APTA spokesperson Sherri Betz is a physical therapist and director of TheraPilates Physical Therapy in Louisiana, specializing in geriatrics and osteoporosis. Betz is devoted to improving awareness about geriatric exercise, bone health, and safe yoga and Pilates-based exercise through professional and consumer education as well as through the promotion of low-cost, on-site, and virtual community exercise programs for older adults.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Do you or someone you know have pain in your joints or stiffness when doing daily activities?
00:06 These symptoms may be related to a common condition called osteoarthritis or OA and
00:12 it affects over 32.5 million adults in the U.S.
00:17 Brad talked with physical therapist Dr. Sherri Betts on how physical therapy can help treat
00:21 and manage the symptoms of OA.
00:26 Good morning doctor, how are you?
00:29 I'm doing great, thanks.
00:31 Okay, let's talk about what OA is and what are some of the common signs and symptoms
00:36 of this, of course, arthritis.
00:41 Osteoarthritis is a condition that results in degrading of the cartilage between two
00:47 bones and what we mean by that is just a wear and tear phenomenon where the cartilage gets
00:52 thinned out and that's just that cushion that you lose between the bones.
00:56 It often affects the hips, the knees, the hands and the feet and we know that about
01:02 32.5 million Americans are suffering with osteoarthritis and they often experience things
01:09 like knee pain in the morning, especially when they get up, the knee is very stiff but
01:14 they find it hard to move around at first and then they experience creaking or cracking
01:19 and crepitus in the joint.
01:21 The good news is that physical therapy can help with all of those symptoms if they're
01:25 having trouble with those daily activities.
01:27 Doctor, you just explained each morning how I wake up, the knees are crickly and everything
01:35 and in my hips a little bit too.
01:37 So let's talk about, of course, as you said, physical therapy can help.
01:40 So let's break down some of the myths that people have regarding OA and what they say
01:45 they can't do with it.
01:47 Yes, I love to talk about that.
01:50 The low impact activities are normally what people start with and if you're really in
01:55 a lot of pain, you can start with water therapy and get that support around your joint and
02:01 then eventually progressing to land therapy where you're getting on a cycle, bicycle,
02:05 some people manage their pain with a bicycle and then you can also begin brisk walking
02:11 and I'm talking brisk walking, not slow walking and get back to doing some sports activities
02:17 if you're doing that.
02:18 And then you definitely don't want to avoid strength training.
02:21 Strength training is one of the most important things that is going to provide nutrients,
02:25 support, shock absorption around that arthritic joint and so strength training is something
02:31 you really want to make sure you're taking part in.
02:33 Doctor, they must have made sure we were together on this and making sure I was interviewing
02:38 you because literally I just started back to doing strength training because I thought,
02:42 you know, oh that's going to hurt.
02:44 But I like how you said about actually getting there and moving and not using it as a crutch
02:48 to not get out and move.
02:49 So the best thing is to move with it.
02:52 The other part I think is very important as you say is therapy with it.
02:55 So therapists of course are very important in making people be able to move much better.
03:00 Absolutely.
03:02 We'll often provide a comprehensive physical assessment and try to figure out those factors
03:07 that are making the knee pain worse.
03:09 So we might even advise you on how you're weight bearing on your foot.
03:14 We might look at your knee alignment while you're doing squats and lunges and working
03:17 out at the gym.
03:19 And we might even provide instruction in shoe selection that might be useful for decreasing
03:25 some of that pain in your hip and knee.
03:29 So funny, I just went and got brand new shoes, Doctor.
03:31 Listen, you're talking to the person right here that needs all this.
03:34 So this is also very important.
03:36 I'm not big on taking the injections or kind of like the pain cover up.
03:42 So that's where of course physical therapy comes in to help so we don't have to do that.
03:47 So what are some of the things that again you guys do to make sure people aren't switching
03:52 to just the cover up of what's going on?
03:55 Yeah, there's actually a new report that's been published by the American Physical Therapy
03:59 Association that compared steroid injections to physical therapy and found that physical
04:05 therapy was actually more effective and lower cost.
04:10 And then what we also want to consider with steroid injections is the reduction in the
04:14 quality and the strength of tissues around the joint where the injection occurs.
04:20 And that leads to weakening of the tendons and overuse can also lead to loss of bone
04:27 density and we know how popular osteoporosis is.
04:30 Yeah.
04:31 Doctor, before I leave you, I want you to give me one quick tip on what I can do each
04:35 morning to make sure that I'm not going to be creaking and crunching all day long.
04:41 Yeah, I would definitely say go for a walk but I'm going to give you this other tip because
04:46 that's a pretty obvious one.
04:48 Stand on one leg every day.
04:51 That's it.
04:52 Do heel raises.
04:53 Yeah, do some heel raises to strengthen that calf but basically making sure you can stand
04:58 on one leg every day is one of the best things you can do to support your knee and hip.
05:02 Well, I'm going to go do that but right now please tell everybody where they can find
05:05 more information about what we talked about.
05:09 You can go to choosept.com.
05:11 You can enter any pathology or condition that you're experiencing and find a plethora of
05:16 information about your condition and what you can do about it.
05:20 Perfect.
05:21 Doctor, thank you very much.
05:22 Again, they must have liked that Brad, this is for you so I'm going to start doing that.
05:27 Thank you, Doctor.
05:29 You're welcome.
05:30 Good luck on your rehab.
05:32 Thanks.
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