Steps Osteopaths Take To Deal With Patients’ Arthritis Pain
September 8th, 2010

As an osteopath you know that arthritis pain is one of the hardest conditions to treat. The patient’s susceptibility to pain changes with the weather, and the severity of the pain that is experienced can never be anticipated but only dealt with in the aftermath of first appearing. Specialists in the field of osteopathy suggest that there are several steps to take when dealing with patients’ arthritis pain.

* Focus on the goal. In some cases the relief of pain is the primary goal while at other times it might be a reduction in the swelling that is noticed. Discuss with the patient what it is they want to achieve primarily while then concentrating on that issue first and foremost. Although the reduction of pain and the decrease of swelling, for example, quite frequently go hand in hand, there are times when it is appropriate to focus more on one condition than the other.
* Understand the kind of arthritis you are dealing with. You may be presented with normal degenerative arthritis or osteoarthritis, and both conditions demand a different approach, although the outcomes are usually quite similar.
* Rely heavily on water exercise to handle the pain the arthritis presents to the patient. Warm water is conducive to a reduction of stiffness, and as an osteopath it is crucial that you instruct your patients in safe exercises that might alleviate some of the pain while at the same time permitting for an increased range of motion to be regained. Additionally, remember that some patients are not very good listeners and an observation of their efforts is important to ensure that the exercises are done properly and in keeping with your instructions.
* Discuss nutrition and also nutritional supplementation with your patients. There are times when your patient may not be aware of the kinds of food that are actually healthy and may help to keep swellings down and relieve pain.
* Instruct patients on the judicious use of cold packs. There is a host of conflicting information available on the Internet and in common lore that may have given your patient the wrong idea of how cold packs should be used and when they are to be applied. Although many osteopaths believe that this practice is such a common sense approach that their patients already know about it, it is a wise idea to not take any understanding for granted and instead over communicate and state the obvious.
* Teach your patient the proper warm up procedure prior to any form of exercise. Far too often patients hoping to relive their pain with exercise do more harm to themselves than good by going too far, too quickly and without actually giving their joints a chance to limber up. Doctors of osteopathy must always discuss proper procedures with their patients and even practice the moves and the warm ups to ensure that the patient knows exactly how to go ahead with the exercise regiments that have been discussed during an office visit.

---