Marley's Health Advice
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Marley's Health Advice

Hey! My name is Marley and this is my health advice blog. Maintaining your health is easy when you are young. However, as you get older, you may develop illnesses and disorders as a result of your lifestyle choices. When I hit the age of 50 years old, I suddenly realised that I had a lot of problems which I had been ignoring for a long time. I decided to visit my doctor and seek help. Over the past year, I have worked closely with my doctor to improve my lifestyle and my health. I hope my blog inspires you to do the same.

Marley's Health Advice

Three Types of Physiotherapy That Arthritis Patients Will Love

Grace Henderson

If you're suffering from arthritis of any type, your medical caregivers may recommend physiotherapy as a natural form of pain relief. Whilst physiotherapy isn't quite so fast as taking a tablet for your pain, it offers a completely gentle and non-invasive type of relief that might just give you long-term relief rather than a quick fix. Below, you'll learn about three physiotherapy treatments can help relieve your arthritis pain.

Moist Heat Therapy

Moist heat therapy is a way to deliver deep and relaxing heat to your muscles and joints whilst you rest. This type of therapy typically uses heated gel packs, moist heated towels, or heating pads to provide quick and effective relief.

You'll sit or lay down whilst having moist heat therapy treatment, and many patients find it so relaxing that they become a bit drowsy. Your physiotherapist may also recommend whirlpool baths as a type of moist heat therapy for arthritis relief. 

Cold Therapy

Cold therapy, sometimes referred to as cryotherapy, is the opposite of moist heat therapy. It uses ice to create numbing, which then gives you extra pain relief. Ice can be applied in several ways. The ice is always shielded from your skin with bags, pouches, or towels to avoid irritation.

It's quite common to alternate cold therapy with moist heat therapy. For example, you might have 30 minutes of moist heat therapy directly followed by 30 minutes of cold therapy.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Electrical muscle stimulation is a physiotherapy method that uses mild electrical pulses to stimulate the areas where you feel pain. For arthritis sufferers, small electrodes are attached to the skin just above painful joints and muscles. Your medical caregiver can vary the amount of current based on how well you respond to the treatment and how much pain relief you need.

Whilst some arthritis patients worry that electrical muscle stimulation will be uncomfortable, it's actually quite comfortable and even relaxing in most cases. The electrical current stimulates the muscle fibres in a process similar to an ultra-rapid massage. In addition to relieving arthritis pain, electrical muscle stimulation can also improve blood flow and alleviate inflammation. Electrical muscle stimulation is often combined with other types of physiotherapy such as moist heat therapy and cold therapy to give arthritis sufferers even better results. 

If you're struggling with arthritis pain and you're tired of tablets being the only solution that you have, contact a physiotherapist. It might just give you a natural pain relief solution that greatly enhances your quality of life!


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