The pain of arthritis can be persistent and intense, making you wonder if you'll do more harm than good by exercising. While you should avoid high intensity, joint punishing exercise forms like contact sports, running or heavy weight lifting, there are safe exercise choices you can make that might help to ease joint tension and relieve your arthritis pain. Consult your doctor before embarking on any exercise program.
Considerations
The most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis, results from wear and tear to your joints which accumulates over the course of your lifetime. In osteoarthritis, injuries to the joints --- whether through trauma or repetitive strain --- lead to pain, stiffness and eventually to the inflammation of arthritis. Any kind of movement that puts your joints through their full range of motion eases stiffness and will help reduce arthritis symptoms, according to the website of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Exercise is especially important if your arthritis is in your ankles, knees or hips: controlling your weight will help reduce additional wear and tear on these joints.
Exercise Types
In addition to range-of-motion exercises like yoga, tai chi or other forms of stretching, pursue strength training and aerobic exercise in order to combat arthritis, according to the website of the Arthritis Foundation. Strengthening your muscles eases the stress on your joints as you go about everyday activities. The Foundation recommends isometric exercises, in which you strengthen muscles by tightening them, since this type of strength training allows you to work more directly on the muscles that support joints. Adding aerobic exercise to your routine can help challenge your range of motion and will ensure that your heart, lungs and blood vessels stay healthy.
Pain Management
If your arthritis pain is overwhelming, you might benefit from exercising in a heated pool. Participants in a warm water exercise program in Toronto, Ontario reported that exercising in a pool heated to 93 degrees soothed the pain of arthritis inflammation and allowed them to perform stretching and strengthening exercises that they otherwise could not, according to the website of Baycrest, an academic health science center focused on healthy aging. The warm support of the water offered relief for program participants like Maria Arduini, whose arthritic knees prevented her from comfortably performing day to day tasks like climbing stairs.
Mind-Body Benefits
Gentle whole body movements that engage the mind, like tai chi, may offer emotional relief in addition to easing the physical pain of arthritis, according to a report published on Medline Plus, an online service of the National Institutes of Health. Preliminary results from a 2010 study by Leigh Callahan of the University of North Carolina suggest that participants experienced improved pain, fatigue and stiffness after doing tai chi twice weekly for two months. They also slept better and perceived themselves to be less helpless as a result of tai chi training.
