Rhode Island Rehabilitation Center’s movement specialists help people with arthritis regain independence and control of their daily lives by reducing their pain, restoring range of motion, and increasing their endurance. We cannot make arthritis go away, but the pain that people feel from arthritis can be lessened by keeping the joint lubricated, so you have to move the joint. Movement in the joints distributes the synovial fluid that lubricates the joints. The problem with arthritis is that if you move the joint too far, you get pain from bone to bone contact and if you move the joint too little, you get pain from inadequate distribution of the lubricating fluids. So movement therapy can help the arthritic patient to learn where the comfortable range of motion is to keep the joint lubricated. At Rhode Island Rehabilitation Center we use aquatic therapies and other non-weight-bearing therapies to relieve pressure on the joints while we work to increase the range of motion.

Osteopenia and Osteoporosis are degenerative conditions of the bones that often result in decreased mobility. (Osteopenia is generally considered the first step along the road to osteoporosis, a serious condition in which bone density is extremely low and bones are porous and prone to shatter.) Rhode Island Rehabilitation Center physical therapy specialists develop an individualized plan of weight-bearing exercises to slow down deterioration of the bones in the legs, hips, and spine and, in many cases, to actually rebuild bone density. In addition, our movement specialists develop an exercise plan design to restore freedom of movement and endurance and to give patients more independence in their daily living activities.