Five Ways to Manage Arthritis Pain — Without Surgery

September 2025 Newsletter

Donna is one of the 53.2 million Americans living with arthritis. Until recently, she was also one of the many arthritis patients who weren’t physically active due to their symptoms. The persistent pain in her knee kept her from hobbies she’d always enjoyed, but now she loves to garden and explore local walking trails with her friends. And she didn’t even have to undergo surgery!

What changed? The answer is simple: Donna visited the team at SMART Sports Medicine. We helped her understand her condition, including the fact that staying sedentary was making her symptoms worse. We also created a customized treatment plan to help her manage her pain, get active, and get back to the life she wanted to live.

Whether you’re living with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or another inflammatory joint condition, we’ll work hard to find a solution that meets your needs. All you need to do to get started is call to schedule an appointment.

In the meantime, check out these five suggestions for managing arthritis pain from our physical therapists.

How to Manage Arthritis Symptoms (Without Drugs or Surgery)

1. Stay Active: Getting enough exercise is one of the best things you can do to manage your arthritis symptoms. If you have osteoarthritis, this might be a surprise since OA pains often occur when you move the joint. Fortunately, our physical therapists can help you find low-impact exercises that won’t put extra pressure on your joints.
2. But Don’t Forget to Rest: While physical activity is crucial in managing arthritis, you need to be careful not to overdo things. Striking a balance between more intense activities (like weightlifting) and periods of active recovery (like walking) will help keep your joints happy.
3. Eat a Healthy Diet: Swapping out ultra-processed foods for a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help control the inflammation that contributes to arthritis symptoms.
4. Find a Pain Management Strategy: You don’t have to depend on pain medication to manage your symptoms. Self-massage techniques, hot and cold therapy, and gentle stretches can all help reduce pain levels. Our therapists can provide suggestions!
5. Get Organized: To maximize your treatment from our physical therapists, keep careful track of your symptoms. When do you feel pain? Where do you feel pain? Do you have any mobility restrictions? How would you describe your pain level? This information will help us create the best possible treatment plan for your needs.

But Don’t Forget to Visit SMART Sports Medicine, Either!

As musculoskeletal experts, our team of physical therapists can give you the expert guidance you need to address your arthritis symptoms. We offer two main benefits: additional pain management techniques and customized, guided exercise programs.

How We Help Manage Pain

In addition to showing you self-management options, we offer several pain management approaches in our clinic.

Manual therapy techniques, such as joint mobilizations or soft tissue manipulation, help reduce pain, promote blood circulation, and improve mobility restrictions. We often kick off sessions with a round of manual therapy to help prepare your body for exercise.

Depending on your needs, we might also suggest other pain-relieving modalities, such as ultrasound therapy or electrical stimulation.

How We Help You Exercise Smarter

When managing arthritis pain, pretty much any low-impact exercise will do wonders. However, targeted exercise also plays an important role in addressing pain. 

For example, mobility exercises will help improve your joint’s range of motion, making movement easier overall. Targeted strength training focuses on improving the strength of the muscles surrounding your impacted joint, which helps support and stabilize it, helping to minimize pain.

We can also help you get started with a general exercise program. If you’ve been inactive for a while, starting slowly is essential to avoiding injury. We can provide suggested exercises and durations based on your health history and activity level.

Finally, if your arthritis is in a weight-bearing joint (such as your hip or knee), it’s important that you improve your balance to minimize your fall risk — and we can help with that, too!