Exercise and arthritis are two bad boys that don't like each other. Exericise has a way of moving arthritis deposits that are hanging around your joints. As difficult as it may sound, starting some form of exercise program will help you with that arthritis pain you are experiencing. People with rheumatoid arthritis also find a way to exercise to help them take control over their body. We try to focus on blood flow throughout our body and to increase that blood flow you need to exercise.
All of us with joint or arthritis pain have good days and bad days. Sometimes your joints just freeze up and the pain is unbearable. The days you feel better are the days you need to focus on your exercise program. Heck there are days that I don't feel like tackling my arthritis pain but I do, because I know exercise and arthritis don't like each other. That blood flow has a way of taking the pain away and it is such a mental boost, because I know the exercises I am doing will benefit way more than my arthritis pain.
WARNING
It doesn't matter if you have arthritis or not, everyone who is starting an exercise program should consult their health care provider/doctor first.
Never be afraid to ask people about some of the exercises they do for their arthritis pain and never be afraid to give it a try. Unless it's so darn hard you might hurt yourself. Each area of the exercise model should be used on a weekly basis.
The 3 main components to exercise and arthritis are:
Range of Motion (Flexibility)
Resistance (Strength)
Endurance (Cardiovascular)
I'd be shocked if your doctor or health care provider would not agree that working on your range of motion, strength and cardiovascular exercises is beneficial. Because they are around arthritis so much they might have learned a few tips they can share with you about exercising with arthritis. You might also want to ask them for recommendations of exercise therapists, personal trainers or physical therapists who have experience with arthritis patients.
Exercise and arthritis in greater details
Range of Motion is a fancy word used in the medical profession to describe flexibility. Arthritis has a way of freezing up your joints so trying to gain greater flexibility is a must. Beating arthritis pain will require doing the things arthritis tries to keep you from. The less you move your joints the better arthritis can take over your joints. If you want to beat arthritis then you should start with a good flexibility program.
Mornings are a tough time to get up, especially if you have a lot of pain. Our muscles have not been used in 6-8 hours and they do get stiff just like our joints. You have probably experienced that awful feeling trying to get out of bed and walking to the bathroom. It's no fun so what you might want to consider is doing some stretching exercises before you even get out of bed. Something as simple as pulling your knees to your chest can greatly increase your chances of getting out of bed without much arthritis pain. This same movement will also help your hips and stretching your arms above your head is a very simple exercise for arthritis.
My mom loves to sit on the edge of the bed just bending over her knees and letting her arms hang down to the floor. This is beneficial for her back, legs, shoulders and wrists. Something else you can do while sitting on the edge of the bed is trying to straighten your legs out and lift them up. Doing this several times will help the blood flow throughout your body which is something we all need before we get out of bed.
If you are lucky enough to own a hot tub, then you should be in that thing as often as you can. Getting out of bed and into that hot tub is a great way to stretch your body. However, if you don't want to do that, then whenever you get into the hot tub you should seriously consider doing your stretching exercises.
Any type of bending and stretching is a very good exercise for arthritis. A key teaching point to remember is to hold your stretch and don't bounce, it is not good for your muscles. Instead move slowly until you cannot stretch anymore and hold it for 10 to 15 seconds. After you stretch relax for a few more seconds and give it another try. You'll be surprised at how much further you can stretch. Also, I have found that I can stretch farther after lunch than the early morning.
Stretching your hamstring is really good for your lower back and it really helps those people who have lower back pains. Just remember before you do any type of exercises, stretching is the critical first step. Daily stretching routines are most beneficial and it really does prepare your body for the other exercises you are going to do. If you are having a painful day, stretching might be the only thing you can accomplish, but don't make it a habit. You need both cardiovascular and strength exercises to help combat arthritis pain and arthritis symptoms.
Strengthening exercises is also called resistance exercises. Any type of resistance, including gravity is beneficial. Push ups, sit ups, squats and pull-ups are excellent ways to build muscle strength, without having to pay for a health club membership. Other forms of resistance exercises include riding bicycles, walking up steps and pushing a lawn mower. Be creative and you will surprise yourself at what you an accomplish without the worries of monthly membership fees to a health club. Like I have stated many times already, blow flow is critical and these types of strengthening exercises work well. Another benefit you will realize from strengthening exercises is the muscles around your joints will become stronger and support it your joints much better.
Resistance exercises are what you are looking for. Riding a bicycle is a good resistance exercise. That constant pushing against the pedal will begin to build muscles around your knee joints and many other places. If your knees are bothering you and you have access to a stationary bike, try this.
The cardio exercises that are extremely beneficial for arthritis pain are: walking, biking, swimming. We like to do a lot of walking in water with athletes who are coming off surgeries and progress them to walking on land and biking. If you can try to walk faster than normal for 10 to 15 minutes you will be surprised at how fast you will tire. That constant resistance is draining but it will build up your cardiovascular endurance. As you know, cardio exercises are also beneficial to your circulatory system (heart/lungs).
If you have a great deal of arthritis pain in your lower body you might want to consider removing the seat on a stationary bike and peddling with your hands and arms. You can sit on the floor behind the seat and try to peddle at a constant speed for a few minutes and then stopping to dial it up tighter for greater resistance. By tightening up the resistance you will accomplish a two-fold process of endurance and strength.
We have this very steep and long hill nestled behind our little town. I know every time I reach the top of that hill my back stops hurting. Not exactly sure but I do believe it is related to the increased blood flow through my body. I like because I can get a great workout in less than 30 minutes. What's funny is no matter how much my lower back or knees hurt, a third of the way up the hill, everything feels great.
One last thing I should mention is the fact that I do supplement all my meals with vitamins, minerals and other products that target arthritis pain.
The following are my personal favorite exercises for arthritis:
Walking up hills
General walking around town or countryside
Riding my bike
Cutting the lawn with a push mower
Walking and swimming in pools
Pitching batting practice to my baseball teams
Hitting fundo's to my baseball teams
If you are a person who is fighting arthritis, please do not allow this to beat you. Get tough, take action and build a positive self image of yourself.
Make it a pain free week.
Learn more about exercise and arthritis as well as living with arthritis by visiting healthy arthritis treatments and make sure you get our free report on the 7 best ingredients found in all arthritis products.
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