Arthritis
Arthritis
There are many different forms of arthritis, but it is split into 2 groups: inflammatory and non-inflammatory arthritis. Inflammatory arthritis includes the likes of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, while something like osteoarthritis is non-inflammatory.
There are lots of myths around osteoarthritis. It is commonly thought that it is a wear and tear problem; however, we know that this is not the case. People still think and believe that lots of activity and high impact activity will result in arthritis in the foot and the knees but, again, with the research available we know that this is not the case. We do know that once you get past a certain age in life, it is more common to have osteoarthritis than it is not, but it is something that is still heavily medicalised. We also know that the severity of arthritis seen on an X-ray has no correlation to pain or symptoms.
So, just because you have severe arthritis, it doesn’t mean that it is always going to be problematic and new developments are happening within osteoarthritis research all the time. When dealing with osteoarthritis around the foot and ankle, in general, we know that supportive footwear and insoles to better support the foot are beneficial. We also know that motion is lotion, and keeping yourself active is key. In addition, the stronger you are, the better able you are to live with your osteoarthritis.
Did you know that once you reach retirement age, doing 1 years’ worth of strength training will give you 4 years’ worth of benefits? The importance of keeping fit and active is now understood. The World Health Organisation have updated their global guidelines to recommend doing 3 strengthening sessions a week to help us maintain strength and mobility as we get older. At NK Active we are on a mission to try and de-medicalise osteoarthritis, to try and remove the stigma, and to help people learn to live with osteoarthritis. There are many things that we can do in clinic to help you, including providing advice around footwear, injections, insoles (foot orthoses), strengthening exercises and, in some cases, provide braces. We also look to educate you around what osteoarthritis is and how you can live with it going forward. There are some cases that will require surgical intervention, and we work very closely with local orthopaedic surgeons to refer you on if required.
As with every interaction at NK Active, we start with an initial appointment, which will include a detailed examination, a review of your medical and injury history, and a discussion around what it is that you are hoping to achieve from seeing us. Following this we will recommend a bespoke treatment plan to you. We know that achieving some consistency throughout your treatment plan really does help you to get a better outcome of living with osteoarthritis and also being able to get back to those activities that you love, including going for long walks, getting back to sports, and taking the dog out for a walk.
How we treat in clinic
Treatments include:
- footwear advice
- insoles (orthoses)
- strengthening exercises with our rehabilitation programme
Our results
We audit all our data at NK Active so we can consistently improve our service and make sure we are helping you achieve your goals.
We know that 72% of people are doing more sport and activities compared to when they first come to see us, 6 months after they have finished treatment.
Arthritis Facts
- Commonly affects people over the age of 40
- Severity of arthritis doesn’t correlate to pain
- Knee OA is the common joint affected
- 1 in 5 people in the UK have OA
- The big toe joint is the most common area in the foot affected
- OA is not caused by “wear and tear” and exercise does not make it worse, actually one of the most important things to do with OA is to keep active and keep moving
