The Connection Between Exercise and Arthritis

Your bones have a lot of joints: knee joints, hip joints, and the joints in your fingers and toes. Wherever your bones meet, there's also cartilage which is a rubbery, protective layer that makes sure that your joints bend smoothly and painlessly. There is also a thin membrane called the synovium which provides fluid to lubricate all the moving parts in a joint. When your cartilage wears out or the synovium becomes inflamed, in many if not most cases the result is osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

In the case of osteoarthritis, the cartilage has been eroded so much that bone rubs on bone. This type of arthritis develops slowly over your lifetime and is a simple result of wear and tear that you've placed on your joints over the years. Very few people escape some degree of osteoarthritis, but the severity varies from person to person.

In fact, if you are over the age of 50, you are likely to have at least one joint affected by osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis affects men and women equally and is by far the most common type of arthritis with almost 16 million people in the United States alone that suffer from it.

In rheumatoid arthritis, damage to just the synovium is the problem. Doctors and researchers are not quite sure what causes rheumatoid arthritis, but many think that it is a disease in which the immune system actually attacks certain tissues in the body, including unfortunately, the tissues that connect the joints and the synovium.

Rheumatoid arthritis starts out with swollen, red, stiff, and painful joints, but it can progrees until scar tissue forms in the joint or in worse case scenarios until the bones actually fuse together. Almost 75% of the 2 million people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis in the United States are women. This disease can hit as early as the teen years.

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to arthritis whichever type, is that regular exercise helps.

When you invest some time in developing a good weight-bearing low-impact exercise routine and stretching routine, this can add up to really good results when it comes to reducing arthritis pain. Strong muscles help to protect your joints from wear and tear, and the extra movement keeps your joints flexible.

This is one of the reasons it is so important to exercise regularly and to have an exercise routine, even if you 50 years old or older. Unfortunately, many Americans are still sitting on the sidelines watching other people jog by. Many of them contend that exercise is only for young people and they actually think that exercising will do more harm than good.

While there are still some who insist on excusing themselves from exercising regularly because they do not have the time or energy, these are not good reasons. In fact they are the very reasons it is important to begin exercising.

Preventing arthritis isn't an exact science, but doctors have discovered ways to lower your risk. Here are some tips for lowering your risk of getting arthritis.

1. Lose weight if you are overweight.

While this can be hard, the single most important measure you can take to prevent osteoarthritis of your knees is to lose weight if you are overweight. The extra weight puts stress on your knees. Even if you are only 10 pounds overweight, for example, every time you take a step you put 60 pounds per square inch of pressure on your knees. Just that bit of extra pressure can slowly erode the cartilage in knees and that leads to arthritis.

There are studies that clearly support the idea that weight loss is a huge factor in preventing arthritis.

2. Regularly stretch your muscles.

Any sort of stretching such as yoga or pilates is good, as long as you don't bounce as this can lead to pulled muscles, according to professors in clinical medicine in New York City.

Do your best to hold a slow, steady stretch for 15 to 20 seconds, then relax and repeat. It's best to flex up by stretching before any exercise, particularly if you're going to be walking or running. It's also a good idea to stretch every day. Your doctor can teach you stretches that focus on areas that have the potential to be arthritic like your knees or lower back.

3. Walking is the best exercise.

Taking a long walk at least three times a week, or participating in a step-aerobics or low-impact exercise routine is one that will help you to have maximum results. There is no proof that running is bad for your joints, but it can aggravate an injury if you already have one. It's important to remember to check with your doctor before starting any new exercise program.

The main thing to remember is that out of all the healthful habits you can cultivate, exercise is the most important in preventing arthritis. This is because our bodies are designed to be active. So it's really important for us to stay healthy, exercise and keep those joints as free from wear and tear as possible.

A final thing to keep in mind is that even if don't exercise and aren't experiencing symptoms now, your body is not at its full potential.