What joint protection techniques can virtual physical therapists show me?

You may never have heard of joint protection techniques before. But they could become your best friend if you’re one of the approximately 58.5 million Americans who have arthritis.

Joint protection techniques were developed by medical professionals, and they’re designed to help arthritis sufferers meet three specific goals. First, these techniques are intended to help those with arthritis manage their joint pain better. Second, they strive to help arthritis sufferers avoid increasing their pain. Third, they seek to help people perform normal daily activities more easily.

Virtual physical therapists are one group of medical pros you can turn to for help implementing joint protection techniques. These specialists can show you many techniques that fall into this category.

3 joint protection techniques a virtual physical therapist can help you implement

There are many joint protection techniques that virtual physical therapists can help you implement in your life. A few of these techniques include:

1. Embracing alternative ways of doing tasks.

You may have done a task like emptying the dishwasher or typing in exactly the same way your whole life. However, sticking with your current way of doing a task could be increasing your pain. Virtual physical therapists can help you avoid this by showing you alternative ways to do common daily tasks. They can also walk you through the different alternatives to help you pick the one that works best for you.

2. Timing and planning your tasks effectively.

When you do certain tasks can have a lot to do with your level of pain. Let’s consider an example involving hand arthritis sufferers. They need to unload the dishwasher. This task involves a lot of gripping objects, which means doing it in the morning may be less painful than doing it later in the day. Your virtual physical therapist can help you determine the best times of day to do certain tasks. They can also help you create a plan that takes these timings into account.

 3. Combating joint stiffness regularly.

Leaving an arthritic joint in one position or doing a repetitive task with it is a recipe for joint stiffness and pain. Fortunately, virtual physical therapists can help you protect yourself from these scenarios. They can help you develop a brief program of movement exercises and stretches designed to help ease stiffness from your joints and avoid stiffness-related pain.

These are just a few of the joint protection techniques that you can put in place in your daily life with the help of a virtual physical therapist. But they’re far from the only ones that these experts can help you implement. Other techniques that your virtual physical therapist may help you put in place include:

• Using better body mechanics during daily activities.
• Arranging your work areas in more beneficial ways.
• Helping you find ways to get leaner.

Agile Virtual PT can help you develop a personalized set of joint protection techniques

You don’t have to continue to let arthritis get the better of you. Our virtual physical therapists at Agile Virtual PT are ready and willing to help you discover PT techniques that can help make your life easier. Our clinicians can start by doing a free virtual screening on your arthritic joint(s). They can then create an individualized treatment plan for you that includes multiple PT techniques.

Contact our team today for more information about how we can help you address arthritis or to schedule your initial virtual appointment.