Do you wake up with stiff and/or painful joints? YOU are not alone. Did you know that Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of disability among people of all ages?
OA symptoms often develop slowly and worsen over time. Here are some of the most common OA symptoms that can impact your daily quality of life:

• Joint pain/stiffness
• Loss of joint range of motion/flexibility
• Swelling/inflammation
• Muscle weakness
• Joint instability

This condition usually affects the weight-bearing joints, like knees, hips, feet, and the spine.

Allow me to clarify the 2 most common misconceptions about this chronic degenerative joint disease. OA is NOT caused by the joints wearing out, and it is certainly NOT something that occurs with age. In fact, there are combinations of certain risk factors that may increase the development of OA:

• Sedentary lifestyles
• Obesity
• Joint injury

Contrary to what some people think, physical activities such as strengthening, running, biking, and/or playing tennis, DO NOT wear and tear joints! In fact, adopting a daily active lifestyle in combination with making daily healthy food choices, and maintaining a healthy body weight WILL reduce your risk of developing osteoarthritis!

So, my questions to you are; what do you do when your joints feel like they need a can of lubricated “Jig-A-Loo”? Do you blame your age, your grandparents, or your job? What lifestyle choices are you making?

No matter what your answer is, Athletic Therapists can help! We understand that pain and physical limitations can feel frustrating and discouraging.

Getting you back into the activities you love with minimal to no pain with optimal function is what Athletic Therapists specialize in! Athletic Therapy reconnects you with motion and your ambition with results.

Get one of our experts to help you today!

Yours in Health,

Valerie