Adding Exercise to Your Arthritis Treatment

ByBob S Heiny

Arthritis affects a lot a people, me included. Some have just a little discomfort and others are in constant pain all the time. Whether your pain is mild or horrible, you may benefit from exercise. It can and more likely will improve your health, but may also relieve some of your symptoms and generally help you feel better.

Exercise is very important for overall health, but if you have arthritis you will more likely benefit from strength training that targets your specific joints. The most effective and probably the safest way to get this kind of training is with a physical therapist. They can devise a specific program just for you and your needs to improve your endurance and muscle strength. You will surely feel better when you exercise doing the specific exercises designed for your condition and may not get any worse. You will probably be able to do more and maybe not worsen at all or more slowly. Arthritis damage cannot be reversed, but if you do the simple exercises set up just for you, your life will surely improve.

Exercise of another type will also affect your arthritis and that is flexibility training. It will help the flexibility and the range-of-motion that is so often lost from the pain of your joints so you use them less. This type of exercise will help you to limber up so you have more range of motion and less pain, thus you can do more.

And let's not leave out cardio because it is just as important to you as anyone. There are some exercises that you can do to help your heart that will not increase your pain. I know you don't even want to think about exercise, especially cardio when you are in pain and tired, and you certainly don't want to get worse. Therefore it is important that you work with your doctor to make sure any exercise is not going to give more stress to your arthritic joints. There are exercises you can do with just your hands and arms to improve your cardio and overall health, your endurance, your circulation, and your stamina. All these are important to overall health and will not even affect your legs or knees if that is where your pain is.

Exercise certainly won't cure you of your arthritis, but it may help with the pain and improve your condition. But exercise is not the only thing that makes sense. You need to eat right, sleep enough, and of course follow your doctor's orders. Following all these things will help your overall health and help relieve your arthritis pain.

Would you like to get rid of pain and be healthier YOU? Check here to find out how: Secrets to Ideal Fitness, and many more tips.

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