Joint Pain Relief versus Joint Stiffness
The two main joint problems are:
- joint pain
- joint stiffness
These two symptoms can occur in isolation or they can occur simultaneously, which means you can have joint stiffness and pain.
How Much Joint Movement is Normal?
For full and pain-free movement your joints need to move freely in all directions that they were designed. If they become locked or restricted in any particular direction, you may experience pain and/or stiffness.
Luckily, with the assistance of a skilled physiotherapist who understands your joints, you can regain quickly and easily regain full joint range and pain-free movement. To achieve this, your physiotherapist will assess which of your joints are:
- painful (but normal motion)
- stiff
- painful and stiff
- hyper mobile
- painful and hyper mobile
Joint mobilization treatment varies depending on the joint stiffness/hypermobility and the pain associated with moving your joint. Your skilled physiotherapist is the ideal health professional trained to assess and treat your joint dysfunction effectively.
What are Joint Mobilization Techniques?
Joint mobilization techniques focus on attaining a normal range of pain-free joint motion. Nearly every restriction in movement can be regained by a specific joint technique performed by an experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapist. And the good news is … joint mobilization techniques have certainly improved over the years with very gentle and pain-free options available.
The old crunch and munch, click and pop techniques are thankfully a thing of the past! Plus, it is also very important not to overstretch a joint to create hypermobility or instability. Hypermobile joints require different treatment techniques to a stiff joint.
For the best advice and an individual assessment please consult your physiotherapist.
Why do Joints Stiffen or Lock Up?
Joint stiffness or a locked joint can be associated with any joint, muscle, tendon and ligament injury. Plus, joints can lock and become stuck in an open or closed position. Much like a door that doesn’t quite fully swing open or close, it runs into something and it becomes stiff and/or painful.
Normally, a simple alignment or control issue has caused the joint to move in an awkward and unnatural direction. As a result, the joint treatment method used to correct your locked joints will vary depending upon your physiotherapist’s diagnosis.
After a diligent assessment, your physiotherapist will discuss with you what techniques would be the most effective, safe and pain-free. Then, they’ll quickly start fixing your problem.
Common Examples of Joint Mobilization & Pain Relief Techniques may include:
- Gentle Joint Mobilizations (eg. Maitland, Mulligan, Kaltenborn techniques)
- Mobility Exercises (eg. McKenzie exercises)
- Minimal Energy Techniques (Osteopathic-based active joint re-positioning techniques)
- Joint Manipulation
- Traction / Distraction Techniques
- PIM – Physiotherapy Instrument Mobilization
At “City physio”, we understand that you may be anxious with certain treatment methods. You’ll be pleased to know that we can offer you the latest safe, gentle and effective joint mobilization and pain relief treatment approaches that we would happily provide to our own family or friends.
