As low impact to all joints as swimming but not swimming

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CarvedTones
CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is this a fantasy exercise regimen I am looking for? I have systemic arthritis flares (pretty much any/every joint). Full system flares are very infrequent, but flaring up where I do a lot of motion (exercise) is all too common. For example, last winter I started Nordic walking. I likely did push a little harder than I should to get to a brisk pace. By spring, the poles were replaced with a cane, but the cane was back in the closet by summer. Leisurely walks are okay as is slow cycling. But I really don't get much toning out of that. Swimming makes the most sense but just isn't practical for me. What else is there?

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  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,216 Member
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    Have you tried rowing/ergometer?
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    steveko89 wrote: »
    Have you tried rowing/ergometer?

    Impact may not have been the best word. Rowing tends to aggravate the shoulders and can cause costochondritis (inflammation of cartilage in the chest wall) flares. I can get away with some light use.

    I keep going back the "what if" of Nordic walking without pushing to walk so briskly.
  • ISweat4This
    ISweat4This Posts: 653 Member
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    Recumbent bicycle, NuStep...
  • iamthemotherofdogs
    iamthemotherofdogs Posts: 562 Member
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    Bicycle, something like a cruiser or recumbent so you can not have to put excess pressure on your hands/arms/rear. Simple yoga.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    Nordic skiing?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    Flow yoga or a light gymnastics based program if you can tolerate it may help you get to the point where your joints are better supported by the surrounding musculature.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    edited November 2017
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    The flow yoga looks like a possibility. Holding a pose for more than a brief interval not so much, but linking them in smooth calisthenics looks like it could work. Thanks!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    I would suggest aqua fit, but it looks like a pool is a bit inconvenient, so I will go with yoga.

    I do Iyengar yoga. It focuses on body alignment using props for support when needed.

    If you go the yoga route, do shop around for a studio and yogi that suits you and your needs.

    You could also look at doing a body weight programme to help with strength.
    Nerdfitness ( my fav as it is simple), 'you are your own gym', and 'convict conditioning' are all good. You would start with your capabilities now and build to doing the programme as written.

    Have you seen a physical therapist to help you find exercises that would be compatable with your restrictions?
    It may be worth the visit.

    Cheers, h.
  • hyIianprincess
    hyIianprincess Posts: 302 Member
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    I have arthritis too pretty much everywhere as well. I use therabands (not for long periods since gripping makes me stiff) and ankle/wrist weights. It's not a lot of resistance, but I feel like I've built a little bit of muscle. I would also suggest yoga or even pilates. Pilates was great, but I had to stop during my latest flare.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    Yeah I have some therabands around here somewhere from my last stint in PT to help me get rid of the cane in the spring. I never really felt like they tone me all that much but I guess they did help me get some strength back. I know there are whole regimens with nothing but therabands and a doorknob. I should look some up. The likelihood of injuring myself or causing a flare with a theraband is pretty low. As much as I love Nordic walking, the trouble with it is when I figure out I need to stop I might be a half mile from the house. The yoga sounds good but requires a class or video learning and there are almost too many choices. I may take a class at the community center though; we'll see. Now to look for the therabands...
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited November 2017
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    hyIianprincess wrote: »
    I have arthritis too pretty much everywhere as well. I use therabands (not for long periods since gripping makes me stiff) and ankle/wrist weights. It's not a lot of resistance, but I feel like I've built a little bit of muscle. I would also suggest yoga or even pilates. Pilates was great, but I had to stop during my latest flare.

    Barbell training is more effective than therabands for stiff hands/fingers.

    You wouldn't build any muscle with bands though. Might notice a very slight strength gain though as you adapt to the resistance.

  • hyIianprincess
    hyIianprincess Posts: 302 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    hyIianprincess wrote: »
    I have arthritis too pretty much everywhere as well. I use therabands (not for long periods since gripping makes me stiff) and ankle/wrist weights. It's not a lot of resistance, but I feel like I've built a little bit of muscle. I would also suggest yoga or even pilates. Pilates was great, but I had to stop during my latest flare.

    Barbell training is more effective than therabands for stiff hands/fingers.

    You wouldn't build any muscle with bands though. Might notice a very slight strength gain though as you adapt to the resistance.

    I’m sure it does but I personally can’t due to being extremely hyper mobile. I have dislocations daily. I have to keep it light. But yeah, I haven’t noticed a significant amount of muscle from therabands, but that’s what my PT therapist is having me do
  • Jancandoit7
    Jancandoit7 Posts: 356 Member
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    I'm 60- lots of aches and pains- some arthritis- pain in knees- walking is what makes me feel the best. Some days I'm really dragging, other days I'm speeding along full of energy. Walking in nature is great for the immune system as well (trails in woods, ocean, etc.). Trees actually give off chemicals that are very healing-the Japanese call it "forest bathing" -look it up-no lie! I live near a beautiful state park so always walk trails through the woods.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Cycling is easy on the joints as long as you use a gear that is easy to push at a high cadence.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited November 2017
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    i have rheumatoid arthritis which used to give me a fair bit of aggravation. tried the universal panacea of 'swimming' and other water based excercises and hated it. hated it. to this day when people auto-react to the word 'arthritis' with 'swimming' i have this atavistic urge to go all three-stooges on them.

    i bought my first as-an-adult bike because of r.a. because standing around hurt my feet and walking hurt them even more and i was sick of it. so idk if that would work for you, but i do basically have times when i explain my biking everywhere as 'it's like a wheelchair, only without the parking hassles.'
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I do cycle some and probably should more. It's a little spookier this time of year as a lot of it will be after dark. But I have the safety lights and a decent route that is all bike path or neighborhood with a fair number of street lights. The concern I have with cycling and even walking is being a distance from home when one of my knees starts talking to me; it can be screaming by the time I get home. Cycling is probably better than walking in that regard since I could push harder with the better knee (not always the same one) and coast some.

    Another downside (sort of; really just not optimal) is that I have pretty muscular legs. When I have ridden recently I did not have trouble with some fairly long steep climbs (in low gear, but still had me burning). But I am paying the price for the aggressive climbs with knee pain. I really need upper body work. I may have to carefully try barbells and stay below what causes a flare.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    CarvedTones wrote: »
    Another downside (sort of; really just not optimal) is that I have pretty muscular legs. When I have ridden recently I did not have trouble with some fairly long steep climbs (in low gear, but still had me burning). But I am paying the price for the aggressive climbs with knee pain.

    i gotcha. being a cyclist i know the whole 'tight quads' thing. you MIGHT find that that improves if you work to bring up your hamstrings and glutes to the same general strength level, for what that's worth. it depends on the type of knee pain and of course all the ymmv stuff applies. but i have most definitely been there with way overactive quads causing me to think that i'd ruined my knees. stretching them out does help - just be careful with some because it's also possible to stretch the front of your hip capsule instead of the muscle itself. but balancing the strength front to back has been a big helper for me.

    with cycling, i'm on my third or fourth 'real' bike by this point and i absolutely hold out for at least 27 gears. might not be what everyone needs, and it's not even what i need a lot of the time. but i want the range for the times and the routes where it is what i need.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    i'll mention that i love lifting because there's a component to it that is almost meditative. certainly it's possible to wreck yourself, at least temporarily. but most of the time, i take four times as long to settle my setup just right as i take to do the actual rep i've been setting up for. unlike a ride up a hard hill, you can take all the time that you need to interrogate the various muscles and tendons etc, and make sure that they're all in a nice solid place before you add load onto them. try to do that on a bike and you'll fall down :tongue:

    may be info overload at this point, but as far as lifting programmes go: i started with linear 5x5 and then 3x5 programmes, then did the wendler 5/3/1 for the best part of a year. but i've had one joint/soft tissue thing or another going on pretty much all of this year, and my trainer recently switched me onto something he says he often uses for 'rehab' people. it's called the hepburn solution, if you're curious. idk if it's appropriate for a newbie, but i'm pretty close to becoming a rabid fan of 'short' sets for people with joint and connective tissues to try and care for.

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