According to HealthLinkBC, arthritis (often referring to Osteoarthritis) is a common condition where the cartilage that cushions your joints gradually breaks down. In some cases this can cause pain in your joints. Arthritis is most common in older adults but can happen at any age.
| Symptom Management | Tailored exercise is highly effective at managing and reducing arthritis symptoms. |
| Improved Physical Function | Guided exercise and advice helps improve or maintain physical functioning long-term, increasing quality of life. |
| Safer Treatment | Exercise delivered through physiotherapy is generally safer compared to common treatments like pain medication. |
| Personalized Care | Physiotherapists tailor exercises to the individual's needs and specific joints (e.g., hip-specific, knee-specific). |
| Help with Habit Formation | Supervised exercise is often more effective than unsupervised exercise, as supervision helps with social support, ensuring the routine is correct, increasing adherence, and forming a regular, consistent habit. |
| Reassurance & Education | Physiotherapy provides vital reassurance that regular, consistent exercise is not harmful to osteoarthritic joints. It educates patients on the long-term benefits of reducing pain and increasing function. |
| Manual Therapy | Physiotherapists may use manual therapy (like joint mobilization or soft tissue techniques) for the hip and knee arthritis, but its benefits are strongest when combined with therapeutic exercise. |
Above table based on the NICE Arthritis Guidelines for Non-Pharmacological treatment
In short, physiotherapy is a cornerstone of arthritis management. Through tailored therapeutic exercise, it effectively reduces pain and improves physical function over the long term. Physiotherapists offer safe, personalized care that includes education and supervised activity to help you build consistent exercise habits, ultimately leading to a better quality of life.