Rheumatoid Arthritis and Exercise

The3Harveys

Hi everyone
I'm after some advice, I've just joined a gym, and have my induction tomorrow. I have lots of weight to lose as I'm riddled head to toe with rheumatoid arthritis. I obviously need to lose weight and get fit to help the arthritis and my overall well being. I'm a little frightened that the gym instructor is not going to be clued up on RA, any ideas on how to approach this situation. I've lost my confidence, so this is well out of my comfort zone, but I need to get this sorted, but don't want to be negative on my first session telling them what I want to do! Any advice would be great.
Thanks

BigGuy47

Don't worry about what the instructor might think. The important thing is to get moving and keep moving. Once you establish a habit of regular exercise you should see some improvement with you mobility. I have psoriatic arthritis (similar to RA), I've been doing resistance training for a few years now. It has made a huge difference with my quality of life.

Good job on taking the first step. Again, don't concern yourself with what others might think. Know your body, learn when to push yourself and when you need to back off.

Qskim

I have Psoriatic Arthritis...been training three years...any trainer worth their mettle knows how to train around this. Get in on the good days, work around it on the bad.

Sidneysider

Hi, I am suffering from rheumatoid arthritis since 6 yrs. gained 25 kgs because of it. Started enbrel injection 2 weeks back. I don't know if it is some kind of magic, the pain has gone. But because of lack of mobility for these many years, i am not very flexible. Started working out a little. I never dared to workout before because of the terrible pain in every joint. Now I feel I can be happy again in my life. But there is a long journey ahead. I don't know how long it will take to gain my flexibility back.

DSFfit

Hello, I would like to know how its going for others dealing with arthritis. I am dealing with a lot of pain with any kind of activity. I thought I was just working out too much but even if I only walk I have pain. Suggestion?

svirds

Your gym instructor should be well versed in arthritis. If not, find another instructor. You are definitely headed in the right direction! Arthritis needs to move. Contrary to what our brains tell us when we are in pain, exercise is one of the best things you can do for it. Also look into an anti inflammatory diet - use the googles - I like Dr. Weil's approach. I had debilitating pain from RA and I can say with certainty that these are the things that have made me virtually pain free- running, biking, swimming, strength training, eating anti inflammatory, weight loss, and using Joint Vibrance. I very rarely experience any pain now. Food consumption is a big thing to look into - I didn't realize how foods impacted my pain until I started eating differently.

windfair

Hello, I also have RA. How is your gym journey going? The gym didn't work for me at first, but yoga was a good place for me to start. I noticed that when I practice yoga, I have much less pain and swelling. I try to go several times a week. When I first started back to yoga, it was only a few months after my second foot surgery, my right leg was considerably smaller and there wasn't any realistic hope that I would be able to perform the balance postures on that side. However, I found a fantastic studio and the perfect instructor. It is a slow process (2 1/2 years), but I am now able to do many of the postures. The best news is I noticed an overall improvement in my symptoms. I encourage any one with RA to try yoga. I can now walk a few miles without pain and never believed this would be possible, especially considering that at times I could barely walk. I have been on Methotrexate, Plaquenil, Prednisone, Embrel, Remicade, and Xeljanz. Does anyone else have any advice on activities to try? Thanks!

PeachyCarol

I have psoriatic arthritis and agree that exercise is one of the best things you can do for your condition. A good trainer should know how to work with your condition, and mine is fine with me telling him certain moves just aren't feeling right.

For those new to exercise, don't expect it to be pain free; it won't be. What it should be is bearable, and in small doses. Keep at it, and it will get better.

For those who are struggling with new things to try, do you have access to any sort of water fitness? I did aqua jogging this past summer and it was fantastic for me. When my contract is up with my current trainer, I'll be joining a gym with a deep water pool so that I can continue with it, but even gyms with shallower pools offer classes like aqua fitness, aqua aerobics, and aqua zumba.

Ang108

The3Harveys wrote: »

Hi everyone
I'm after some advice, I've just joined a gym, and have my induction tomorrow. I have lots of weight to lose as I'm riddled head to toe with rheumatoid arthritis. I obviously need to lose weight and get fit to help the arthritis and my overall well being. I'm a little frightened that the gym instructor is not going to be clued up on RA, any ideas on how to approach this situation. I've lost my confidence, so this is well out of my comfort zone, but I need to get this sorted, but don't want to be negative on my first session telling them what I want to do! Any advice would be great.
Thanks

I was diagnosed with RA in my last year of high school; almost 50 years ago. During that time I have walked with a cane, used a walker, have spent time in bed ( just a few weeks at a time each occasion ) and also was a competitive weight lifter for over 15 years in my 40's and 50's.
With autoimmune diseases you have to be flexible and do what you can, maybe with a small challenge, but not over do it.
One of the things that helped me greatly was the fact that until less than ten years ago I was normal weight. When I was diagnosed with Lupus and lost my thyroid to cancer I gained a lot of weight, mostly to inactivity and self pity eating.
I agree with other posters in that you need to listen more to your inner voice than to your trainer. A trainer is excellent ( hopefully ) in showing you how to do certain exercises, but only you know where your limits are.
I would also recommend that you try different things and find out what works under your circumstances and what you enjoy doing, because that helps a lot to stick to a program. I am not living in the US so I am not sure, but would assume you can find all kinds of advise for exercise with certain limitations. I did find material in German and SPanish and just assume that it is also available in English. Google is your friend.
For people with autoimmune diseases nothing is certain and therefore you need to be easy on yourself, without being complacent or lazy.
Since I am going on 70 and recently had two heart attacks caused by Lupus I now only walk. My lower limit is 30 minutes and anything more is great, but not a failure if I can't do it. I live at 7750 feet and sometimes the altitude makes things difficult, sometimes it's the famous pollution of Mexico City and sometimes I just don't have the best day and feel fatigued and I give myself permission to do less. The only thing I don't is give myself permission is eating more, because getting to a normal weight is equally or even more important than staying mobile with such a limiting disease. I have walked on my own without walker or cane for 26 month now, which for me is a great success.
I hope you find the kind of exercise regimen you enjoy and helps you stay /get in shape.
Good Luck !

PS: I also meditate every day for the last 25 years and it has done wonders for my mood and attitude towards chronic disease and pain.

katiechops89

Hi! I have also just started to go to the gym, and have RA.
The only advice I would say is stay away from high impact weight bearing exercises to start off with such as running if you, like me, have RA in your knees and ankles. My consultant has always said that exercise and keeping your weight down is very important for RA sufferers and things like swimming and cycling are completely fine and are often encouraged.
As others have said, the instructor should be clued up on conditions such as RA and will be able to tailor a training plan for you. Maybe just mention which joints you have the most challenges with and they will work around it.
Just take it easy, and I hope it works for you!

katiechops89

Hi! I have also just started to go to the gym, and have RA.
The only advice I would say is stay away from high impact weight bearing exercises to start off with such as running if you, like me, have RA in your knees and ankles. My consultant has always said that exercise and keeping your weight down is very important for RA sufferers and things like swimming and cycling are completely fine and are often encouraged.
As others have said, the instructor should be clued up on conditions such as RA and will be able to tailor a training plan for you. Maybe just mention which joints you have the most challenges with and they will work around it.
Just take it easy, and I hope it works for you!

46HealthyMe

I've had RA for 20 years now. My knees, ankles, hips and hands are the worst. I can't do any high impact stuff. I can do Stairclimber for 30 minutes at a time. Any longer has my knees regretting it the next day. I've found for me the AMT, elliptical and bike are best. Wish there was a pool I could use but no such luck.

GaleHawkins

@The3Harveys welcome to MFP forums.

I have Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) form of arthritis for 40 years and am now 64.

Last Aug (2014) the doctors wanted me to start Enbrel injections for pain management the first of Nov. After doing a lot of research on managing arthritis pain I decided to give up most all sugars and give up all grains. Come the first of Oct I still had not tapered off so I went off both sugars and grains cold turkey. That took my 7-8 pain level down to 2-3 levels in 30 days and that was nearly a year ago. I did not have to start Enbrel thankfully.

I mainly walk and do some range of motion stuff at home. With the AS pain well managed now without meds I am moving more and the weight is slowly slipping away. In six month my 40 years of IBS was cured.

Like the others have posted the cookie cutter stuff does not work for most of us. Going slow at first then backing off if things are really painful works OK for me. I still operate some heavy equipment as a hobby cleaning up our 15 acres of land and bush hogging. Being 50 pounds lighter now prevents hurting my knees and hips like I had for years.

You will find what works for you. As we all know we need to keep moving. Walking really works well for me. Due to my age I am NOT going to exercise to lose weight trying to prevent a future regains. I eat in a way that to manage my weight and pain and exercise to improve my health in general.

Best of success and adjusting active based on your body's feedback. They are calling for rain late tomorrow and I am droopy today because of the low pressure moving in so I am not pushing hard today.

desiresdestiny

I have osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease found out that I just need to find what works for me. I do Pilates, elliptical and some weights. But I listen to my body and work with my illness. Bottom line for me, I keep moving even if it's just a walking dvd.

The other day, my ankles and feet were so bad that I found a chair exercise video so I did no standing but still was sweating. I've learned to do what I can and listen to my body.