rheumatoid arthritis

lucycat1

hi everyone .can my husband do gentle exercise with rheumatoid arthritis?any answers would be appreciated.

trepolpen

hi lucycat1 , welcome to the forum , as for Rheumatoid Arthritis it varies from person to person and you cant use a general rule .

if a joint is hot or inflamed then you should look after the joint , personaly I would talk to a professional like your rheumy nurse or physiotherapist

dreamdaisy

Of course he can but he may need to reinterpret the word 'exercise'. It may be worth your checking AC's publications on this (I am not clever enough to do the links :oops: ) and it would be sensible for him to have a chat with his rheumatologist too. How long has he had RA and what meds is he taking? DD

stickywicket

Hello lucycat1 and welcome from me, too.

For my money, exercise is essential though it must be the right kind and tailored to the situation. I'm pretty sure I'd, by now, be unable to walk if I didn't exercise daily. In fact, on one or two occasions, I've been taken into hospital for the express purpose of having various forms of exercise and treatments with the emphasis on maintaining the exercise regime afterwards.

Without exercise we don't just lost the use of our arthritic joints but we invite in other problems like heart disease, strokes and the 'added extras' that RA can bring. I have ridden horses (Riding for the Disabled only) with two hip and two knee replacements and adapted reins for my hands. I can't walk far these days but we take the wheelchair and I walk a bit and ride a bit.

Your husband's best bet is to ask for a referral to a physiotherapist as they can ensure he does the right exercises for his condition and current state. However, he won't go far wrong just by keeping to those in the Arthritis Care booklet. Just put 'exercises' into the pink search box near the top right of the page and the relevant booklet is 4th down on the left.

The golden rule is to do all the relevant ones regularly but only the 'range of movement' ones when flaring.

barbara12

Hello and welcome
Like the others have said exercise is very important,it would be good if your husband could get a referral to a physio they could go through some exercises with him..

ichabod6

Once upon a time a wise and respected tutor said I should think
of exercise as moving around. more. I did and still do, and in that respect
it has worked for me.

stickywicket

Sorry, ichabod, but for once I have to disagree. Moving about more will do nothing for shoulders and elbows, wrists and fingers. It will help some leg muscles but not others. Even doing stairs several times a day will only help most leg muscles if they are done 'the normal' way. Those of us who have to employ the toddlers' method won't use all the leg muscles.

I used to think that cooking, cleaning, laundering and ironing for my men would be enough. It wasn't. When joints are stiff and aching, and muscles are tired, we use them differently and the unused ones atrophy.

lucycat1

everyone for ur replies ,it has been very helpful

applerose

I totally agree with everything Sticky has said. I find if I sit for a short while, I stiffen up quite a lot but if I do some form of exercise, almost no stiffness. I also do some yoga to stretch out the muscles which aren't used in normal daily life. I used to run half marathons but think that is too much now as I have both RA and OA. My rheumie has however told me one of his patients is a runner and that I should continue. I think your rheumie and physio will give you the best advice for you.

hileena111

Hi
Yes he should exercise......I have OA not RA but its a matter of "use it or lose it"
But you must speak to your physiotherapist and get the correct sort of exercises. Or the AC exercise book...check that out.
I think his physio would be best and could tailor it to suit him
I do yoga as well......I have OA in spine hips ankle and neck and 2 THR's and one fracture of the greater trochanter bone because of osteoporosis.....8 months ago and I'm still on crutches!!!
My yoga LOL Is a class of "older ladies" is how she put it when I was starting ...a lot of it is standing up and doing various stretches or sitting and doing some exercises then a lot of them get their mats out and lie down and do some exercises but she adapts them for myself and another lady to do while sitting. If I lay flat I would never be able to get up again Spinal problems and then this fracture and 2 crutches so things can be adapted
Love
Hileena

pot80

I discussed this point with the rheumatologist a couple of years ago when I said that I got stiff after a walk.His reply was that walking was the very best exercise for me and providing I was not suffering a flare up then any stiffness was due to my age (now 80). I find now that I cannot keep up the pace that I used to so cover a shorter distance. As I still get enjoyment out of it I shall keep going as long as I can. I am sure the answer is stay within your limits but benefit from walking.