Exercise can reduce the impact of arthritic flare-ups and speed healing.
Q: I have been active most of my life playing sports and doing all kinds of fitness activities. As I’m approaching 60, I’m stronger and fitter than most of my peers and I don’t take any medication. My energy is generally very high and I still participate in various activities and sports related to our Canadian seasons. Weight training, golf, mountain biking, skiing, kayaking, etc… The only downside to my athletic and fitness life, however, is that I have arthritis in several joints in my body. My knee sometimes pops up, my fingers and toes can sometimes hurt, and my elbows and shoulders bother me if I push myself too hard at the gym or when playing sports. When I’m in pain, should I keep pushing or take time to rest and recover? Why is it important to keep moving even when I’m in pain?
A: First of all, congratulations on continuing to live an active and energetic life as you approach your senior years. Heading into retirement (eventually) with a strong and fit body will give you plenty of options and opportunities to experience whatever life throws your way. There are too many people who reach their retirement with the financial means to live a full life, but with so little strength and endurance and so little “well-being” that they have no ability to do anything but tend to their illnesses. , aches, pains and diseases; leaving them with very few options of what they can do.
When it comes to aching and sore joints, it’s vitally important that you keep them moving as much as possible for a number of reasons. Perhaps most importantly, the more you exercise, the stronger the supporting muscles around your joints will become, allowing for more range of motion, more stability, and less pain. The supporting musculature around a joint can be thought of as acting as a brace to help stabilize the area. This is especially important with osteoarthritis (OA) when the cartilage in the joint has been lost or damaged due to injury, surgery or simple wear and tear and the bones begin to rub against each other causing inflammation.
A secondary reason to keep arthritic joints moving is that movement in general increases the circulation of blood and oxygen throughout the body and in particular to the joints. This means there will be more lubricating (synovial) fluid brought to the area to facilitate movement and to bathe the joint in nutrients that can speed healing. In some cases, this can even stimulate cartilage repair and regrowth.
More generally, exercise brings a sense of well-being to the athlete and gives them a sense of control over what happens to their body, improving mental health and decreasing anxiety levels. Exercising and staying active during flare-ups is also important to maintain a lean body and avoid weight gain that can add stress to already strained joints.
Finally, while it’s very important to avoid being sedentary when managing OA, it’s just as important to allow your body enough recovery time between sessions or activities and to understand how to change things up when flare-ups occur . The best way to modify exercises when your joints are irritated is to decrease the weights you lift, reduce the range of motion of each exercise you include in your training, and perform exercises with less speed and more control. Also, be very diligent about maintaining excellent posture without slouching. Consider taking an extra day off between workouts or sports activities.
For activities like walking, choose gentler routes such as grass, dirt paths or running tracks or even switch up your routine and exercise in the pool or ride a bike. Never work “through” the pain, and always seek your doctor’s approval before attempting to exercise during an arthritis flare.
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