Exercise For Patients With Arthritis

Exercise benefits for individuals with arthritis:

  1. Exercise helps with strength and normal mobility of joints.
  2. Exercise relieves joint stiffness.
  3. Motion prevents further deformities.
  4. Improves hand foot coordination.
  5. Exercise Helps with general well being

Exercise guidelines:

  1. Engage in low-impact exercises like stationary cycling, rowing, and water aerobics.
  2. Always start with low intensity exercise.
  3. During periods of inflammation or pain (for rheumatoid arthritis), reduce exercise intensity and duration.
  4. You need longer than normal (longer than ten minutes) warm-ups and cool-downs.
  5. Modify your exercise intensity or duration depending on how you feel that day.
  6. It is important that you move your joints through a full range of motion at least once a day; otherwise, your joints will become stiff.
  7. If you experience pain two hours after exercise, you need to adjust the intensity or the duration of the exercise.
  8. Do not exercise to the point of pain in your joints.
  9. Use isometric exercises when you can (unless you have hypertension) because these types of exercises put the least amount of stress on your joints.
  10. Consult your doctor if you experience severe pain after exercise.
  11. If walking on treadmill walk slowly. Try to walk on incline. If your knee hurts stop exercising at that pace. Walking on the side helps unused portions of thigh and calf muscles strengthen which helps with overall stability of the joint.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
TYPE: Non-weight bearing exercises like stationary cycling, water aerobics, and swimming.
INTENSITY: Low to moderate intensity.
FREQUENCY: At least four to five times a week.
DURATION: Warm-up and cool-down periods that are longer than ten minutes. Fifteen to twenty minutes for the exercise proper period.