Physical treatments for painful conditions — stretching and strengthening exercises, cardiovascular exercise, splints, physical aids, and more — are a cornerstone of self-management. Learn how they can help
Foot Health: Keep Walking for a Lifetime
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If you live to be 80, it is estimated that you will have walked around 150 million steps in your lifetime! To calculate how many steps you have already walked, multiply 5,117 steps (the number the average American walks per day) by 365 days per year, and then multiply that number by your present age. […]
Stretching
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If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a hundred times: To keep those joints moving, do your stretching exercises. But stretching tends to be low on the exercise totem pole for many people. Here’s why it shouldn’t be, along with tips on how to stretch properly and a few exercises to help you get […]
Resources for Walkers
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Walking, one of the simplest and most ordinary forms of exercise, is also one of the most beneficial and enjoyable. People with arthritis may find it particularly helpful. Why is walking such a good choice? First of all, walking is good for you. It can help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and reduce […]
Exercises for Hip Osteoarthritis
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Your hips play an important role in many everyday activities, from sitting down to standing up, from walking to climbing stairs, from tying your shoelaces to cutting your toenails. If you have osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip, you know that pain and stiffness can make these activities difficult to do. You may avoid exercise because […]
The Dangers of Inactivity
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A few weeks ago I met with my friend Ed, who has lived with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for 40 years. Ed has so many artificial joints he calls himself the bionic man. He doesn’t move too fast these days. But Ed is a top-notch and passionate bird photographer, and over the years he’s been creative […]
Chair Exercise
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To many people, growing older means that life will slowly go downhill — but it doesn’t have to be that way. The picture we have of normal aging as a time of gradual loss of function isn’t necessarily accurate. While aging is inevitable, loss of function isn’t. Much of the decline in our ability to […]
Working With an Occupational Therapist
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If stiff or painful joints, recent surgery, or illness or injuries prevent you from carrying out your day-to-day activities, you may be a candidate for occupational therapy. An occupational therapist (OT) is trained to assist you with your “occupation.” Occupation in this sense refers broadly to those duties and activities that you perform on a […]
Sneaking In Exercise
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Everywhere you turn, it seems, you are constantly being told about the benefits of exercising. At every doctor’s visit, in the news, and in the magazines at the grocery checkout stand, we are all told that we must exercise. Why? Are the benefits really that impressive? The short answer is yes. Exercise strengthens the muscles, […]
What Is Yoga?
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Perhaps when you hear the word “yoga,” you envision women in spandex with Madonna-like biceps, sweating as they contort into pretzel positions. Or maybe, if you lived through the 1960’s, you think of the bearded Beatles, sitting around chanting with a guru in long robes. In fact, both of these caricature images of yoga have […]
Pilates
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You have probably heard about the exercise method known as Pilates (Pi-LAH-teez). Nowadays it seems that Pilates is everywhere you look, and you may be wondering what all the hype is about. Is it a fad? A cult? Do you need to be able to touch the back of your head with your heels to […]
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