Arthritis Exercises - How Exercises Can Reduce Arthritic Pain

Arthritis pain can be alleviated in many ways. Although it may sound
unusual, exercise is a very important treatment for arthritis.
Arthritis causes stiffness and pain in the joints – arthritis
exercises can help relieve the stiffness, which will help lessen the
pain. Exercise is essential to the overall health of your body. Those
who adhere to a regular exercise routine are better able to fight off
the effects of many illnesses and are able to decrease the stiffness
and pain associated with arthritis.

Before Arthritis

Exercise is important for everyone. It is important to begin an
exercise regimen early in life and maintain a regular routine. Some of
the overall benefits of exercise include:

• Improves your body's ability to fight infections.

• Improves sleep quality.

• Helps you to lose weight if you are overweight.

• Helps you to gain weight if you are underweight.

• Help you to maintain your weight if you are at a healthy weight.

• Keeps your blood circulating, which makes your brain work better.

• Lowers your risk of illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, and heart
disease.

The key to maintaining a healthy exercise regimen is to know your
body's limits. Over exercising can cause the symptoms of arthritis
to begin earlier than what is normal. The key is to begin an exercise
regimen and stay consistent.

First Signs of Arthritis

Even a regular exercise regimen will not completely prevent arthritis.
Arthritis happens as the body ages naturally – and can occur in
people who do everything they can to take care of their bodies. When
you begin to notice the first signs of arthritis – stiffness or pain
in certain joints – you need to learn the most effective of
lessening the effects of arthritis. Arthritis exercises can help you
to ease the pain and stiffness of arthritis and prolong the need for
medications. Some of the benefits of arthritis exercises include:

• Strengthens muscles around the joints.

• Relieves joint stiffness.

• Increases joint flexibility.

• Increases your endurance levels.

• Relieves joint pain.

Beginning an Exercise Regimen in Arthritis

If you begin noticing symptoms of arthritis and you do not have a
regular exercise regimen, it is not too late to begin. However, at
this point you will have to begin your exercise routine with the goal
of not aggravating the joints affected by arthritis and causing the
symptoms to worsen. The most important types of exercises for
arthritis suffers are:

• Range of motion – these exercises help you to maintain or
increase flexibility by helping to maintain normal joint movement and
help relieve the stiffness that can occur with arthritis.

• Strengthening – these exercises are designed to strengthen the
muscles around the joints so that the joints and muscles work
together. If the muscles are weak, the joints will take all of the
pressure and wear and tear of the joints occurs more quickly.

• Endurance – these exercises help you to maintain overall body
health including weight management and cardiovascular fitness. Extra
weight on your body puts more pressure on the joints causing premature
wear and tear. Keeping the blood flowing correctly helps all of your
body parts work together as they should.

When you begin an arthritis exercise routine, you should begin slowly
and build up as your body gains strength. Listen to your body – it
will let you know if you are trying to do too much too soon. Here are
some pointers on getting started with your exercise regimen:

• Discuss arthritis exercises with your physician.

• Exercise under the supervision of a physical therapist or trainer,
if possible.

• Warm up and stretch your body before you begin exercising –
range of motion exercises.

• Start slowly – you should begin strengthening exercises with the
smallest amount of weight and build to larger amounts as your body can
handle it.

• Aerobic exercises – once your body becomes accustomed to an
exercise regimen, add aerobic exercises in order to improve your
cardiovascular health.

• Recreational exercises – once your body becomes accustomed to an
exercise regimen and you have added aerobic exercises, you can begin
to add recreational exercises such as biking and swimming.

• Have fun – this is one of the most important aspects of your
arthritis exercise regimen. If you choose a recreational exercise that
you enjoy, you are more likely to maintain your routine and get the
most benefit.

_By: *Dr John Anne*_

*About the Author:*

*Dr John Anne is an herbal specialist with years of experience and
extensive research on herbs and alternative health. If you are
looking for more information, read about Arthritis Exercises* [1] at
*http://www.ayurvediccure.com/arthritis-treatment.htm [2]*.
AyurvedicCure.com is the World's Largest Alternative Health Portal.
You can also participate in Health QA where you can ask questions and
share your remedies. If you are worried about your pets health, read
about *Dogs and Pets Health Care* [3]

Links:
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[1] http://www.ayurvediccure.com/arthritis/arthritis-exercise.htm
[2] http://www.ayurvediccure.com/arthritis-treatment.htm
[3] http://www.pets.ayurvediccure.com/