Physiotherapy for Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a common joint condition in which the cartilage gradually thins. With the right guidance you can reduce complaints and stay active.
Are you suffering from osteoarthritis?
To understand what osteoarthritis is, we’ll first explain something about cartilage. Cartilage sits on the ends of bones — for example the bone in your upper leg. Two bones, together with other structures, form a joint such as the knee. The layer of cartilage is normally smooth and lets you move the knee easily — bending and stretching. With osteoarthritis the cartilage is often thinner and no longer fully smooth, so the joint no longer glides optimally and you can develop complaints.
More about osteoarthritis
To understand osteoarthritis we’ll first explain something about cartilage. Cartilage sits on the ends of bones, for example the bone in your upper leg. The layer of cartilage is normally smooth and lets you move the knee easily. With osteoarthritis the cartilage is often thinner and no longer fully smooth. The joint no longer glides as well, and you can develop complaints.
What does the programme look like?
During the intake your physiotherapist looks together with you at your movement habits throughout the day and when you experience the most complaints. By making small adjustments we try to avoid so-called peak loads (overload) as much as possible. This often already makes patients much less limited in daily life, because they experience less pain. Depending on your personal situation, your physiotherapist gives information and tips on which adjustments you can make in daily life to reduce complaints. You also start a supervised training programme consisting of a warm-up, strengthening exercises, coordination exercises and a cool-down. The programme typically lasts 12 sessions (around 2 to 3 months), but this depends on the severity of your complaints and your condition. You may need fewer sessions.