What is Inflammation?
Inflammation is a process by which the body’s white blood cells and substances they produce protect us from infection with foreign organisms, such as bacteria and viruses.
However, in some diseases, like arthritis, the body’s defense system, the immune system, triggers an inflammatory response when there are no foreign invaders to fight off. In these diseases, called autoimmune diseases, the body’s normally protective immune system causes damage to its own tissues. The body responds as if normal tissues are infected or somehow abnormal.
Inflammation is often characterized by redness, swelling, warmth, and sometimes pain and some immobility.
Symptoms of inflammation include:
Redness
Swollen Joint
Joint Pain
Join Stifness
Loss of joint function
There are a number of physical therapy options for inflammatory diseases. The type of treatment prescribed will depend on several factors, including the type of disease, the person’s age, overall health, medical history, and severity of symptoms.
Exercise therapy
Manual therapy
The most appropriate treatments will be selected upon the clinical judgment and the experience of your Physiotherapist on the findings from the initial assessment. Treatments for inflammatio aim to:
Correct, control, or slow down the underlying disease process.
Avoid or modify activities that aggravate pain.
Relieve pain.
Maintain joint movement and muscle strength.
Assist you to achieve exercise or functional goals.
Improve your fitness.
Prescribe exercises to do at home, work in the gym to enhance your recovery.