Exercises for arthritis

An arthritis specialist doctor in Hyderabad or your orthopedic doctor who specializes in the treatment of arthritis may recommend you a wide range of activities, exercises, range-of-motion exercises, aerobic exercises, strengthening exercises, and other activities.

Range-of-motion exercises

Arthritis restricts the movement of your joints due to stiffness and decreased ability to move your joints. Arthritis also limits a complete range of motions. Your physiotherapist recommends a wide range of motion exercises. One such exercise includes raising your arms over your head or rolling your shoulders forward and backward. You have to do these exercises daily.

Strengthening exercises

Muscle strengthening exercises help in providing support, protecting your joints, and building strong muscles. Therefore, your physiotherapist makes you perform weight training a type of muscle strengthening exercise to help increase the strength of your muscles. You should not train the same muscle two days in a row. In between your workouts take a rest day.

You can start a strength training program as a three-day-a-week one – and then continue it until you see improvement. Once you gain improvement, to maintain that gains keep it at least two days a week.

Aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise gives you the much-needed overall fitness, energy, and stamina. It improves your cardiovascular health and helps you manage your weight quite diligently.

Aerobic exercises that are low-impact and easy on your joints include walking, bicycling, swimming, and using the elliptical machine. You can engage in moderately intense aerobic exercises for up to 180 minutes a week. To make that workup easier on your joints, you can split your time into 10 to 15-blocks.

You can do moderately intense exercises almost every day of the week or most days of the week. Even if you do a couple of days of the week, then also it is better than no exercise.  To test whether you are in the moderate-intensity exercise zone, you can start a conversation that you should be able to carry on while exercising. Your breathing rate will increase though.

Bottom Line

Exercise is overall very good for you if you have arthritis – even small movements can help. Even the small activities and movements that you do daily counts as well – for instance, mowing the lawn, walking in a park, raking leaves, and playing with your dog also count. Making your mind relax and free from disturbing thoughts and worries too helps in e relieving pain. To ensure this you can try yoga and tai chi. Especially yoga helps in improving posture, balance, and mood and promotes relaxation. You should talk to your physiotherapist regarding your painful areas and conditions that can augment pain. Therefore, inform your instructor regarding the movements and positions that can cause pain.