How to exercise with arthritis and sore joints

When you have arthritis, it may feel like any movement makes your pain worse. Unfortunately, lack of physical activity worsens the joint pain. It is astonishing, but you need to exercise regularly to minimize the impact on the sore joints. The following tips will show you how to exercise with arthritis and sore joints while reducing your pain.

While exercising may intimidate many people who suffer from arthritis, research shows that it may be the best way to reduce your pain with few risks. Knowing how to exercise with arthritis and sore joints remains vital for anyone who wants to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Regular exercise keeps the worst symptoms of arthritis in check, so staying active is a necessity, not an option. Make sure to keep these tips in mind as you work out, and keep those joints mobile.

Thoroughly warm up: It may be tempting to rush through a quick warm-up before exercising, but jumping into a workout without warming your muscles up properly can cause sore joints. If you already have arthritis, this pain only compounds. Take your time.Make sure to incorporate some light cardio like a brisk walk and dynamic stretches. Once the blood is flowing, you can jump into your regular exercise without worrying that you’ll make the pain worse.

Mix up your exercise routine regularly: Doing the same exercise every day can quickly cause overuse injuries in your muscles. If a muscle is tired from overuse, your joints must take more impact. That’s why people with aching joints should incorporate even more variety into their workouts, whether by alternating the types of motion or the areas of the body used.

Go for low-impact activities: When you have sore joints, certain exercises will almost always be too strenuous. That’s the reason why people suffering from arthritis are encouraged to do lower impact exercises, such as swimming, Pilates, or biking. You can even mitigate the impact of traditionally higher-impact exercises by shifting your weight or shortening your range of motion.

Don’t skip post-workout stretches: A cool-down can be just as important as a warm-up for people with arthritis. Tight muscles impede normal movement patterns and reduce joints’ range of motion. Stretching prevents this kind of irritation. Make sure to stretch each of the major muscle groups, holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds.