Exercise advice needed for disabled person with chronic arthritis pain

lilac21

Hi, can anyone offer advice for someone who has restricted mobility due to arthritis? I have always been overweight but over the last year I have gained an extra 2.5st. My arthritis is in my ankles, knees, hips and lower back and some days I find even walking difficult, I realise that being overweight is adding to my mobility difficulties and really want to do something about it but need advice on how to exercise when I am in pain

SarahPeters3

If your can get access to a pool swimming or jogging in the water is best to take pressure off all of your joints and since you do have limited mobility your diet will be extra important in losing weight try to cut out extra sugars and eat healthy you'll lose weight even without exercise!

aub6689

I would really recommend lifting, stretching, walking, elliptical, pool exercises, biking, etc.
Lifting-because you can modify it for you. If one exercise hurts your joints, do another, alternate the angle, the weight, etc. Also, strengthening the muscles around your joints should help take some of the load off of them.

Stretching because a lot of joint pain can be caused not only by impact, but also by tight muscles. It is important to stretch a lot especially when beginning and you can do things like yoga that will build core strength and give you a stretch and workout.

Walking-because you can modify the pace and do it for a longer period of time and it is something you have to do daily anyway, so why not become better at it.

Elliptical, biking, pool will help you get your heart rate up while taking a lot of the impact off your joints. This will help you work your cardiovascular system even if the weight comes off more slowly so your joints aren't ready to pick up the pace to jog.

Most importantly, it is a lot more efficient to lose weight by controlling your diet. You can't out exercise a bad diet. Most workouts burn less than the calories of your average fast food menu option. So log and watch your food primarily and incorporate exercise for fitness primarily instead of weight loss.