Exercises That Can Help Arthritis
Oftentimes people with arthritis find it challenging to perform certain types of exercise. Due to inflammation in the joints it can be difficult to perform traditional types of exercise, such as walking or lifting weights.
Normally, a health practitioner will provide a comprehensive arthritis treatment plan if and when you are diagnosed with arthritis. This plan includes various types of exercise as well as dietary restrictions and benefits. Foods known to increases arthritis symptoms include red meat, food additives, dairy products, and processed foods.
Yoga, tai chi, water aerobics, muscle strengthening, and weight training are the most popular arthritis exercises. Also included are range-of-motion exercises lik dance, and endurance exercises like cycling.
It’s best to talk with your healthcare practitioner before starting an exercise program because it’s unknown whether a certain exercise routine will aggravate your arthritis symptoms.
Today, most health insurance companies offer discounts on health products and clubs. Therefore, be sure to check with your insurance carrier to see which benefits are offered to you.
Also, some health clubs offer certain insurance members 50% discounts. Most of these clubs offer private training sessions with professionals who are sutied to help members find an ideal exercise program. However, a personal trainer is not usually covered under insurance and will be paid for out-of-pocket.
Another option is to look into joining your local YMCA or YWCA. Oftentimes, these organizations offer water aerobics, which has shown to be effective in decreasing arthritis pain. Water aerobics is a very gentle form of exercise and can be performed by nearly everyone. It involves sitting in a shallow pool and conducting gentle resistance exercises.
Regardless of the type of arthritis exercise program you choose, it’s important to apply heat to sore joints to help warm them up and allow them to become more flexible prior to exercise. Heat is typically applied for 5 to 15 minutes.
Before starting your routine and after you apply heat to your joints, you should perform gentle stretching exercises. Post-exercise, place cold packs on your sore joints to help reduce inflammation.
In order to make sure you stick with an exercise program, choose one that you enjoy and doesn’t cause you intense pain.
