An attempt to stay active in the midst of a severe joint pain might seem to be an impossible target to achieve. How can you move around and carry out exercises regularly when you are experiencing pain in your joints? But this is what arthritic conditions demand. It is a common myth which suggests that arthritis and exercises do not go hand in hand. But in reality, you need to exercise regularly to keep your joints active.
How can Exercises Improve Your Condition?
Arthritis is a degenrative condition characterized by pain, limited joint mobility and reduced range of motion. Regular exercises address these issues and allow you to stay physically active. A common belief suggests that exercises can harm the joints of an individual who is suffering from arthritis. But according to the recent studies, exercising daily and being active in everyday life can prevent further degenerative changes in the joints and promotes joint health. This is how regular exercises can allow you to keep your joints active:
- Regular physical activities keep the muscles around the joint strong, flexible and supple. Exercises not only tone up the muscles and the connective tissues, but also nourish them, which in turn relieve the stiffness, pain and swelling of the affected joint.
- Exercises help to restore the range of motion by increasing the flexibility, strength and the endurance of the affected joint muscles and by contributing towards your aerobic health.
- Exercises also help to make the bones strong and this averts the process of osteoporosis (a condition characterized by decreased bone density which makes bones more susceptible to fractures).
It has to be noted that getting active or exercising do not aim to cure the root cause of the ailment but actually contribute towards relieving pain and stiffness while preventing further degeneration that might come in the way of your daily activities.
What are the Basic Exercise Tips if You are Suffering from Arthritis?
- Exercises should be tailor-made and should depend on your capability. Exercises to build endurance should be started gradually with the weekly progress rate of 10 to 15 percent. This progress refers to increasing the length of the sessions.
- You can start off with the most common form of low-impact exercises such as walking, cycling and jogging.
- Strengthening exercises can be started with the minimal weights. The duration of exercises should be around 45 to 60 minutes per day and the frequency should be 3 to 5 days a week.
- You can participate in recreational activities like swimming, dancing, gardening or any type of outdoor sport. Other exercises like aqua therapy, yoga and tai-chi are also beneficial in improving the flexibility of the affected muscles. Techniques like lymph massage (a therapy which promotes the flow of the lymphatic fluid to boost the immune system), deep tissue massage (the massage that works deeply into the muscles and the connective tissue) and osseous manipulations (the manipulation of the spine and the extremities) are also helpful for the arthritic individuals.
- Lifestyle modification is necessary as sedentary lifestyle and obesity are the two main causes of arthritis. Lifestyle adjustments need to be made to supplement the pharmacological and the non-pharmacological treatments of arthritis.
- Try to be active in your workplace. Get up and walk around for a few minutes. Your motion while getting into the bathroom or for drinking water also matter a lot. Stretch your legs while sitting on the chair, move your toes up and down, and rotate your ankles in a circular motion.
- Try to avoid prolonged sitting or standing at your workplace or at home. It can build up excessive pressure on the joints especially on the lower limb joints.
- Keep a regular watch on uric acid levels. High levels of uric acid can also make you more susceptible to osteoarthritis.
- The best way to keep osteoarthritis under control is by exercising regularly. Avoid squatting and cross-legged positions, maintain a healthy diet and prevent issues that might pop up due to weight gain.
If you surrender yourself to this condition, then Arthritis would go a long way to affect your daily activities. You must stay physically active and perform regular exercises to prevent Arthritis from crippling you. Movements and activities can actually save your joints from becoming inflexible!
