If you’re living with Osteoarthritis it can be debilitating and have a major impact on your quality of life. Being informed about your condition and using a range of strategies to help you maintain your health can help reduce pain, increase movement and go a long way to getting back to doing the things you love to do.
The Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group offers both non-operative and operative care, with an emphasis on choosing the best treatment for the individual patient.
We walk our patients through different stages of managing the pain, which can be as simple as dietary changes, weight management and strengthening exercises.
Sometimes surgery is essential to achieve a reprieve from the pain, but it’s not the only option – experienced physiotherapists can work wonders in managing symptoms.
Surgery should be the last resort and when that decision is made, education is crucial as there are multiple surgery options available.
Six tips for managing Osteoarthritis:
Education: Be thoroughly educated on your chronic condition, and this will assist you in your best choice of treatment. There is a lot of information available on osteoarthritis, but make sure you are researching what is relevant to you.
Weight Management: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is one effective treatment method for joint pain. Ask your GP to check your BMI, and suggest effective methods of weight loss and maintenance if necessary.
Medication Management: The best medication for joint pain is Panadol Osteo (or equivalent). It is a relatively safe medication but always check with your GP before commencing, particularly if you have liver disease.
Physiotherapy: Visit your physiotherapist and request some strengthening and range of motion exercises which are useful tools for managing the symptoms of joint pain.
Lifestyle Modification: Modify the activities that you perform if you suffer from joint pain. Choose low-impact activities such as walking, swimming and cycling, rather than high-impact activities such as running which can exacerbate your pain.
Injections: There are a number of injections available to help treat joint osteoarthritis. Discuss the most suitable options for you with your GP or a joint Specialist.
Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group run regular free education seminars on operative and non-operative treatments for Osteoarthritis. To check out the upcoming event dates and locations and book your free ticket click here Osteoarthritis education events.
Dr Daevyd Rodda and the team at Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group are focused on the importance of a multi-disciplinary, team-based approach to arthritis care.
You can learn more about our approach via our website at www.scorthogroup.com.au or call 07 5493 8038 for more information.
