Painful joints can be a chronic medical condition experienced by almost 54 million people worldwide. This condition is referred to as arthritis.
Arthritis can limit your movement and decrease your function. As a result, it prevents you from participating in activities that you love to do. Fortunately, there is a simple solution that can restore your movement and help you increase your life quality – that is exercise.
Regular physical activity and proper exercise are crucial solutions to combat the effects of ageing, especially arthritis. You can maintain a positive mood, increase physical health, and improve mental and social well-being through exercise. In addition, it is proven that exercise can prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart conditions and cancers.
Many people believe that exercise is painful. But the reality is exercise is a proven treatment to help decrease and manage body pain. People can do exercises without worsening their pain.
You could do this by phasing your activity and ensuring you get the right amount of exercise for your body. This way, you can gradually strengthen your body and progress your exercises and activities accordingly.
Exercises for arthritis
Aquatherapy / swimming
Cycling
Walking
Strength training
Flexibility training
Having arthritis can make your joints painful and affect the surrounding muscles, making them weak. This further contributes to the pain and weakness cycle.
You can break this cycle by strengthening your muscles and facilitating active movements of your joints to decrease overall pain in the long run.
A physiotherapist can guide you through this process and help you identify the right movements that would benefit your overall health. You can manage your pain and improve your mobility and function through physiotherapy. If done correctly, exercise will be fun instead of painful.
A physiotherapist will work closely with you to help you overcome pain barriers that you will encounter while improving your health. Visit a physiotherapist to learn more about strategies to help you combat the effects of arthritis in your life.
