Why Exercise?
When you first discussed exercise with your health care provider, he or she probably did not spend a lot of time talking about the benefits of exercise. Throughout our lives we’ve heard that exercise is “good for you,” but if you’re living with arthritis, exercise is particularly important. Exercise has been shown to increase muscle strength, endurance and flexibility and reduce weight. It has also been shown to reduce joint pain and stiffness, and improve overall sense of well-being.

Types of Exercise
As you’ve likely discussed with your health care provider, there are three main types of exercise that benefit people living with arthritis. Range-of-motion exercises are designed to help with flexibility and joint movement. In range-of-motion exercises, you move your joint through its entire range. For example, this might include rotating your wrist 360 degrees. Range-of-motion exercises should be performed daily or every other day. Your doctor can demonstrate the correct movements. Strengthening exercises are designed to make your muscles stronger in order to support and protect your joints. Strengthening exercises are also done daily, but shouldn’t be done when symptoms are flaring. Strengthening exercises may include the use of small weights, or water exercises. Aerobic/Endurance exercises are done to help control weight and improve your overall health. These exercises are usually done three times a week, for 20 to 30 minutes at a time.

Hints for Maintaining Your Exercise Program
After you’ve worked with your doctor or physical therapist to design an appropriate exercise program, the most difficult part of all is taking what you’ve learned and applying it to your daily life. For most of us, this is easy to do for the first few weeks, but becomes more difficult as time goes on. Try the tips below to help stay on track.

* Start small. Don’t begin your exercise program expecting to work out like an Olympic athlete. While it’s good to start with enthusiasm, starting a program that is too advanced can lead to pain – and decrease your chances of maintaining the program.

* Stretch. Along the same lines, don’t jump into each exercise session at “full swing.” Give your muscles a chance to warm up by stretching and doing range-of-motion exercises.

* Make exercise part of your routine. Like brushing your teeth, taking your vitamins, or any of the things you do every day, exercise should be established as part of your daily program. Set aside time each day to complete your program. Don’t forget to allocate time for stretching and cooling down.

* Make exercise a priority. Too often we drop exercise from our list of “to do’s” when we get busy or tired. It’s difficult to make something a priority when most of the benefits are long-term rather than immediate, but if you make exercise a daily priority you’re guaranteed to see results in your overall health.

* Give yourself a break. “No pain, no gain” definitely does not apply to people living with arthritis. Sometimes, some joints will hurt more than others. If you find that a particular exercise causes pain or inflammation, talk with your doctor about adjusting your exercise program.

* Distract yourself! If you’ve been sticking with the same exercise routine for more than a few weeks, you may have begun to tire of its repetition. Look for distractions while you’re exercising. For example, range-of-motion exercises can easily be done in front of the TV while your favorite program is on.

* Make it a party! OK, “party” might be a bit of a stretch, but you can make exercise fun by doing it with other people. Check with your local Arthritis Foundation for classes in your area. Or invite a neighbor, friend, or your spouse to exercise with you, or even keep you company while you exercise.

Remember that these tips are provided to give you ideas. Experiment a little and find out what works best for you. If you can find a program that you enjoy and can stick to it, you’re sure to see long-term benefits in improved health.