All About Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment for Arthritis
There are many forms of arthritis, each of which causes pain and dysfunction in joints throughout your body. When you have this condition, getting your pain under control is harder than you think.
However, have you ever considered osteopathic manipulation as a treatment option? This is a noninvasive form of therapy to help ease joint discomfort and restore normal function.
At the Regenerative Medical Group, our team offers osteopathic manipulation as a standard treatment option. Our team is made up of two general practitioners, including Dr. Richard Rutledge and Dr. Bryn J. Henderson, both of whom specialize in osteopathic medicine.
What is osteopathic manipulative treatment?
Osteopathic manipulative therapy, or OMT, is a type of therapy that our doctors use to deal with chronic pain. It’s a hands-on type of treatment that our team uses to manipulate and stretch your joints to increase your range of motion and decrease pain.
OMT is used for a variety of medical conditions, especially those affecting your musculoskeletal system. It’s also used as a way for our team to both diagnose issues like arthritis and prevent issues from getting worse, or starting at all.
There are three different approaches to OMT, which include:
Direct
Direct OMT occurs when our team uses light force to move your tissues to enforce range-of-motion.
Indirect
Indirect OMT is less about moving your tissues and more about putting your body in a position of comfort during your session.
Combined
Combined OMT takes both active movement and passive comfort to provide you with the best pain relief possible.
Each one of these techniques is used specifically to treat your specific pain or discomfort. Our team carefully assesses your symptoms to determine which form of OMT is best for you. Each appointment may require a different approach, depending on how you respond.
Warning signs of arthritis
Arthritis is a painful medical condition that damages the joints in your body. There are over 100 varying forms of arthritis, each of which affects your joints in a different way. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of degenerative arthritis that causes joint damage over time.
There’s also inflammatory arthritis, which is marked by rheumatoid arthritis as the most common form. No matter what type of arthritis you have, it’s important to know the warning signs so you can get treatment early on. Symptoms of different types of arthritis include:
- Joint pain
- Joint swelling
- Tenderness around the joint
- Joint stiffness in the morning
- Decreased range of motion
- Fatigue or weight loss
You know your body better than anyone. If you’re having joint pain or problems with your normal activities due to stiffness and swelling, you should seek help. Some types of arthritis cause irreversible damage, meaning the sooner you receive treatment, the better.
While OMT can’t cure arthritis, it can help you slow down the progression of the disorder. Paired with other types of therapies, arthritis is managed well with OMT.
What to expect from your treatment
Our team helps you determine the best route of treatment to get your arthritis under control. This often includes OMT as one of the treatment methods to not only ease your pain, but also increase the function in your body.
Sometimes, the best form of treatment for arthritis is far from the operating room. In fact, OMT is a great way to improve your symptoms by addressing other problems in your musculoskeletal system.
At your appointment, our team evaluates your symptoms and your joints to determine the best form of OMT for your specific type of arthritis. Some of the techniques our team uses during OMT therapy include:
- Massage
- Stretching
- Joint articulation
- Thrusts
During your treatment, you shouldn’t ever feel pain. The goal of these treatments is to reduce your pain, promote blood flow to painful areas, and improve your overall range of motion.
OMT uses techniques from different fields, including massage therapy and physical therapy, to improve the symptoms of arthritis, such as stiffness and joint pain. Our team takes an integrated approach, sometimes pairing OMT with other forms of therapy for arthritis that’s hard to treat.
If you’re looking for a new form of treatment for arthritis, don’t hesitate to call one of our conveniently located offices in California, Washington state, or Nashville, TN. You can also request an appointment online using the online booking tool.