Osteoarthritis: Exercising with arthritis
How to exercise if you have osteoarthritis
Exercises that will help a person with osteoarthritis reduce joint stiffness and pain include the following:
- Aerobic exercise to strengthen your heart and lungs and increase your endurance. Aerobic exercises include:
Note: Start slowly. For example, do 10 minutes of exercise at a time, two times a day. Then increase your time gradually. Aim for at least 2½ hours of moderate exercise a week. One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.
- Walking outdoors, which you can do through your neighborhood or along city paths, for example.
- Walking indoors, which you can do on a treadmill or at the mall, for example.
- Walking in water that is up to your waist or your chest (if walking outdoors or indoors is not comfortable). The water helps take the weight off painful joints, and also provides some resistance.
- Swimming, which you can do at your local health club or YMCA. Many locations offer classes specifically for people with arthritis. Swimming is an excellent choice for people with hip or knee osteoarthritis, because water takes weight off the joints while also providing some resistance.
- Cycling, which you can do outdoors or indoors on a stationary exercise bicycle.
- Strength exercises to improve and maintain strength in your muscles. Strength exercises include:
Note: Before starting strength exercises, ask a physical therapist, a trainer from a health club, or your doctor which exercises would be best for you. And ask how to do strength exercises safely so you don't get hurt.
- Simple, safe, and effective exercises such as chin-ups, push-ups, side leg-lifts, and other exercises that improve abdominal, neck, arm, shoulder, and leg strength. Many exercise books and videotapes can show you how to do these exercises properly.
- Lifting light weights or dumbbells, or using elastic tubing. You can use these at your local health club, or you can buy them yourself to use at home.
- Using an exercise machine at home or at your local health club.
- Range-of-motion exercise to improve flexibility and help prevent further joint damage. Range-of-motion exercises include:
Note: Stretching exercises, along with strengthening, can also be helpful for older adults in maintaining balance, which will help prevent falls.
- General stretching exercises, which will move your joints through their entire range of motion. For example, stretching exercises for the legs include calf stretch, quadriceps (thigh) stretch, and hamstring (tendons in the back of the knee) stretch. See a picture of several stretches
.
- Joint-specific exercises, which target a particular joint such as the knee in order to improve motion in that joint and prevent further damage. An example of this is a quadriceps (thigh) stretch to keep your knees flexible.
Exercises for osteoarthritis of the knee Specific exercises that are helpful for people who have knee osteoarthritis include:
- Quadriceps (thigh) strengthening exercises
- Straight-leg raise. Lie on your back on the floor or a firm bed. Keep the leg you will be exercising straight, and bend your other knee comfortably, resting your foot on the floor or bed. Keeping your kneecap pointing to the ceiling, tighten the thigh muscle of your straight leg and lift your left straight up as high as you can. You should feel a pull on the back of your leg, but not pain. Slowly lower your leg back down. Repeat 10 times with each leg. Do up to 3 times every day.
- Knee-to-chest stretch. Lie on your back on the floor or a firm bed. Bend both knees, and place your feet on the floor or bed. Hold one knee with your hands and pull that leg slowly toward your chest. You should feel a gentle pull in your knee, but not pain. Hold the stretch for 5 to 10 seconds, then relax. Repeat 10 times with each knee. Do up to 3 times every day.
- Bridging. Lie on your back on the floor or a firm bed. Bend both knees and place your feet on the floor or bed. Push your feet into the floor or bed and lift your hips up as high as you can. Hold 5 to 10 seconds, then lower your hips back down. Repeat 10 times. Do up to 3 times every day.
- Quarter squat. Stand behind a chair, holding the back of the chair for balance. With your feet shoulder-width apart, slowly bend your knees and then slowly straighten them. Keep your heels on the floor throughout the exercise. Repeat 10 times. You can do this exercise several times each day, for example while you are standing at the kitchen sink.
If you have osteoarthritis of the knee, wearing shock-absorbing footwear, wedged insoles, or cushioned shoes may help redistribute weight and reduce joint stress. Taping the kneecap in a certain position has also been shown to help decrease pain.8 If you and your doctor find that taping helps you, you can learn to do this simple technique yourself.
If your knee is sore after exercise, try icing your knee. You can do this by wrapping a towel around a bag of ice or frozen vegetables and then putting the bag on your knee for 10 to 20 minutes. Also, elevating your leg or taking nonprescription pain relievers may help to relieve pain. But if you have pain or swelling that lasts more than 2 hours, either rest or reduce the amount of exercise.
Ask your physical therapist or doctor Ask your physical therapist or doctor which exercises are best for you. Also ask:
- How to exercise if a joint is sore or if a joint is swelling.
- Whether you should take anti-inflammatory drugs to make your exercising easier, or whether to use ice after exercise.
Talk to your doctor or physical therapist about starting an exercise program. He or she will help you learn the most appropriate type of exercise for you and the proper way to do it.
How to exercise with painful joints If your joints hurt, try to rest them. Use assistive devices that help you do daily activities without added stress to your joints. Your doctor may suggest nonprescription pain relievers to reduce pain in your joints.
Other steps to relieve pain and stiffness include heat or cold therapy (a type of physical therapy). You can use heat and cold therapies before or after exercise, depending on which works better for you.
Heat therapies include:
- Applying warm towels to the painful joint.
- Applying hot packs to the painful joint.
- Taking a warm bath or shower.
- Getting water therapy in a heated pool or whirlpool.
Cold therapies may relieve pain or numb an area. Use a cold pack (a bag of ice or frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel).
Other types of physical therapy that may help relieve joint stiffness and pain and allow you to exercise include transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and ultrasound.
It is still important to try to exercise a little, after your pain is relieved. Walking is excellent exercise. If walking is painful, or if you would like to alternate other activities with walking as a form of exercise, try walking in waist- or chest-deep water, swimming, or riding a stationary bicycle.
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| Author: | Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH | Last Updated: April 17, 2009 |
| Medical Review: |
Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
Richa Dhawan, MD - Rheumatology |
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