Arthritis and Exercise: What to Do and What Not to Do | Mount Sinai Today (2024)

FAQs

What activities should be avoided with arthritis? ›

What types of activities should I do? Low-impact aerobic activities do not put stress on the joints and include brisk walking, cycling, swimming, water aerobics, light gardening, group exercise classes, and dancing.

Walking is a great exercise for those with mild to moderate arthritis symptoms. Exercises for hip arthritis should be light and low-impact so as not to aggravate the condition.

Red meat, such as burgers and steaks. Processed meats like hot dogs, brats and other sausages.

Foods high in sugar, fat, sodium, or simple carbs can cause inflammation that may worsen your arthritis symptoms. Beverages and foods to avoid when you have arthritis include: Red meat. High-fat dairy.

Examples of aerobic exercises that are easy on joints include walking, bicycling, swimming and water aerobics. Try to work up to 150 minutes of somewhat hard aerobic exercise every week. You can exercise 10 minutes at a time if that's easier on your joints.

Physical Activity

Walking, biking, swimming, and other water activities (e.g., water aerobics, aqua jogging) are all effective ways to ease arthritis pain and are safe for most adults. Learn more about physical activity for arthritis.

Short-term relief for pain and inflammation may include pain relievers such as acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications. Heat and cold. Pain may be eased by using moist heat (warm bath or shower) or dry heat (heating pad) on the joint.

What is the best vitamin for stiff joints? ›

Several nutritional supplements have shown promise for relieving pain, stiffness and other arthritis symptoms. Glucosamine and chondroitin, omega-3 fatty acids, SAM-e and curcumin are just some of the natural products researchers have studied for osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

For most people, the flare risk increases when treatments are tapered or stopped. Other triggers include overexertion, stress, infection or poor sleep. “Disease-modifying arthritis therapies are NOT cures; they maintain patients (hopefully) in states of low-disease activity or occasionally even remission.

About osteoarthritis

This type of arthritis usually involves one or more large weight-bearing joints such as a hip or a knee. With this type of arthritis, pain is usually made worse with activity and is better with rest. It is common for symptoms to be at their worst at the end of the day.

For most people, the flare risk increases when treatments are tapered or stopped. Other triggers include overexertion, stress, infection or poor sleep. “Disease-modifying arthritis therapies are NOT cures; they maintain patients (hopefully) in states of low-disease activity or occasionally even remission.

Osteoarthritis is defined as a noninflammatory, degenerative joint disease characterized by loss of articular cartilage and marginal hypertrophy of bone accompanied by pain and stiffness that is aggravated by prolonged activity.