50+ Lifestyles

Health Minute With CASI – Exercise Helps Arthritis Pain and Stiffness

By Michelle Migliore, RN/Administrator Jane’s Place at CASI

Exercise is crucial for people with arthritis. It increases strength and flexibility, reduces joint pain, and helps combat fatigue. Of course, when stiff and painful joints are already bogging you down, the thought of walking around the block or swimming a few laps might seem overwhelming. But you don’t need to run a marathon or swim as fast as an Olympic competitor to help reduce the symptoms of your arthritis. Even moderate exercise can ease your pain and help you maintain a healthy weight. When arthritis threatens to immobilize you, exercise keeps you moving. Not convinced? Read on.

Why exercise is vital…Exercise can help you improve your health and fitness without hurting your joints.

Along with your current treatment program, exercise can:

• Strengthen the muscles around your joints
• Help you maintain bone strength
• Give you more strength and energy to get through the day
• Make it easier to get a good night’s sleep
• Help you control your weight
• Make you feel better about yourself and improve your sense of well-being.

Though you might think exercise will aggravate your joint pain and stiffness, that’s not the case. Lack of exercise actually can make your joints even more painful and stiff. That’s because keeping your muscles and surrounding tissue strong is crucial to maintaining support for your bones. Not exercising weakens those supporting muscles, creating more stress on your joints.

Check with your doctor first. Talk to your doctor about how exercise can fit into your current treatment plan. What types of exercises are best for you depends on your type of arthritis and which joints are involved. Your doctor or a physical therapist can work with you to find the best exercise plan to give you the most benefit with the least aggravation of your joint pain.

Consider these tips as you get started:

Apply heat — Heat can relax your joints and muscles and relieve any pain you have before you begin.

Heat treatments — warm towels, hot packs or a shower — should be warm, not painfully hot, and should be applied for about 20 minutes.
Move gently — Move your joints gently at first to warm up. You might begin with range-of-motion exercises for five to 10 minutes before you move on to strengthening or aerobic exercises.

Go slowly — Exercise with slow and easy movements. If you start noticing pain, take a break. Sharp pain and pain that is stronger than your usual joint pain might indicate something is wrong. Slow down if you notice inflammation or redness in your joints. Apply ice to your joints as needed after activity, especially after activity that causes any joint swelling. Trust your instincts and don’t exert more energy than you think your joints can handle. Take it easy and slowly work your exercise length and intensity up as you progress.

Don’t overdo it – You might notice some pain after you exercise if you haven’t been active for a while. In general, if your pain lasts longer than two hours after you exercise, you were probably exercising too strenuously. Talk to your doctor about what pain is normal and what pain is a sign of something more serious.