Exercise and osteoarthritis

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Tinyminx
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Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:46 pm
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by Tinyminx on Mon Oct 05, 2020 12:55 pm

Exercise and osteoarthritis

I'm 52 and my joints are arriving at the osteoarthritis party at different times. My lower back first, my right knee, my left thumb and now both wrists.
I've lost 2 stones over lockdown and have increased physical activity. I have to strap my knee and wrists. Am I ok to continue to exercise, or will I exacerbate my issues? I would have thought no exercise would allow the joints to stiffen, but it is a catch 22 as they ache so much (I do moderate what I do).

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Matthew Rogers
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by Matthew Rogers on Mon Oct 05, 2020 2:27 pm

Re: Exercise and osteoarthritis

I’d definitely agree that keeping physically active is very important for people living with arthritis. Strengthening the muscles in the front of the upper leg (the Quadriceps) for example has been proven to reduce the pain of knee arthritis in many people. In fact, there is a free exercises programme called ‘ESCAPE-Pain’ (http://www.escape-pain.org/) that has over 12 years’ worth of high quality research supporting it. This programme has been proven to reduce pain, improve your ability to perform daily activities and help with some of the psychological symptoms of arthritis such as low mood. It also includes self-management education sessions to enable you to understand your condition and take control. Importantly you can do as much or as little as you are able and can build up at your own pace. You can even download a free App from the App store to allow you to try it out at home. I highly recommend it.

There are also exercises that may help for your symptoms in other parts of the body and an osteopath or physiotherapist may be able to advise you which would work best for you. The charity Arthritis Action also provides some useful fact sheets and videos that you may wish to try: https://www.arthritisaction.org.uk/livi ... exercises/

For more information on the benefit of physical activity for those with arthritis, visit: https://www.iosteopathy.org/osteopathy- ... th-ageing/
Matthew Rogers
Head of Professional Development, the Institute of Osteopathy

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... rogers.php

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Arthritis Action
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by Arthritis Action on Wed Oct 14, 2020 2:08 pm

Re: Exercise and osteoarthritis

Firstly well done for losing the weight over lockdown. It is not an easy thing to do but certainly the most effective thing you can do to decrease load and in turn pain from a joint. For every one pound in weight that you lose this equates to 4 pounds less load upon your knees and other joints when you exercise.

As Matthew has suggested, often it is good to have a consultation with an Osteopath or physiotherapist who can suggest exercise that will not overly provoke a painful response. One point to keep in mind is that a joint will stiffen in time due to immobility and the shortening of tissues.

It is always better to finds different ways of keeping ones activity levels up and your joints moving to maximize your joint health.

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Tracy Corbett
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by Tracy Corbett on Thu Oct 29, 2020 3:37 pm

Re: Exercise and osteoarthritis

I agree with the advice from Matthew Rogers and Dr Holden. Just to add that you're quite right, it can feel like a bit of a catch 22. You might find it helpful to ask your GP for a referral to your local musculoskeletal physiotherapist who can create a specific, targeted exercise programme to help protect your joints, to help with pain and to increase your fitness levels gently. Your physiotherapist can provide help with goal-setting, identifying your baseline level of activity (the level of activity that will not currently cause a flare-up) and pacing yourself.
Tracy Corbett
Chartered Physiotherapist

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... orbett.php

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