When arthritis threatens to immobilize you, exercise keeps you moving.
Exercise is crucial for people with painful joint conditions. It increases strength and flexibility and it can reduce pain.
Understandably, once you are suffering from stiff joints, the thought of moving might be overwhelming. But you don’t need to do strenuous exercise to get results. Even mild movements can help to reduce pain while also helping you to maintain your overall health.
There are more than 100 different types of arthritis, but all are painful and can lead to joint deformity and a loss of function if not managed.
Top Tip – Try Pilates
Pilates is a great form of exercise for arthritis patients who shy away from exercise, which they feel they cannot do. Pilates is gentle; it does not stress your joints or add burden to ligaments and cartilage that surround the joints.
The Arthritis Foundation says exercise is one of the best ways to keep joints healthy in the first place. As little as 30 minutes of exercise five times a week helps joints stay limber and strengthens the muscles that support and stabilize your hips and knees.
Top Tip – Try Strength Training
These exercises help you build strong muscles that help support and protect your joints. Rest a day between your workouts, and take an extra day or two if your joints are painful or swollen.
Walking, gardening – even scrubbing floors – count. But the greatest results come with a consistent and progressive exercise program adjusted for your age, fitness level and the activities you enjoy most.
Top Tip – Try Yoga
Yin yoga is good option if your goal is to reduce chronic arthritis pain by reducing stress, muscle tension, and anxiety in the body. This type of yoga focuses on matching breath to movement during a flowing sequence of poses.
No matter what type of exercise you choose, listen to your body. If you have pain after a workout that persists more than an hour or two, do less next time and take more breaks.
To avoid injury, go slow until you know how your body reacts to a new activity and don't repeat the same exercise every day.
