Exercising with Osteoarthritis
Q. I am 68 and have osteoarthritis which stops me walking more than 10 yards, a
very bad back well as well controlled diabetes. I’ve been gaining weight and
for the first time in my life am getting a tummy bulge. Please could you
tell me how I might reduce it?
People with osteoarthritis are concerned that exercise will be painful
and even make their condition worse. Back pain can complicate your situation
further, making many weight bearing activities difficult to perform.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exercise. The key is finding the right
activities and then doing them safely and correctly, preferably under the
initial guidance of a physiotherapist or appropriately qualified personal
trainer.
If you seek a trainer, then ask your GP if they
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is experienced in working with clients who have joint problems. They should hold a qualification in working with special populations or GP referral, and you should ask to see this.
The first step to regaining your trim tummy and making your body function better is to improve your flexibility. Start with regular active stretching, which is where you assume a position that stretches one of your muscles, and hold it using your own strength.
For example, lie face down on the floor and try to bring your foot towards
your bottom by bending your knee; repeat this five to 10 times. This will
stretch the quadriceps muscle at the front of the thigh and is best done
when your joints and
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You should be stretching every day to maintain range of movement and posture, even on days when there is some pain and harder training is not possible.
The next step is to work on strengthening muscles that have grown weak
through lack of use.
There are many ways of doing this but I recommend you start very gently,
using small weights or exercises in which you work against the weight of
your body. You can perform several exercises such as half-squats, wall press-ups, and lateral raises as part of a circuit. This will improve strength, muscle endurance and also your cardiovascular fitness.
Do these exercises until your muscles feel tired but don’t be tempted
...a shower as soon after the cool down as possible reduces the degree of stiffening up (ideally a hard training session should be followed by a massage for optimum recovery!). However, a warm-up before training or an event needs to ...
Ask your trainer or physiotherapist to show you stretching and strengthening
exercises that will help you.
Finally, we come to cardiovascular (heart and lung) fitness, which is an
effective way of burning fat (including that around your middle) and losing
weight. It’s important to remember that as well as improving your fitness,
you need to protect your joints from further damage so steer clear of exercises like jogging and stair.
I would strongly recommend that you consider exercising in water. The water
will dramatically reduce the amount
...Aerobic exercise will increase the amount of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) in your body, which helps prevent cardiovascular disease. Aerobic exercise will also increase you basal metabolic rate which burns your stored body fat as the fuel source for ...
land based activities such as running. It also provides resistance which
your muscles have to work against, making them stronger and increasing the
number of calories you burn. There are many excellent aqua-fitness classes
run at local swimming pools. Aim to do an activity like this 3 - 5 times a week, focusing on improving the duration over the intensity.
By working on your flexibility, strength and cardiovascular fitness, you will
see a marked increase in your health, both mental and physical. As you
become more active you will feel more energetic and all being well you can
start shrinking that waistline too. Good luck.
Graeme Marsh MSc MES is director of Aegis Training Ltd and one of the U.K’s
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