Does Fascia Play a Role in Rheumatoid Arthritis? Know It All
We often speak about fascia and the complications related to it. But in this blog, we cover all the information that will help you have a clear idea of fascia’s role in causing rheumatoid arthritis.
For the ones who are still unaware of what fascia actually is, it is a loose connective tissue that runs throughout the human body providing support and protection to muscle and bones and more. It is made of densely packed protein fibres. Fascia is also highly sensitive tissue that resembles a hammock of fibres. Besides providing support and protection, this tissue also organizes our organs, muscles and other body parts and ensures that they stay suspended in proper places.
Many of you might not be able to figure out fascia’s role in rheumatoid arthritis. Well, it does play a part. Experts say that anytime you have swelling or pain in joints, the soft tissues surrounding that particular spot can get affected. This can be vice versa and unfortunately acts as a ripple effect causing severe complications. Stiffness or inflammation in the fascia leads to immense pain in the joints giving people the feeling of rheumatoid arthritis.
As mentioned earlier, facia is very sensitive. It is loaded with sensory neurons and thus can get stiff or damaged due to overdoing it during a workout, bad posture, injuries, accidents, etc. People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis often cannot locate the area from where the pain is generated. This is to let you know that it could be from fascia if not the bones.
When we discuss fascia’s involvement in rheumatoid arthritis, the areas that most get affected easily include the hands and wrists, lower back, bottom of the feet and sides of the hips. These are considered to be the extra-articular manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis. Also, the people suffering from this particular health issue are prone to developing plantar fasciitis. This is a special condition that is caused due to inflammation of a thick band of connective tissue called the plantar fascia. Plantar fascia is a thick, weblike ligament that connects your heel to the front of your foot. It acts as a shock absorber and supports the arch of your foot, helping you walk. Your plantar fascia ligaments experience a lot of wear and tear in your daily life. Too much pressure on your feet can damage or tear the ligaments. The plantar fascia becomes inflamed, and the inflammation causes heel pain and stiffness. Here at Southwest Physical Therapy, physical therapy is a key part of treatment for plantar fasciitis. It helps stretch your plantar fascia and Achilles tendons and our physical therapist shows you exercises to strengthen your lower leg muscles, helping to stabilize your walk and lessen the workload on your plantar fascia. In certain cases people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis have problems with enthesitis or inflammation of the enthesis, the sites where fascia, tendons or ligaments insert into the bone. We also incorporate physical therapy as part of the treatment regimen.
Now, you might be thinking about how you can get rid of the health issues mentioned above. Myofascial Release Therapy is so very well known to be the most effective way to get rid of fascia stiffness. To know more about this special technique in full detail, you are invited to please visit our website.
If you are looking for a specialist therapist for both physical therapy and Myofascial Release Therapy in the Big Apple, promptly get in touch with Southwest Physical Therapy here in Brooklyn. We provide the best physical therapy services of every variety at such an affordable price.