Exercise with arthritis

jantro

Hi all. Diagnosed with reactive arthritis in Jan, now on metoject but still waiting for remission. Previously pretty active - did triathlons (albeit not brilliantly) and was in the middle of XC race series when it started. Currently I can walk a few thousand steps a day but more than that and things flare up again. I can swim OK with my joints but live in rural Scotland and pool is pretty hard to get to and opening times are limited. Currently miles away from getting back to running/cycling. The lack of activity is driving me mad!!

I am missing running and cycling desperately and I need a glimmer of hope that I can get back to it - have any of you managed to get back to sport after inflammatory arthritis? How do I get my heart rate up in the mean time, and try to cling on to my remaining fitness? I need some positive vibes!

[Deleted User]

Hi Jantro and welcome to our forums.

Good to hear that you are on a course of treatment for your reactive arthritis and are hopefully looking forward to some level of remission.

We have a pretty comprehensive page on reactive arthritis on our website that you may like to check over:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/reactive-arthritis/

One of the best exercises to maintain is swimming, allows you to exercise while the water supports your weight. Also, stretching exercises keep the muscles and tendons that support the joint strong and supple.

It’s worth getting a referral to a physiotherapist by your rheumatology consultant or doctor who will then be able to advise you in your particular case.

Do keep us up to date on how you get on.

Best wishes
Brynmor

stickywicket

The good thing about ReA is that many people recover from it. The bad thing is that they, therefore, don't use these forums. You could enter the words in our search engine and find former threads.

Exercise is not only good but essential for any form of arthritis but there is good and bad exercise. Anything that stresses the joints is bad. That's why swimming is so good as the water supports us. I wonder if there are any private pools near you. I live in a semi-rural area where a large hotel will allow locals to use its pool. I used to swim in a pool belonging to a school out of school hours.

Heart rate? I've no idea. I used to do Riding for the Disabled. Not enough to get my heart rate up but then I couldn't gallop. Great for core muscle strength though.

dreamdaisy

I have it easy by comparison as I know I am never going to get better (psoriatic and osteoarthritis) so it is difficult to advise as I find walking unaided enough to set everything racing . As Sticky said those who have ReA do recover and, once better I guess there is no guarantee it won't return with the next infection so the focus then has to be on staying healthy. That involves suitable exercise, a sensible diet and avoiding ill people. I hope you have booked a flu jab, you are entitled to one as metoject suppresses the immune system.

Exercise-wise cycling is good as it is non weight-bearing, the same with swimming but I feel cycling is less faff. Walking is OK but not thirty mile hikes or rambles, do it time-based so maybe two thirty minute sessions a day. Learn to listen to your body, when you think you can do more then it's time to stop. Depending on how you are affectecd then maybe gym work could be an option, I do what I can there when I can (which isn't much and never often) but at least it gives me the illusion of doing something positive by making everything hurt more. Good luck and I hope you shake it all off within a year. DD