Home > Blog > Physiotherapy & Hand Therapy > Joint Pain

Joint Pain Physiotherapy

A joint refers to the meeting point between two bones, together with their co-joining soft tissues such as ligaments and tendons which

  • support the joint structure and
  • supports its movement over space

Joint pain refers to pain that occurs within the join and it may happen due to

  • injury or trauma (acute or repetitive strain)
  • infection
  • illness/disease
  • allergic reaction to medication
  • post activities and exercises
  • ageing
  • cold weather and temperature
  • after being in a position for too long (e.g. getting up after sitting down for a couple of hours).

There is an unfortunate cycle, as most people tend to decrease or avoid movement when their joints are aching and painful (this is normal) and preferring to rest instead until their joint pain decreases or goes away (normal too).

However, that'd depends on the diagnosis - if it's truly caused by an injury that requires total/restricted movements, such as in the cases of fractures, then ok, patient needs to not move. But, if it's not indicated to stop moving and patients decide to move less and rest more, that will cause/start a vicious cycle:

  1. decrease movement/load/activity leads to weakened joints, bones and muscles
  2. which in turn, bruises and tires easily, hence patients may want to rest more and move less
  3. and again this further aggravates point #1, and so on and so forth

Actually, appropriate and regular exercise programs does and will help to

  • decrease joint stiffness and joint pains
  • increase flexibility
  • increase strength
  • increase endurance
  • improve sleep quality
  • builds bone strength and cartilage health for your joints

joint pain physiotherapy

Most medical professionals will prescribe painkillers and muscle relaxants to patients with joint pain to provide quick relief. If you decide to see a doctor for your joint pain, do also ask them for a physiotherapy referral form to see one of our senior physiotherapists to treat your joint pain too.

The thing is, painkillers can help mask or dull the joint pain for a while, to help you get back to work or to your responsibilities, but it just stops there. It doesn't treat the joint pain at its core, and that may cause the pain to be unresolved and to keep affecting your life.

Most of us don't want to be reliant on painkillers and medication at all, so getting your joint pain sorted out will be more important for the long term.

What our senior physiotherapists and hand therapists will do is to support the doctors' instructions and advice, and sessions may include:

Our senior physiotherapists may recommend you to do regular deep tissue release massage therapy to ensure your muscles are in optimal length and strengths, as well as help decrease muscle tightness that creates unnecessary joint tightness as secondary condition.

Our Phoenix Singapore physio clinics can help to tailor a joint pain and exercise program to suit your need, taking into consideration your current fitness and strength level, and gradually building up your strength, stamina, stability for a better and healthier quality of life.