How to Exercise Safely & Efficiently If You Have Arthritis

When your joints ache, the last thing you probably want to do is move, let alone exercise. If stiffness and pain are keeping you from staying active, inactivity can actually make arthritis symptoms worse over time. Movement is medicine for your joints, so learning how to incorporate exercise into your day can change how you feel. You might even start to feel less achy and stiff!

If you have arthritis and are worried about starting a workout routine, connect with Rachel for a free consult! You can also join us for our next walk/run, or sign up for the Unstill Life Newsletter.

Why Exercise is Good For Arthritis

You don’t have to run for miles or lift heavy weights to get a good workout. Working out consistently offers benefits for people with arthritis as well as helping with your mental health.

Reduces Joint Pain

When you exercise, your body releases endorphins that can help reduce pain from arthritis. Movement also helps keep your joints by circulating synovial fluid, which works like a cushion and lubricant for the joints to reduce stiffness and ease the friction that causes pain.

Improves Joint Flexibility

When you stop moving a joint, the surrounding muscles and tendons tighten up, severely limiting your range of motion. Gentle stretching and movement keeps these supporting tissues flexible. With consistent exercise and stretching, you might find it easier to do everyday things that previously felt painful to do.

Better Overall Health

Working out does more than just help your joints, but also strengthens your heart, improves your quality of sleep, and boosts your mood. Because maintaining a healthy weight helps reduce stress on weight-bearing joints like the hips and knees, exercising regularly is important for long-term mobility.

The Best Low-Impact Exercises For Arthritis

Here are the best low-impact activities if you have arthritis.

Swimming and Water Aerobics

The buoyancy of the water supports your body weight, which drastically reduces the impact on your knees, hips, and spine. If your gym or local community center has a swimming pool, try walking in waist-deep water or joining a water aerobics class.

Yoga

Yoga focuses on slow, controlled movements, deep breathing, and mindfulness which can help people with arthritis by improving flexibility, strength, balance, and overall joint mobility, without putting too much stress on the body. Yoga also helps improve posture and balance, which can lower the risk of falls and injuries.

Walking

Walking is one of the most effective, low-impact exercises to help manage arthritis symptoms because it places minimal stress on the joints. Walking strengthens the muscles that support the knees, hips, and ankles, helping to take pressure off painful joints. Even short walks done consistently can make a big difference for people with arthritis.

Light Strength Training, and Maybe More

Light strength training is great for individuals with arthritis by strengthening the muscles around the joints, which helps reduce pressure and pain. It also improves joint stability, balance, and mobility, so helps make daily activities easier to do. Once you have built a foundation with lighter weights, it’s possible to increase to heavier lifting. Check out all of the great strength training videos Rachel has created.

But Don’t Count Out Running

Running with arthritis is possible, and even beneficial. If you’re new to running, you may want to try starting on soft surfaces like a track or trail, or wear shoes with a lot of cushion. While people tend to think that running causes arthritis, the research tells a different story. Runners have a lower incidence of arthritis than sedentary folks. 

Starting a Workout Routine

Follow these steps for a safe and effective workout routine.

1. Warm-Up

Never go right into an exercise. Spend five to ten minutes doing gentle range-of-motion exercises to help warm up your muscles and lubricate your joints.

2. Start Slow

If you haven’t exercised in a while, do overdo it and try to workout longer than feels comfortable. Start with just 10 or 15 minutes of activity every other day, and as your body adapts, slowly increase how long you workout by five minutes at a time.

3. Listen to Your Body

Joint aches as you are getting warmed up aren’t unusual, and muscle soreness the day after a workout is normal, however, sharp pain in your joints during a workout means you should stop immediately. Always consult your doctor if you have any concerns.

Don’t Give Up!

Living with arthritis can be challenging, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be active! Being active is a great way to help reduce pain and improve your overall health.