July is National Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month
National Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month
July is here and it is National Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month. It is important to recognize that although arthritis is more prevalent in older adults, it afflicts people of all ages including children. Understanding the disease and including its’ symptoms and treatment options can be beneficial to the child in the long term.
Taking the proper precautions to help prevent arthritic symptoms in children, will make their prognosis more manageable. Keeping the child at a healthy weight by eating well and exercising will help reduce the intensity of flare-ups as well as promote overall health and well-being. Teaching your child safety when getting active and playing sports will help prevent potential injuries. Sports injuries are also a huge trigger of arthritis, so doing your best to prevent an injury will also help in reducing your chances of being symptomatic. For children who have not already been diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, an injury in childhood may lead to arthritis down the line. This is why it is critical to visit a physical therapist if you have an injury. A physical therapist will help optimally heal your injury that will help you avoid further complications down the line. In addition, a physical therapist will teach you exercises to relieve arthritic pain as well as strengthen the muscles around the afflicted area so that it takes the pressure off of that area.
The month of July is a great time to educate yourself on all things related to arthritis as well as help spread the word. Whether it’s due to an injury or genetic or environmental factors, Juvenile Arthritis is something to be concerned with. If you live in the Long Island area, Island Sports Physical Therapy has locations in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties to help you assuage arthritic pain as well the proper healing of various injuries. Call us today!
