Tips for exercising with arthritis

Arthritis can affect any joint, but it is most commonly found in the hips and knees. Beyond pain, it causes swelling and inflammation, saps strength, and stiffens the involved joint — a combination that gradually shrinks what you're willing to do in a day.

The good news is that arthritis has a full menu of treatment options. Joint replacement can replace the worn parts of a joint outright. Injections can calm pain and swelling and open the door to better mobility and strength. And exercise — often underestimated — has been repeatedly shown to help people manage arthritis.

Exercise does not physically remove arthritis the way a joint replacement does. What it does do is improve mobility, build strength, and raise your tolerance for the activities you care about. If you're still weighing your treatment options, exercise is something you can start today to ease your symptoms while you decide — and it improves your overall health, wellness, and quality of life along the way.

One honest caveat: some forms of exercise can actually make an arthritic joint hurt more. That's what the tips below are for. If pain persists despite them, reach out to your doctor or physical therapist for guidance rather than pushing through.

The number one rule for exercising with arthritis is to minimize impact. The higher the impact, the more pounding and compression goes through a joint that is already inflamed and painful.

Low-impact activities aren't a consolation prize — they build the same strength, mobility, and endurance while sparing the joint the repetitive shock that flares arthritis.

An arthritic joint is usually surrounded by weak muscles — muscles that are no longer providing adequate support. Without that support, every movement is rougher than it needs to be: the muscles can't create smooth motion, so more pain and stress pass directly through the joint itself.

Take hip arthritis as an example. If the muscles around the hip aren't strong enough to keep your pelvis level, every single step loads the joint unevenly — and you compensate with a limp or some other altered movement pattern that stresses the joint even more.

The equation is simple: the stronger the muscles, the more stable and comfortable the arthritic joint — and a stable, comfortable joint lets you move more and do more of what you love. A structured physical therapy program is the fastest way to target the right muscles.

Whatever exercise you enjoy, always start with a warm-up — and this matters more with arthritis than without it. Arthritic joints simply feel better warm. A good warm-up readies your whole body, warms stiff joints, increases blood flow, and improves how well the joint performs whatever movement comes next.

A warm-up for an arthritic joint should include:

• Pain-free, dynamic range of motion. Move the joint through its comfortable arc — and save static stretching for the cooldown.
• About five minutes of easy cardio — walking, biking, or the elliptical — to warm the body as a whole.
• A rehearsal of the movements you're about to do, so you can decide up front whether any need to be modified because of pain.

End every workout with a cooldown. It lets your heart rate and breathing come back down, allows your blood pressure to normalize, and gives you a dedicated window to stretch.

A cooldown for an arthritic joint should include:

• Easy walking or biking to bring your vitals back to normal.
• Comfortable soft-tissue work with a foam roller or similar tool.
• Static stretching of the tight muscles around the involved joint, holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds.

The cooldown is the ideal time to work on flexibility — the muscles are warm, the joint is loose, and static stretches do their best work here rather than before exercise.

The most crucial tip of all is simply to start. Having arthritis does not mean you cannot exercise — it means you need to take some time to figure out what works best for your body, ideally with help from your doctor or physical therapist.

Choose activities you genuinely enjoy and that move you toward your goals — the exercise you'll actually keep doing is the one that helps. Popular choices for people with arthritis include:

• Swimming
• Walking
• Weight training
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Low-impact step aerobics
• Dance
• Tai chi

And if exercise alone isn't controlling your pain, that's not a failure — it's information. Dr. Morton offers the full arthritis treatment ladder, from injections and biologics to joint replacement, at clinics in Honolulu, West O'ahu (Kunia), Hilo, and Kona. Call (808) 439-6201 or schedule a consultation to build a plan around your joints and your goals.