HealthBridge's In-Home Care Blog

More than 46 million people in the U.S. have arthritis, so there's a good chance the senior you care for is affected by it. 

It's a terrible ailment.  Achy joints, painful hands and tight knees are just the beginning.  Opening a bottle can be impossible.  Turning a doorknob can cause shoots of pain from fingertip to shoulder.

So what do you do about it?  

“Physical activity, including stretching and strengthening, is crucial to improving joint pain and mobility and reducing fatigue often associated with arthritis,” says Dr. Patience White, chief public health officer for the Arthritis Foundation. “Moving just 30 minutes daily, even 10 to 15 minutes at a time, can reduce the impact of arthritis on a person’s daily activities and help to prevent developing more painful arthritis.”

The Arthritis Foundation has created a program, Let’s Move Together, which is designed to inspire people to move every day to prevent or treat arthritis. Its Web site offers helpful tips for increasing movement, including:

• Take a hike. Walking is one of the easiest, safest and most beneficial forms of exercise. It helps keep your weight in check and strengthens muscles, which reduces pressure on the knees and decreases pain. Walking just fast enough so that you're slightly short of breath is a good pace. The goal is to strengthen the muscles in your legs and around your knees and hips.

• Go for a spin. Stationary cycling strengthens your heart, hips and knees -- with less impact on joints than other forms of cardiovascular exercise, such as running. For those new to stationary cycling, start slowly with a five-minute session at a comfortable pace three times per day.

• Make a splash. Using a combination of soothing warm water and gentle movements helps increase joint flexibility and range of motion. Studies have shown water aerobics helps to restore and maintain muscle strength, relieve pain and stiffness and provide a community support system for people with arthritis. Those looking to get started can explore the Arthritis Foundation Aquatic Program, which is offered in most major cities.

• Go with the flow. Tai chi is a noncompetitive, self-paced system of gentle physical exercise and stretching. Participants in a tai chi program follow a series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner. Each posture flows into the next without pausing. Experts agree that tai chi may improve mobility, breathing and relaxation. Plus, the movements don't require deep bending or squatting, which makes it easier and more comfortable to learn.

“Without regular exercise, muscles become smaller and weaker, and weakness and weight gain from inactivity puts stress on weight-bearing joints such as the hips, knees and ankles,” says White. “Aerobic walking and other exercise programs can make a significant impact on thwarting arthritis while also improving a person’s overall well-being.”

What are you doing to exercise and prevent arthritis?

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Image credit:  nostalgia.2009

Thanks for article inspiration goes to ARAcontent