Exercise for arthritis

Exercise for arthritis:

If you have arthritis, keeping active through regular exercise can help manage your condition. However, it is important you find the right type and level of exercise.
In a survey it has been found out that, 57% of people with arthritis said they found exercise to be an effective way of managing their symptoms

Exercise is crucial for people with arthritis. It increases strength and flexibility, reduces joint pain, and helps combat fatigue. Of course, when stiff and painful joints are already bogging you down, the thought of walking around the block or swimming a few laps might seem overwhelming.

Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, improve your posture and reduce your chance of getting osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones).

Why exercise is vital

Exercise can help you improve your health and fitness without hurting your joints. Along with your current treatment program, exercise can:

• Strengthen the muscles around your joints
• Help you maintain bone strength
• Give you more strength and energy to get through the day
• Make it easier to get a good night's sleep
• Help you control your weight
• Make you feel better about yourself and improve your sense of well-being

Though you might think exercise will aggravate your joint pain and stiffness, that's not the case. Lack of exercise actually can make your joints even more painful and stiff. That's because keeping your muscles and surrounding tissue strong is crucial to maintaining support for your bones. Not exercising weakens those supporting muscles, creating more stress on your joints.

Check with your doctor first

Talk to your doctor about how exercise can fit into your current treatment plan. What types of exercises are best for you depends on your type of arthritis and which joints are involved. Your doctor or a physical therapist can work with you to find the best exercise plan to give you the most benefit with the least aggravation of your joint pain.

Recommended Exercises for arthritis

Your doctor or physical therapist can recommend exercises that are best for you, which might include range-of-motion exercises, strengthening exercises, aerobic exercise and other activities. 

Range-of-motion exercises

These exercises relieve stiffness and increase your ability to move your joints through their full range of motion. Range-of-motion exercises involve moving your joints through their normal range of movement, such as raising your arms over your head or rolling your shoulders forward and backward. These exercises can be done daily or at least every other day. 

Strengthening exercises

These exercises help you build strong muscles that help support and protect your joints. Weight training is an example of a strengthening exercise that can help you maintain your current muscle strength or increase it. Do your strengthening exercises every other day — but take an extra day off if your joints are painful or if you notice any swelling. 

Aerobic exercise

Aerobic or endurance exercises help with your overall fitness. They can improve your cardiovascular health, help you control your weight and give you more stamina. That way you'll have more energy to get through your day. Examples of low-impact aerobic exercises that are easier on your joints include walking, riding a bike and swimming. Try to work your way up to 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week. You can split up that time into 10-minute blocks if that's easier on your joints. 

Other activities   

Any movement, no matter how small, can help. If a particular workout or activity appeals to you, don't hesitate to ask your doctor whether it's right for you. Your doctor might give you the OK to try gentle forms of yoga and tai chi. Tai chi may improve balance and help prevent falls. Be sure to tell your instructor about your condition and avoid positions or movements that can cause pain.Also try to do outdoor activities such as playing tennis.walking, running etc.  

Exercising with osteoarthritis

Listed below are some tips for exercising with osteoarthritis.

• Regular exercise can be the best way to help reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis. By keeping active you will strengthen the muscles surrounding your joints which will reduce further joint deterioration.
• Exercise will help you maintain a healthy weight which means you will put less strain on your joints.
• A moderate exercise program is far more beneficial than a strenuous program. Too much exercise can cause further pain and joint degeneration.
• Try to do small exercises every day to improve your range of movement. Arthritis Care provides a comprehensive list of exercises for you to try. 
• Never force a painful joint.

Exercising with rheumatoid arthritis 

Listed below are some tips for exercising with rheumatoid arthritis.

• It is very important for people with rheumatoid arthritis to get the right balance between rest and activity.
• You can still exercise during a flare-up, but you should reduce the intensity of your workout.
• Exercise when you are least tired.
• Try to do small exercises every day that improve your range of movement.
• Exercising in the morning can help to reduce morning stiffness.
• Exercises that build and strengthen muscles can help protect and support your joints.
• Swimming, cycling and brisk walking are low impact exercises and particularly good for people with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Concentrate on maintaining good posture at all times.

Tips to protect your joints 

Start slowly to ease your joints into exercise if you haven't been active for a while. If you push yourself too hard, you can overwork your muscles. This can worsen your joint pain.

Consider these tips as you get started:

• Apply heat. Heat can relax your joints and muscles and relieve any pain you have before you begin. Heat treatments — warm towels, hot packs or a shower — should be warm, not painfully hot, and should be applied for about 20 minutes.
• Move gently. Move your joints gently at first to warm up. You might begin with range-of-motion exercises for five to 10 minutes before you move on to strengthening or aerobic exercises.
• Go slowly. Exercise with slow and easy movements. If you start noticing pain, take a break. Sharp pain and pain that is stronger than your usual joint pain might indicate something is wrong. Slow down if you notice inflammation or redness in your joints.
• Ice afterward. Apply ice to your joints as needed after activity, especially after activity that causes any joint swelling.

Trust your instincts and don't exert more energy than you think your joints can handle. Take it easy and slowly work your exercise length and intensity up as you progress.

Don't overdo it

You might notice some pain after you exercise if you haven't been active for a while. In general, if your pain lasts longer than two h ours after you exercise, you were probably exercising too strenuously. Talk to your doctor about what pain is normal and what pain is a sign of something more serious.

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, ask your doctor if you should exercise during general or local flares. One option is to work through your joint flares by doing only range-of-motion exercises, just to keep your body moving.

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