Mild Exercise May Help Arthritis Pain

When my mom turned 70 her joints began to seriously wear out. She had to have both knees replaced when she was 74. Her back and neck began giving her problems. She had trouble getting up in the morning. Ultimately, it was the arthritis that contributed to her death.

She woke up in intense pain one morning and went to the ER. They admitted her and gave her pain medication. Then for some reason, they stopped giving her the blood thinners that she needed. Three days later she had a stroke. She didn't last much longer after that.

There are over 100 different forms of arthritis. The most common form is called osteoarthritis. It comes from age, having a joint injury, or an infection. The joints lose their cushioning. In my mom's case she was told that right before the knee surgery, she had bone rubbing directly against bone. You can imagine how painful that would be.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease that can affect the joints but also other organs in the body as well. It can even affect the heart and peritoneum. The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, but they suspect that it could be an immune system response.

There is one common symptom that is present in almost all forms of arthritis: pain. Most of the pain prescriptions that are written around the world are probably for arthritis. Most of the pain medication that people have had problems with have been prescribed for arthritis, and some of them have been recalled and taken off of the market.

But there is one way that you can help your arthritis other than taking a lot of pills: exercise. Years ago I asked my doctor if he thought I had arthritis when I was having trouble with my back. He told m that there was one sure way to find out if I had it. "Does it feel better when you get up and move around?"

Moving around in the morning seems to help the stiffness and pain, so why not exercise? According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

"Arthritis patients increasingly are getting a prescription that sounds like the last thing to do when hips and knees are painfully inflamed: Get moving. Despite years of advice that the arthritic should lay off their joints, doctors and therapists now say proper movement is the best medicine for the nation's leading cause of disability."

For years doctors have been telling patients that overuse of a joint can cause arthritis, but now the research has shown that lack of exercise may be a contributing factor. We already know that obesity puts more strain omn the joints and can lead to arthritis.

Although it's hard to convince people with painful joints to move around, it's the type of exercise that matters. You don't want to do the pounding type of exercise that puts pressure on the joints. Running and sports that require it are out, but a simply, gentle exercise like wlaking is probably best.

And it doesn't take that much. A few minutes a day is all that you need. The study has shown that, for many people, exercise can work just as well as the painkillers for controlling pain.

Source: http://www.stltoday.com/news/science/article_6dc3c390-0be7-11e0-bc5a-0017a4a78c22.html