Ease Your Arthritis With Exercise

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

21 Jun 2006 08:30 PM

When it comes to easing arthritis, the relief is what most people want. There are a lot of studies out there targeting how to help your arthritis and target it for relief through exercise. We've talked about arthritis and exercise here in the fitness blog before and today we're going to talk about the different types of exercises and methods for easing your arthritis.

Six tips you need to keep in mind for arthritis exercise, include:

• Applying heat or ice before a workout in order to relax your joints
• Dress in comfortable clothing
• Warm up with gentle exercise
• Wear shock-absorbing shoes
• Stop if you experience any sharp pains
• Maintain a steady, unhurried pace

There are multiple ways to exercise when you have arthritis and you should choose the form of exercise that you like. There is a great deal of evidence that supports when you do exercise you enjoy, you are far more likely to stick with it and to come back to it. Exercise can be anything from a round of golf to a line dance to a yoga class.

Water resistance exercises provide you with lots of buoyancy to protect your joints and there you can also consider cardiovascular workouts including walking, cycling and hiking. If balance is an issue, you can use stationary equipment in order to help you stabilize.

Ultimately, the best workout regimens will include range of motion exercises that reduce stiffness and increase flexibility or at least help to maintain it. Stretching is a great way to develop range of motion in a controlled fashion in order to build up joints in order to continue their activities associated with normal daily living.

Strength training is another great resource for easing arthritis because specific strength training such as isometric exercises will tighten muscles without moving the joints and isotonic exercises will move the joints as a way to strengthen the muscles.

Finally, you want to employ some endurance exercises so that you can expand your lung capacity, strengthen the heart and increase your overall stamina. Endurance exercises are a great way to get better sleep at night, help manage weight (this can help joints by reducing stress on them from excess weight) and help you feel better about yourself all the way around.

There is a lot out there for you to do and opportunities for you to take - just find the ones you enjoy and ease your arthritis while feeling great about yourself at the same time. What are some of the exercises mentioned here that might interest you?

Related Articles:

Aromatherapy for Pain Management

Exercise in the Water

A.M. versus P.M. Stretching

Dieting and Exercise

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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