When your joints are achy and stiff, exercising may be the last thing on your mind, but exercise can help reduce your symptoms. The Arthritis Foundation says that moderate physical activity on a regular basis strengthens your bones and muscles, decreases fatigue and increases your stamina and flexibility. The types of exercise you can perform may vary depending on the severity of your condition.
Types of Exercise
Flexibility exercises use stretches and range-of-motion exercises to decrease stiffness in your arthritic joints and help you enjoy increased mobility. These exercises can be helpful in the morning, when stiffness is more likely to be a problem. If your joints are particularly stiff, it may be easier to perform stretching and range-of-motion exercises in warm water. Two types of strengthening exercises, isotonic and isometric exercises, help build the muscles around your joints. Isotonic exercises strengthen the muscles when you move your joints, while isometric exercises involve keeping the joint still while you tighten the muscles. Aerobic exercise helps strengthen your bones and improves endurance. Aerobic exercise is any type of exercise that uses the large muscles of your body while raising your heart rate.
Considerations
Exercising can be done on your schedule or you can enroll in fitness classes. No matter what type of exercise you choose, look for a low-impact activity. High-impact activities can stress the joints of the hip, knee and ankle. Running, soccer, basketball and karate are types of high-impact exercise. Low-impact activities use more gentle movements that don't stress your joints. Walking, bicycling, yoga, tai chi, Pilates, low-impact aerobics, swimming and water aerobics are types of low-impact exercises.
Warming Up
Warming up before exercising is a good idea for everyone but is particularly important if you have arthritis. Exercising vigorously without warming up can make joint pain worse. Start your exercise routine with stretching and range of motion exercise before moving on to strengthening and aerobic activities. Applying a heating pad or hot pack to your joints or taking a warm shower or bath before exercising can help loosen your muscles and joints before exercising. When you begin exercising, use gentle movements to avoid stressing stiff joints and gradually increase the intensity of your movements as your joints relax.
Warning
Pushing your body to work through pain is not a good idea and may aggravate your arthritis. Gradually increase the duration and frequency of your workouts , rather than starting your exercise program with long, intense workouts. If your joints are sore after exercising, you may be exercising too hard and may need to scale back your exercise routine. Stop exercising if you begin to experience sharp pain or notice that your joints look red. Call your doctor if the pain doesn't decrease within an hour or two after you finish exercising.
