Exercise is an important component of an arthritis treatment plan. Regular exercise can decrease bone loss, keep your muscles around affected joints strong and help control joint pain and swelling, according to the Arthritis Center at Johns Hopkins. Exercise helps replenish lubrication to joint cartilage and reduces stiffness. Check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.
Why Exercise Is Important for Arthritis
When someone suffers the pain and stiffness of arthritis, the thought of exercise can seem daunting. However, a lack of physical activity will only make your symptoms worse. Keeping your muscles and surrounding tissue strong is crucial to maintaining support to your bones, according to Mayoclinic.com. If you do not exercise, your muscles will become weak, which will result in more stress on your joints.
Flexibility Exercises
If you have arthritis, flexibility exercises should be done every day, according to the Arthritis Foundation. These exercises protect your joints by reducing the possibility of joint injury. They also help you release tension from your body and help you warm up for more vigorous exercise. Flexibility exercises can be helpful in relieving your stiff joints, which will help you accomplish more of the tasks you do daily, such as opening a jar or buttoning a blouse.
Aerobic Exercises
Because aerobic exercise can help to improve your stamina, it will be beneficial to you as you go about doing your day-to-day tasks. Examples of aerobic exercise that may benefit your arthritis include swimming, bicycling and walking. Water aerobics can also be helpful. Johns Hopkins states that water aerobic classes are offered in therapeutic pools, which has many advantages related to the warmth and buoyancy of the water for those with arthritis. Pools that are designed for persons with arthritis are often kept at much warmer temperatures than recreational pools and may have specialized access ramps. Mayoclinic.com recommends that you include aerobic exercise in your routine three to four times per week.
Strengthening Exercises
Strengthening exercises lessen stress on your joints. The Arthritis Foundation states that this type of exercise will help build your muscles so they can prevent injury by absorbing shock to the joints. You use resistance or weights to build muscle. Two kinds of strengthening exercises exist: isotonic and isometric. With isometric exercises, you tighten your muscles without moving your joints. An isotonic exercise, such as when you straighten your knee when sitting, strengthens muscles by moving the surrounding joint. The Arthritis Foundation suggests you do strengthening exercises every other day, after first warming up with flexibility exercises.
When You Start to Exercise
You can overwork your muscles if you push yourself too hard, which will only make your joint pain worse. Mayoclinic.com recommends that those with arthritis who have not exercised for a while start slowly. Before exercising, it may be helpful to apply heat for about 20 minutes to the joints that will be exercised. This will help relax your muscles and joints and will also help reduce your pain.
