Exercise and Arthritis

Yes. Even though you might not feel like exercising, there is some evidence that exercise can reduce swelling in inflamed joints. If you have gout, however, your joints may be extremely swollen and tender and you should rest the affected joint if you get a flare-up. It is safe to exercise the other joints though!

It doesn’t really matter what type of exercise you do but you should try to find a type of exercise which you enjoy and that you are likely to continue. The best exercise is probably one which improves fitness, muscle strength and flexibility at the same time, but any exercise is better than nothing. Even simple vacuuming or doing housework to music or gardening or walking will do.
If your joints are very painful, exercising in water can be a good place to start and many swimming pools have sessions for women only, people with disabilities, or pools where the water is kept warmer at certain times.

Meeting exercise targets may seem very challenging for many people and most of us have a very long way to go before reaching the recommended levels of activity. For those with arthritis, the challenges may be even harder so don’t feel guilty if you are less active than the guidelines suggest.

The good news is that even small increases in your level of activity can have a large benefit on your health and wellbeing.

To make the goal of more exercise easier, activities can be broken up into 10 minute intervals of more simple physical jobs such as housework, gardening, or brisk walking.

Other simple ways of increasing the amount of activity you do are to:

• Reduce the amount of time you spend sitting by turning off the television for an hour or so every day. Standing up more can improve muscle strength and balance and helps to burn calories.
• Try parking the car further away from the entrance to shops.
• Try to always stand up from sitting without using your hands. If this is difficult, practice from a high chair and work towards several repetitions. This exercise is excellent for strengthening the thigh muscles and can help a lot with knee pain.
• Try to use the stairs rather than a lift.

If you are not confident to begin an exercise programme on your own, a clinical practitioner, such as a physiotherapist or osteopath, can give you advice. If you are a member of Arthritis Action, you can access one of our Associated Practitioners who can help you with this.

Exercise on referral – in some areas, your GP may be able to refer you to a local health centre for subsidised exercise sessions where you can get support from a personal trainer or gym instructor until you have the confidence to continue on your own. Ask your GP for more details.