Arthritis and exercise help!

jenneal89
jenneal89 Posts: 243
in Fitness and Exercise
My mother-in-law has severe arthritis in one hip and needs a hip replacement but needs some exercises to do to get her weight down. Any good sites that have resistence band workouts or workouts in general? I've found some arm and ab moves but was hoping for something that could get her heart rate up a bit more. Its painful to do much walking so even going for a stroll isn't an option for her and she'd like to drop around 20lbs. Any ideas? Thanks!

Edit: She is working on eating healthier as well and has been for a few months but really needs some form of exercise to help her shift the weight.

Replies

  • gooellie
    gooellie Posts: 39
    my grandma too she goes to the senior center and they have super water down fitness classes for her to try and they tell them not to do the moves if there to pain full
  • fatty_to_fitty
    fatty_to_fitty Posts: 544 Member
    swimming is great for this as there is less pressure. Using floats as resistance in the water helps to build up strength.
  • kissedbytheocean
    kissedbytheocean Posts: 131 Member
    My mom has severe arthritis in her hips and knees, so pretty much any standing exercise is out of the question. Swimming is even out of the question, despite it being good for those with arthritis.

    She bought a workout tape of Amazon called Sit Tight by Richard Simmons. She said it really got her heart rate up because of all the upper body movements. Maybe you could give that or another similar chair workout video a try.
  • jenneal89
    jenneal89 Posts: 243
    Bump for even more ideas :)
  • jenneal89
    jenneal89 Posts: 243
    Bump for when more people may be on
  • jenneal89
    jenneal89 Posts: 243
    Bump once more for any more ideas.

    Swimming is great but I doubt she would agree to that since she'd have to go somewhere before or after work, unfortunately
  • StarIsMoving
    StarIsMoving Posts: 437
    Speaking from experience - my mom, me, my 16 yr old; all have bad RA. My daughter got the worst of it though and just had a complete knee replacement and is now looking at a full wrist fusion and an ankle replacement...at 16. My best advice is if it hurts too badly for walking, then she shouldn't do it, it will only deteriorate the joint further while waiting for surgery. If she is looking for exercise though, upper body would be great. She can use hand weights and do anything upper body on You Tube (so she has a free source)... they also sell hand pedal bikes through companies like Harriet Carter. You set it on the table and use your arms and hands to pedal away - it's cardio cause it gets heart rate going...and depending on how far in front of her she puts it, can also help with her core. Physical therapy would also be something she could look into. They are trained to help her keep moving for the other lower joints without doing more damage. Just some food for thought :) Good luck to her!
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
    I was going to suggest swimming too.

    Also, I don't know if they have a similar project where she lives but here we have a "Yoga for All" scheme where they run yoga classes for people who are older/less mobile with modified positions using chairs etc as props.
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
    Swimming is awesome work for her if she has access to a pool. Not necessarily even swimming, but water aerobics or even water walking. I do this as my main workout every day and easily lost 24 pounds in 3 months.

    Other ideas-

    Abs and upper body circuit with weights
    This is a bit of ad hoc that I do when my knees are killing me.

    Warm up in an armless chair-sit on the very edge of the seat and do punches-quick jabs and crosses-to warm up 2 mins or so
    Alternate types of crunches on the floor-regular, oblique, reverse, tilts, whatever doesn't hurt her hip too much. In between, use hand weights to do chest fly, tricep extension, and chest press.

    By alternating the weights and the crunches her heart rate should stay up. Halfway through, get back int he chair and do more punches. Change it up and have fun.

    Hope that gives some ideas.

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