As a person who struggles with arthritic tendencies, I can attest to the fact that exercise can reduce pain and improve function in people who have arthritis. The benefits go beyond physical and functional improvement to positively affect mental health. For more severe forms of arthritis, be sure to get input from your physician or a physical therapist to help you maximize success. Making exercise a regular part of your life can be difficult, so start slowing and be easy on yourself. It can take six to eight weeks before you begin noticing the benefits of fitness gains, although your pain, fatigue, and mood may start to improve almost right away. Read on to find out more on the benefits of exercise, strengthening exercises, aerobic exercises, motility exercises, and balance exercises.

Positive Benefits of Exercise for Arthritis

A risk factor for functional decline in arthritic patients has been shown to be a lack of regular physical activity. Therapeutic exercise is often recommended for people who have hip or knee osteoarthritis. Recent studies show that people who exercise regularly have thicker cartilage with more proteoglycan, which is a major component of cartilage. The loss of cartilage is a pathologic hallmark of osteoarthritis, but the disease affects all parts of the joint, especially as it progresses.

Regular exercise focuses on improving the overall function and helping a person meet the physical demands of daily living. The most important factor to encourage adherence to an exercise plan is to be sure that it is tailored to the individual so that they can have maximized enjoyment and compliance. The best outcomes appear to be associated with a combination of strengthening and aerobic exercise.

You might vary your approach to exercise on a day-to-day basis. For example, you could walk or jog one day, bike on another, lift weights or do other kinds of resistance training two times a week, and set aside one day a week for balance and flexibility exercises.

Remember to warm up for at least 5 minutes before any type of exercise, but avoid stretching, which can injure cold muscles. Some good warm up ideas are a quick walk or some range of motion exercises. Range of motion exercises are crucial for people with arthritis because they keep joints strong and flexible.

A well-rounded exercise program includes cardio and strength training along with mobility and balance work.

Strengthening Exercise

The most effective exercise plans combine a well-designed strengthening program for all the muscle groups with aerobic exercise. In many animal studies, weight bearing exercise was shown to be effective in slowing down the development of osteoarthritis. Other studies that look at cartilage thickness in exercising versus non-exercising humans have reported varied results. One study showed that humans who did not have osteopathic arthritis took part in an exercise regimen and the results showed a healthier distribution of proteoglycans within the cartilage as demonstrated by imaging studies and compared with sedentary people who did not participate in regular exercise.

Weight bearing activity (and recreational activity) might cause injury to an overweight person’s knees, but this issue has not been well studied. The use of an exercise program to reduce weight and osteoarthritis risk is still highly recommended. Consider low-impact exercise like walking or swimming when trying to loose weight.

Strength training is crucial for building muscles that support and protect the joints. Unfortunately, we lose muscle mass as we age. Strength training and eating plenty of protein (around 30 grams three times a day) is the best way to regain lost muscle and prevent future loss. Strength training can be done effectively with exercise machines, free weights, resistance bands, and even your own body weight. Lift weights or do other kinds of resistance training two times a week.

It’s important to keep moving, even when you’re not feeling your best, but if your joints are inflamed and painful, save weightlifting for another day.

Aerobic Exercise

Cardio, or aerobic exercise, is any exercise that raises your heart rate. Effective cardio workouts get your blood pumping, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to every part of your body, including your joints and your brain. This improves endurance, relieves fatigue, and burns calories. 30 to 40 minutes of exercise at least three to five times a week can help reduce anxiety, depression and stress.

Aerobic exercise includes walking outside. Outdoor exercise has many benefits like a more balanced circadian rhythm, fresh air, and nature enjoyment. If you cannot walk outside due to weather or safety issues, you can use a treadmill, exercise bike, or elliptical machine to get your heart rate up.

Regular aerobic activity should be performed at least three days a week.

Motility Exercise

It is important to move every day. Range-of-motion exercises are crucial for people with arthritis because they keep joints strong and flexible. Improve your hand strength and mobility with hand exercises regularly.

Balance Exercise

Set aside one day a week for balance and flexibility exercises.

Falling is a risk that can be avoided by working on your balance. Practice working on balance at home in the corner of your room. Practice squatting down and reaching up to stimulate what you might do in the kitchen or a bathroom.

There are four foot positions to work on your balance:

1. Feet side by side
2. Instep of one foot touching the big toe of the other foot
3. One foot directly in front of the other
4. Shifting your weight and stand on one foot and then the other.

Begin with your arms out to the side. Then do them with your arms down. And then try them with your arms crossed across your chest. Remember to use your ankles, hips, and trunk to balance, instead of reaching for the wall or a chair at the first sign of uneven balance.

Action Step

For arthritis, it is important to find exercises you enjoy and continue doing them to help relieve pain and increase mobility, to improve your overall quality of health and life.

May God bless you on your wellness journey!

Joni

P.S. What experience do you have with arthritis and exercise?