http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=817
"...wow, exercise is good for arthritis??"
...not that this is really a new idea, but it is nice to finally see research on the topic. However, I feel like it needs a little more explanation. Let's start with what arthritis actually is...
...in strict terms, arthritis is basically inflammation of the joints - but the term is now used to cover roughly a couple of hundred diseases that fall under this definition.
...most forms of arthritis tend to occur when something goes wrong with the structure of a particular joint - in some cases this can be due to a physical injury or overuse (which usually results in osteoarthritis or OA), an autoimmune disease that breaks down the tissue of the joint (rheumatoid arthritis or RA) or via infection (infectious or septic arthritis).
...now, each form of arthritis has different signs and symptoms - OA will generally begin with mild symptoms that develop over time: specific joint stiffness after use, a lack of flexibility in the joint itself and at times, a grating sensation. RA will tend to lead to more systemic and bilateral symptoms that will tend to affect the more distal joints, like the fingers and toes, pain in generally worse in the mornings and the joint itself will become swollen and red. Fatigue is extremely common in people with RA, and weight loss may often occur as a result. Infectious arthritis will usually present with a fever and other symptoms of illness, and the joint itself will be swollen and painful.
...in all forms there are common findings - joint stiffness, a breakdown of joint tissue and atrophy of muscles surrounding the joints...
"...Caolan, that's a lot of blah-blah...how will exercise actually help??"
...so let's breakdown those three major components and see how exercise and physical activity can help:
...joint stiffness can be aided with a regular stretching program that involves all of the major and minor muscles of the affected joint - the more thorough the stretching program is, the more relief the patient will feel...
...the breakdown of tissue surrounding the joint is a little more serious - to attempt to rebuild, or at least arrest the rate of tissue erosion, a long term exercise program needs to be in place. Understandably, most arthritis patients will actually find rigorous exercise to be painful so the program needs to be tailored to the individual. Generally, walking or exercising in water are the better ways to go - both have a decreased amount of impact on joints and provide the necessary weight bearing to increase skeletal tissue density...
...and resistance exercise will help prevent the atrophy of the muscles around the affected joint. The exercises need to be specific for the affected joint, and not compromise the affected joint further...
...as always - if you want to know more, ask your chiro...
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