The New Year always brings around that New Year’s resolution of living a healthier lifestyle. Whether it be losing that extra 15 pounds, or working out at least 5 times a week, there is always that constant desire to live a healthy life. If you are living with osteoarthritis (OA), know that this goal can be achievable. People living with osteoarthritis can achieve a healthy lifestyle! The pain, stiffness and loss of movement in your joints makes exercise and activities difficult at times, but exercise and movement may help alleviate some of these symptoms.
People living with OA may worry that exercise and activity may harm your joints further or cause more pain. However, research has shown that exercise is the most effective non-drug treatment for reducing pain and improving movement. So get out there! Start your healthy lifestyle today. Start moving, start exercising and take that first step towards a healthier life!
Three kinds of exercise have been noted to be important for people with osteoarthritis: flexibility exercises (involving range of motion), endurance or aerobic exercises and strengthening exercises. Each type will help improve and maintain your ability to move and function! You don’t need to dive right into exercising, but take baby steps and challenge yourself to live a healthy life with osteoarthritis.
Work on your range of motion and flexibility! Stiffness and pain in joints makes doing the simplest tasks seem impossible. BUT… by engaging in gentle stretching exercises and movements that take joints through their full span, ideally daily, may help maintain and improve the flexibility in your joints.
Engaging in endurance or aerobic exercises! By participating in endurance or aerobic exercises, you will strengthen your heart and make your lungs more efficient. Also, believe it or not, exercising will help reduce fatigue. Giving you more stamina throughout your day.
Aerobic exercise also helps control your weight. Excess body weight is a risk factor for the both the development and progression of osteoarthritis. For every pound of body weight you gain, your knees gain four pounds of added stress; for hips, each pound translates into six times the pressure on the joints.
On the other hand, losing weight can reduce additional stress on joints that can cause cartilage to wear away. Easing the pressure on joints by shedding extra pounds can also reduce pain in osteoarthritis-affected joints, which will help you feel and move much better.
Strengthen your muscles! Strengthening exercises will help maintain and improve your muscle strength. By having strong muscles, your joints that are affected by arthritis will be supported and protected.
For more information on osteroarthritis, potential fitness ideas, staying active advice, and healthy living with osteoarthritis tips please visit our website.