Rhode Island Rehabilitation Center’s movement specialist 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.
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 RI Rehab, 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.