symptoms worse. And general exercise usually reduces pain.

Our physiotherapists generally recommend a minimum of thirty minutes of moderate activity, at least five days a week. Usually, people with arthritis can safely try exercises such as walking, swimming, stationary biking, and low-impact aerobics.

Keeping your body fit is important for your general health and can help keep your arthritis under control.  Aerobic exercise also helps you manage your weight. Weight control is especially important for people with arthritis in the hips, knees, feet, and spine. Keeping your weight down is one of the most powerful ways to control arthritis symptoms.

No matter what type of exercise you do, exercise should not increase your pain. To gauge whether you've done too much exercise, consider whether your pain is worse:

• During your exercise,
• 15-minutes after stopping your exercise, and/or
• The next morning.

Discuss your pain with your physiotherapist, and we will provide you with advice on how to change your exercise program.

Stretching

In some cases, the muscles around a joint may stiffen as arthritis develops and you avoid moving the painful joint.  Gentle stretching may help your joint maintain its shape and mobility, and reduce your pain. Our therapists teach specific stretches for all different types of joints.

Strengthening

The less a joint is used, the weaker the muscles that surround the joint become, and the joint usually becomes stiffer with too much rest. This leads to even more pain. 

We find strong muscles around a joint can effectively support to a painful, arthritic joint. With a strong, supportive muscle, the joint moves more smoothly and with less pain.  There are exercises that our physiotherapists recommend especially for people with arthritis, customized to your unique condition.

While the type of strengthening exercise we prescribe will depend on your unique case, we do often recommend isometric exercises at the start of arthritis treatments, or during flare-ups. Isometric exercises mean you tighten the muscles without actually moving. This allows you to strengthen the muscles without stressing the joints. 

Otherwise, concentric or eccentric strengthening exercises could be appropriate for your physiotherapy treatment plan.  Your physiotherapist will customize your strengthening program to you.

Pool Therapy

When you exercise in a swimming pool, the water bears some of your weight. This puts less stress on the joints of your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. The water's buoyancy lets you move more easily, and the water's warmth can relax your muscles.

Your physiotherapist may prescribe swimming as part of your exercise program, if that is an activity you enjoy.  

Special Devices

There are many different kinds of equipment available to help you minimize the stress on your joints while you do daily tasks around the house or at work. What kind of equipment you need depends on which joints are affected.

Canes and walkers, for example, can help ease the stress on your weight-bearing joints. Raising the height of chairs and toilet seats can make it easier for you to sit down and stand up. Reachers or grabbers can help you pick up items from the floor without having to bend or stoop. There are devices to help with buttoning, putting on socks, or using zippers. A rolling cart is easier to haul around with arthritic fingers than a hand-held briefcase.

Our physiotherapist may also suggest special splints or braces. A working splint keeps the joints aligned as you go about your daily activities. Splints are made for specific joints and specific activities.

Our physiotherapist may also recommend simple changes in equipment. For example, a good pair of shoes can help reduce impact on your joints. If you walk or stand for long periods of time, you should try to do it on a different type of surface. As another example, you may choose a shoulder bag or a small backpack instead of a purse or brief case if you have problems with the joints in your hands.

Ergonomics

When they hear the word ergonomics, most people think of the way their desk and computer are set up at work. The meaning is larger than that. Ergonomics considers the way you use your body when you take part in certain activities.

Rehabilitation physiotherapists examine your workstation to help determine if you need to make changes. Our physiotherapist will pay special attention to your posture, the repetitions involved in your work, rest times, the amount of weight you are working with, and which activities seem to cause you the most problems. We will look at the heights of your chair and desk, alignment of computer monitors, lighting, and any special equipment you use.

After evaluating your work site, our physiotherapist will make recommendations. If changes are suggested, they are usually small and inexpensive, such as changing the height of your chair or standing in a different position. But even these minor changes can make big differences in your discomfort on the job.

The ideas behind ergonomics can also be applied to the tasks you do at home. If you have problems with specific jobs or hobbies, talk to our physiotherapist. Together you may come up with a plan or some simple devices that can help.

Pacing Yourself

Plan to take breaks. Pace your activities so that you don't get too tired or have to force your joint to function through pain.  Your physiotherapist at River East Physiotherapy can help you gauge how much to push yourself compared to how much to rest.

Taking Care of Your Mind

Not all of your homework will be physical. Dealing with the pain and loss of function of arthritis can be emotionally draining. Being unable to do what you love can affect your identity - how you feel about yourself as a person.  Physiotherapy treatment can be a way to take charge of your life again, and adjust to any lifestyle changes you may need to make to manage your arthritis symptoms. Your physiotherapist may recommend breathing exercises, naps, visual imagery, and meditation to help with your self-care. Learning more about your condition from your physiotherapist can also help you feel more in control of your disease.

Many people find support groups helpful.  Our clinic offers group classes for people living with arthritis, or for rehabilitating from a hip or knee replacement.  Learn more here about our group classes:

Home Program

At River East Physiotherapy, we will almost always prescribe a home program for you to continue when you're not at our clinic. Once you've achieved your goals for physiotherapy, we'll adapt your program for you to continue on your own.  The physiotherapists at River East Physiotherapy will always be a resource for you, and we welcome you back whenever you need more advice or an update to your home program.  Many of our clients find a regular check-in appointment with their physiotherapist helps them maintain their health and keep their pain down and under control.

River East Physiotherapy provides physiotherapy services in Winnipeg.