After an injury, the body remembers. Even once a scar is faded and healed, your body can still experience aches and pains it never had before. One of the most common lingering effects after an injury is pain and loss of motion in a joint. This is called post-injury degenerative joint disease.
While it may be debilitating in the short term, the good news is that it’s treatable. If you follow the right care plan, your body can truly heal and reduce pain and inflammation in the long term.
What is Post-Injury Degenerative Joint Disease?
Degenerative joint disease is the most common form of arthritis. Also called Osteoarthritis (OA), this condition occurs when the cartilage inside of a joint begins to break down. This is common with age and can range from mild to debilitating.
Unlike aging, post-injury degenerative joint disease is caused by a traumatic event to the body. This could be a car crash, a slip on the ice, a sports injury, a fall, or any other injury that damages your bones and/or joints. It most often occurs in these parts of the body:
- Ankles
- Knees
- Hips
- Elbows
The main difference between arthritis caused by injury and arthritis that comes from age is the timeline: you’ll often start experiencing symptoms right away. It also appears much more often in children, teens, and young adults compared to other forms of arthritis.
Read Now: Arthritis – The Painful Truth
Signs of Post-Injury Degenerative Joint Disease
Sometimes, joint pain will go away as your body heals from its injury. However, it’s not uncommon that pain lingers after an injury has healed – which can be a sign that you’re experiencing longer-term degenerative joint disease. Some common signs include:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Stiffness
- Tenderness
- Grinding, creaking, or crunching sensation
- Limited range of motion
Seeing one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy as soon as possible can slow the progression of the disease. If you’re unsure if you’re experiencing post-injury arthritis, schedule a free phone consultation or discovery visit.
Read Now: I’ve Got Some Pain, But Not Enough To Justify A Visit To The Doctor
How to Treat Post-Injury Degenerative Joint Disease
You can address some symptoms like pain on your own, using heat, ice, and pain medication – but this won’t fix the underlying problem. As long as the cartilage in your joints has worn down, any topical treatment or medication will only temporarily remove the pain from your joints.
Physical therapy is the most effective way to treat degenerative joint disease. Physical therapy with an expert like PRO Therapy is designed specifically to help aid the healing process.
Following an injury, it’s important to follow a care plan that will not only ensure that your injury heals, but also that you’re avoiding future pain and injury by healing it right. PRO Therapy creates a customized care plan based on your body to ensure the healing process is done right.
Your care plan will be tailored to your body, but some common treatments we offer include:
Spinal/Extremity Joint Manipulation
Active Release Technique
Kinesiotaping
Neuromuscular Re-Education
Wellness Coaching
Sport-Specific Programs
Mechanical Traction
Joint Mobilization
Work Hardening/Conditioning Programs
Trigger Point Therapy
Graston Technique
Gait Training
Personal Training
Cupping Therapy
Ultrasound
Dry Needling
Soft Tissue Mobilization
Electrical Stimulation
Therapeutic Exercise
Postural Evaluation
Nutrition Coaching
Laser Therapy
Muscle Energy Techniques
Myofascial Release
Therapeutic Activities
Custom Orthotics
All these treatments need to be done by a licensed professional who knows how to manipulate the body without causing further injury – a professional like one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy.
Physical Therapy With PRO Therapy
If you want to make physical therapy a success, partnering with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy is going to help you avoid future pain and resolve current pain.
We Love to Help People:
- Keep Active – So you can run after your kids all day, take your grandchildren to the park with ease, enjoy a nice round of golf, run or walk anytime that suits you.
- Stay Free From Painkillers – So you’re not always reaching in the cupboard for pills to ease the pain whenever it strikes, getting only a “quick fix” when you need a “permanent fix” – PLUS they’re no good for your long-term health, “mask” the pain and certainly don’t actually do anything to fix the problem.
- Avoid Dangerous Injections/Surgery – We’ll help you get to the root cause of what’s going on – so you don’t have to get to the point of having to face injections or surgery.
- Found Out What’s Wrong – We’ll help give you peace of mind and ensure that your problem is “corrected” and “healed” properly – also give you a set of exercises perfectly catered to you to help speed up recovery.
- Get More Enjoyment Out Of Life – So you can enjoy quality time with family and friends that your daily aches and pains steal from you – also finally get a good night of sleep without constantly tossing and turning.
Read Now: Why Our Physical Therapy Team Are Amazing (And What They Have Taught Me)
Are you ready to make physical therapy work for you? Give us a call! We offer complimentary phone and in-person consultations. We aim to meet our patients wherever they are in their journey and answer all questions we can to ensure a smooth experience at PRO Therapy. We want to help you make the best decision for you!
- Running Strong: Preventing and Managing Running Injuries - March 29, 2025
- Sports Physical Therapy – Preventing Overuse Injuries in Younger Athletes - March 3, 2025
- Holistic Approaches to Chronic Pain Management: A Physical Therapy Perspective - February 25, 2025
