arthritis friendly exercises

DWilbanks

Hi, my name is Debbie. I need to loose quite a lot, and have joined to get motivation. I have arthritis in both knees and both hips. Does anyone have any arthritis friendly exercises that I can do to get a good workout?

surfrgrl1

Welcome to MFP. You might check out Jane Fonda's new DVD Fit and Strong. No floor exercises, some done with the help of a chair. I'm not very flexible and found it to be pretty easy going.

melmccabe

Do you have access to a gym? I also have a lot to lose as well as recovering from a serious microfracture knee surgery. I find using the recumbent bikes and a recumbent cross-trainer as well as water aerobics in therapy pools to be easy on my bad knee and are also gentle on your hips.

miadvh

You can try searching on prevention.com
They have lots of articles and exercises to look through.

suzikay

Hi, Debbie!
Welcome to MFP. Sorry to hear you have arthritis too. I'm having a total hip replacement in three weeks, which was a great incentive to start losing weight and get fitter. Since the end of June I've managed to lose 21lbs, even though I've not been able to exercise all of that time for various health reasons. However, I must say that swimming is great because it helps to maintain and increase the range of movement in diseased joints without too much stress to them or the rest of your body, and the water helps because you're not actually weight-bearing. I tried an aquarobics class (water aerobics on MFP) yesterday, and that was quite good, too. You're better off doing exercise that tones and increases flexibility rather than going for the burn via high impact activity. Gentle walking is good, too, even if you can't manage far. Every little helps. If you try too hard you put yourself at risk of failing by causing pain and inflammation, so it's a case of gently and slowly increasing activity as you can cope with it. Your bones will certainly begin to feel the benefits of carrying less weight and getting more exercise quite quickly - I know I am feeling much better, and looking forward to continuing my journey to a healthy weight and fitness after my operation. Good luck to you!

TeaBea

Check your local library or exercisetv.com for Leslie Sansone videos (Start! Walking 1 Mile is free on Exercise TV).

These are fast walking - but you can do these walking videos at your own pace - very low impact. Take a look at a sample first & see if it will work for you.

webdiva1

Hey there: If there's any way you can manage it, find a gym or the Y or something that has a pool, and start walkin'.

Seriously ... before and after total knee replacement (both knees), walking and stretching in the water and water aerobics were the best exercises ever for me. The water simply takes loads of pressure off joints.

Good for you for going after it!

mmelledge

Hello,

I just joined myfitnesspal today. I'm pleased to see an active community on the boards! I also have arthritis (psoriatic) in pretty much my entire body. I plan to start slow: walking when I can and using the stationary bike at my apartment complex's small fitness room ($35 gives me access for the duration of my lease and it's right next door).

I have done deep water exercise in the past. It is great when the joints are bothering you. Unfortunately, it's not in my budget right now.

Any more tips are greatly appreciated!

DWilbanks

Thanks, I appreciate it! I've been doing some water workouts in my pool because my doctor said that it's the best for my knee, but with winter coming up I had to find a better route. I'll have to check the ymca by my area and see how they look. Looks like swiming is still the best way to go so I don't put too much pressure on my hips and knee's. I appreciate everyone's advice!!

bluebird321

I have arthritis in the hips and shoulders -- hot yoga (bikram yoga) works best for me. The heat and static nature of the poses makes a big difference.