Different Forms of Exercises for Osteoarthritis

1. Different Forms Of Exercises Osteoarthritis Of The Hip And Knee

2. Since osteoarthritis is a painful condition that endangers the most critical joints of the body – hip and knee, one cannot perform all the normal activities. With osteoarthritis, there come a lot of restrictions to your mobility. As a matter of fact, the condition is such that it can leave you disabled or crippled. While earlier it was firmly believed that patients with osteoarthritis should restrict themselves to the bed, barring movement, today the concept has changed significantly.

3. Studies reveal that patients with osteoarthritis should not be restricted to the bed; being immobile for long can actually cause intense pain of the joints. Therefore, it is very important to choose the right forms of exercises and practice daily.

4. Good forms of cardiovascular exercises can help people with hip and knee osteoarthritis. Options include swimming, cycling and walking. Anything that one can perform daily and that would keep the heart rate functioning is good. Cardiovascular Exercise

5. Brisk walking, for instance, if done regularly with ease, can help in keeping you mobile and reduce pain. If walking, as an exercise, becomes painful, you can go for recumbent cycle. These bikes help in extending the angle of joints so that your hips and knees are not flexing much with rotation, so as to cause lesser pain and strain on the joints.

6. Even if recumbent cycles become problematic, swimming is very good as an alternative. Water exercises are excellent for the joints. However, you need to find a swimming pool with heated water, as cold water can worsen your pain.

7. Lifting weights is often believed to be harmful for arthritis; however, some studies have shown the opposite to be true. By strengthening the core muscles surrounding the joints, it will help in taking off load from the arthritic joints to relieve pain. Therefore, strength training or muscle strengthening exercises are needed. Muscle Strengthening Activities

8. The role of connective tissues is simply to bind things together, so you lose stability in your joint, and that is what cause pain. When you are strengthening your muscles surrounding as well as supporting the joints, you will be able to relieve these symptoms. Furthermore, strength training also helps in lessening the risk of falling own, which could become another risk factor for people suffering from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. To prevent these risks, you can perform gentle and easy motions, such as yoga or tai chi, which will improve your overall balance.

9. There are several specific exercises that needs to be done, and has been designed for osteoarthritis patients in order to increase range of motion and flexibility around the hips and knees. Range of Motion/Flexibility

10. Stretching exercises are the best for increasing flexibility and range of motion. Before starting flexibility training or exercise program, however, you need to check with the doctor. Depending on the comfort ability and your capability, your doctor will recommend certain exercises to be done daily. You will also be told how and when to do the reps and sets for improved result.