What We Treat

Arthritis treatment in Shreveport.

Stiff mornings and achy joints don’t have to set the limits on your day. The right movement, built around your joints, can make everyday life easier again.

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Sound Familiar?

Does this sound like you?

  • Joints that feel rusty for the first hour of the morning
  • Knees that complain on every stair, going up and coming down
  • Hands that ache when you open a jar or grip a pen
  • Skipping the walk you used to love because your hips pay for it later
  • Stiffness that sets in after a movie or a long drive
  • Being told it’s “just arthritis” and you’ll have to live with it

Two or more? Keep reading.

Why It Happens

Arthritis is a diagnosis. It’s not the whole story.

Arthritis changes the cartilage and lining inside a joint, and that can leave it stiff, swollen, and sore. But how much it hurts day to day often depends on what’s around the joint: muscles that have weakened, motion you’ve slowly stopped using, and the way you’ve learned to move to protect it.

That’s the part physical therapy can change. Your physical therapist looks at how the joint moves, how strong the muscles supporting it are, and which daily tasks are hardest, then builds your plan around exactly that. Gentle range of motion is usually one of the first tools we use for arthritis, followed by strengthening that doesn’t stress the joint.

An older adult lifting light dumbbells with a clinician beside her

The Honest Truth

Resting a stiff joint usually makes it stiffer.

If you keep waiting

  • Stiffness creeps further into your day, not just your mornings
  • The muscles around the joint weaken, so the joint takes more of the load
  • You quietly start saying no to walks, trips, and time on the floor with the grandkids

If you start this week

  • You find out which motions and muscles are making the pain worse
  • Gentle, joint-friendly treatment starts at your first visit
  • You leave with a plan you can keep doing at home

Arthritis may be part of your life. Pain doesn’t have to run it.

How We Fix It

The same four phases. Built for your joints.

Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like for arthritis.

Phase 1

Pain

Settle the flare.

Hands-on techniques, including massage, gentle range of motion, and cold therapy when it helps take the edge off a sore, swollen joint.

Phase 2

Prime

Loosen what’s locked up.

Joint mobilization and stretching restore the motion your joint has slowly been losing, so everyday movements stop feeling like a fight.

Phase 3

Perform

Build the support system.

Strengthening that protects the joint, starting with isometrics and progressing to resistance as you’re ready, so the muscles carry more of the load.

Phase 4

Prevent

Keep it moving.

A home program built around your routine, so the progress you make here keeps going long after your last visit.

Related Conditions

Pain rarely stays in one place.

Compensation patterns often show up nearby. Here’s what else we treat.

1

Knee Pain

Stairs, kneeling, and the squat you quietly stopped doing.

Learn More 2

Hip Pain

That pinch in your hip every time you get out of the car.

Learn More 3

Elbow & Wrist Pain

Gripping, twisting, and opening jars that shouldn’t hurt this much.

Learn More

Questions, Answered

What people ask before booking for arthritis.

In most cases, yes, and the right kind of movement is one of the best things you can do for an arthritic joint. The key is choosing exercises that strengthen the muscles around the joint without overloading it. Your physical therapist starts gently, often with range of motion and isometric strengthening, and progresses as your joints tolerate it.

Yes. We treat patients after hip, knee, and shoulder replacement surgery, restoring the motion and strength you need to get the most out of your new joint. If your surgeon has a specific protocol, your plan follows it.

No. Louisiana allows direct access to physical therapy, so in many cases you can start without seeing a physician first. If your evaluation shows anything that needs a doctor’s attention, we’ll refer you to the right provider.

Most insurance plans cover physical therapy, though coverage varies by plan. We verify your benefits before your first visit, so you know what to expect. Questions? Call us at (318) 222-7442.

Book Your Visit

Ready when you are.

Request a time and a real person calls you back during office hours. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.

  • Hours Mon–Fri, 7:45 AM–5:00 PM
  • (318) 222-7442 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
  • Often seen within 24 hours

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We call you back during office hours

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So we know who to look for when you walk in.

Visit Us

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Eberhardt Physical Therapy

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