Important About Arthritis

Exercise is important for healthy joints. Moving your joints daily helps keep them fully mobile. Strengthening the surrounding muscles helps support the joints. Also, joint movement transports nutrients and waste products to and from the cartilage, the material which protects and cushions the ends of the bones.

Types of Exercise

There are different types of exercise and it's important for you to understand why each is important.

Range-of-motion Exercises

Range-of-motion exercises are gentle stretching exercises that aim to move each joint through their normal maximum range of motion. These exercises need to be done daily to help keep joints fully mobile and prevent stiffness and deformities.

Range-of-motion exercises are important for arthritis patients who -- because of intense or chronic pain -- shy away from moving their joints through their full range. Some people believe that normal daily activities take joints through their full range of motion but this is not the case. Normal daily activities, such as housework, dressing, bathing, and cooking are not a substitute for range-of-motion exercises.

Strengthening Exercises

Strengthening exercises help increase muscle strength. Strong muscles help support the joints -- making the joints more stable and helping you move more easily and with less pain. The two types of strengthening exercises are isometric and isotonic.

Isometric exercises involve tightening the muscles, without moving the joints. These exercises are especially useful when joint motion is impaired.
Isotonic exercises involve strengthening the muscles by moving the joints.
Endurance Exercises

Endurance exercises are physical activities that bring your heart rate up to your optimal target level for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Your target heart rate is computed based on age and physical condition. By raising the heart rate, endurance exercises improve cardiovascular fitness. Endurance exercises should be performed at least three times a week to build on their effectiveness.

Many arthritis patients who regularly perform endurance exercises find they are able to:

increase physical strength
develop a better mental attitude
improve arthritis symptoms
Not all arthritis patients are able to perform endurance exercises however. For example, patients with long-term rheumatoid arthritis who have severe joint damage and functional limitations may be unable to do this type of activity. Endurance exercises for arthritis patients need to be chosen carefully to avoid joint injury.



13 Important Questions About Arthritis
Arthritis pain can strike earlier than you think. Here's what every woman needs to know about arthritis symptoms, safe exercise, natural remedies, and more.


By the editors of Prevention
1. Arthritis is just achy joints, right?
2. Wait, what's rheumatoid arthritis?
3. Could I really have arthritis? I'm 39!
4. What symptoms should I look for?
5. How can the doctor tell I have it?
6. Can I do anything to prevent arthritis?
7. What meds typically help?
8. What's the story with exercising?
9. Any precautions to take before I exercise?
10. Are there foods that ease arthritis?
11. Glucosamine: is it helpful or not?
12. Can any home remedies help?
13. Can cracking knuckles cause arthritis?
More health-boosting tips

Essentially, yes. Arthritis literally means "inflammation of a joint"—the place where two bones connect, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis, but osteoarthritis, which we'll address in this article, is the most common, affecting nearly 27 million Americans, almost 60% of whom are women.

In osteoarthritis, cartilage—the slippery tissue that protects the ends of your bones in the joint—gradually wears down. This can make your knees feel achier than usual after you work out or leave you feeling stiff and old lady-ish when you climb out of bed. No one knows exactly what causes this cartilage breakdown, but a combination of factors like aging, joint injuries, genetic tendencies, and obesity, are all thought to play a role, says the Mayo Clinic.