Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a normal process that occurs over time. Like when our skin gets wrinkles over time, our tissues go through an ageing process. It’s important to know that this is very normal, but also requires our attention to act on it. Osteoarthritis can result in decreased joint movement, pain and limitations in day-to-day activities. Although it is not possible to reverse the changes that occur during the normal ageing process, the supportive structures around joints affected by osteoarthritis can be reversed.

Each of the joints in our body are given support and robustness from our soft tissues. For example, joint capsules, ligaments, tendons and muscles. These tissues help reduce the load and stress we place on our joints when we move. Osteoarthritis increases the importance of ensuring our muscular system is able to provide the appropriate support. Without the support of the muscle system, excessive load is dumped on our joints when we move, which can potentially result in issues related to osteoarthritis.

Examples of our muscular system deloading our joints occur throughout the body. The ability of the muscles around our shoulder to pick up and rotate our shoulder blade as we reach or lift an object overhead reduces pressure on our shoulder joints. Likewise, muscles around the hip help reduce the potential for our knees to fall inwards while we walk, decreasing pressure placed on the knee joint.

At Target Physio, we run through a thorough assessment of the different structures that affect the way a joint moves. This includes looking at the quality and quantity of joint movement, strength and conditioning of muscle tissues, and how this contributes to our overall functional capacity.