Gearing Up For Arthritis Pain Relief Exercises

Well, that’s the holiday over for another year, thankfully with no broken bones at my end (I’ve had a broken leg twice at New Year in bygone days). Christmas is now just a memory, and we’re roughly 1.37% into 2008. Can we improve our odds of getting extra pain relief from arthritis in the remaining 98.63% of the year? I’m of the opinion that one of the most important steps that anyone can take is to begin some regular exercise. It can be a New Year’s resolution on your part if you like, but at least you know that if you persevere, the reward, in terms of less pain, will certainly be worth the effort.

Quite apart from helping to obtain pain relief, there are several other side benefits to be gained from exercises, whether you’re aware of them or not. Your stamina will definitely increase, as will your range of movement and joint function. You will possibly have extra strength and energy have a brighter outlook and more self-confidence. Maybe you won’t notice that the last two mentioned have improved, but other folk WILL notice the difference. If you continue to carry out your exercises faithfully and methodically, then you’ll also find that better sleep is an added bonus. Unfortunately, I happen to be one of those people who cannot put on some extra weight, although I could do with it, but for those who ARE carrying a few extra pounds, exercise will help you shed some of them. By exercising, you will certainly give yourself a better chance of having less pain.

I must admit that I tend to do my first exercises as soon as I waken up. It’s not strenuous, by any means, just flexing my fingers, especially those of my left hand, as they tend to be stiffer and more painful. If I don’t loosen them up, I know that it will be quite a while until I can even tie my shoelaces, so it’s really an automatic part of my routine. Although my left shoulder is also very painful, I leave any exercise to do with that until later on in the day, when I find it less stressful. I believe that a lot of those with rheumatoid arthritis, like me, find that pain is usually worse in the morning, and so tend to try out some exercises in the afternoon. Osteoarthritis sufferers tend to be somewhat different, and feel the pain increasing as the day goes on. Of course, there will be exceptions in both cases, but the point I’m trying to make is that you should choose a time for your exercises when you are feeling a bit better, and the pain is not quite as bad as usual. However, take care if you are taking medicines for your pain. If you have taken your pain medication, and you begin to exercise, the medicine obviously would be doing its own work in the background, dulling the pain, and you could very easily not feel pain that would usually warn you that you it was time to give up a certain activity.

Just as professional athletes do, arthritis sufferers should also preheat their muscles before exercising, in order to avoid strain. I suppose that we can think of warm-ups as actual activities themselves such as when we stretch our legs before running or walking briskly, for example. There are, however, effective warm-up methods that you can carry out even before those actions. You could prepare for your exercise by putting on an extra layer of clothing, by taking a shower or bath, or by applying liniment. I very often use the latter—my doctor prescribed some pills a couple of months ago, saying that the cream takes too long to penetrate, especially the knee, but the tablets were affecting my stomach, so I reverted to the ointment. I use Voltarol Emulgel, Green Lipped Mussel cream, and Tiger Balm. I’ve run out of them on occasion, and have been known to make my own concoctions, using ordinary ingredients from the kitchen—actually they’ve been quite effective, although rather smelly—I’ll have to try out some experiments to make them odourless, otherwise I don’t hold out much hope of getting any Valentine cards this year.

Back to the exercises themselves. You can carry out some light exercises while standing under a hot shower, or lying in your warm bath. Afterwards, if you feel that running is too strenuous an exercise to begin with, try walking, as it is excellent therapy. Start by walking slowly for the first ten minutes or so, and as your body warms up through increased blood circulation, you can step up to a brisker pace. Remember that cooling down after your exercise is just as important as warming up. Allow your pace to slow down, and take a few deep breaths. It will probably take about ten minutes for your heart rate to return to normal.

Of course, if exercises are going to be successful, then your motivation and commitment must be high to begin with, and stay high! Can you persevere, or will you feel like giving up after a few weeks if you don’t think that you’ve achieved anything. Do you like doing things on your own, such as a walk, or would you rather have a pal, or pals, accompany you? When you’ve decided what routine would suit you best, then don’t delay. Go for it!