Physical And Complementary Therapies: Arthritis

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Physical and complementary therapies

Despite the variety of medications available for arthritis, physical therapy remains a cornerstone of traditional treatment. In addition, many people with arthritis try various complementary therapies to alleviate pain and other symptoms. Options abound in both these areas and, when carefully chosen, such nonmedical therapies can help you maintain and improve joint function.

Physical therapists focus on restoring or maintaining physical function by designing an individualized treatment program for you. The physical therapist first will thoroughly evaluate your pain, functional ability, strength, and endurance levels, then will provide advice about ways to ease pressure on your joints while building muscles to support them. Physical therapy can take place at a hospital or outpatient clinic, in the therapist's office, or in your home. Some activities can be done alone; others require the therapist's assistance.

You are likely to have much less guidance when it comes to deciding on whether to use complementary therapies, and which ones. Such therapies literally run the gamut from A to Z — from acupuncture to zinc supplements. And they're popular: One widely cited 1997 paper estimated that one in four people with arthritis used some type of complementary therapy. Although hundreds of such therapies exist, only a few have actually proved to be effective when evaluated in rigorous studies.

To become a wise consumer of complementary therapies, become a skeptical one. Don't buy into any treatment that promises a cure. And be sure to ask questions about complementary therapies: Do the claims rely only on testimonials from people who have tried the treatment, rather than on scientific studies? Are the promises extravagant? Do proponents advise not telling your doctor about the treatment? Do they suggest stopping medical treatment? Are the ingredients unidentified or "secret"? If you answer any of these questions "yes," your best response to trying a therapy is an emphatic "no."

Finally, if you are contemplating any physical or complementary treatment, you should first discuss it with your doctor to make sure it will support, rather than hinder, your arthritis management plan.

Last updated:	September 05, 2008