- by Kelly Miller
- 3 minute read
Exercise and Arthritis!
Written By: Coach MJThe past five years have seen a lot of changes in the way I move, exercise and work. It started out with a nagging pain shooting down my leg and times where it felt like the leg would give out on me – how awkward to be walking across the road and almost falling over in the middle of town! When it didn’t go away I made the call and got it looked into…arthritis in the right hip, nothing major at this point but something to keep an eye on. Fast forward three years and the next x-ray was a totally different story: bone on bone and severe pain majority of the time. It was affecting my quality of life, work and limiting many activities I wanted to be able to do.
Chronic pain also plays a major role in mental health even though I didn’t recognize this till later.
One major factor that kept me moving was my gym family at Degree Fitness Seaforth. As hard as it was to admit that I couldn’t always do the prescribed workout of the day, my coaching team always came up with a plan to move in a way that would work for me in a safe but effective way. Keeping moving and working on strength training not only helped me keep moving better but was a major help in the recovery process. It is still a work in progress since having a total hip replacement but each day is a step in the right direction. It is like starting over again, relearning what my body can do or changing ways that work best to build up the strength and confidence to be my best.
Arthritis is different for everyone, but in short arthritis affects the joints, tissues around the joint and causes stiffness and pain.
It can be caused by an injury, wear and tear on the joint or genetics. It has no age limit and affects young and old.
When we are sore it makes it easier to want to slow down and move less to keep the pain to a minimum. But the opposite is true – exercising the proper way will help ease pain, strengthen the surrounding muscles and keep joints moving better. By building strong support around the joints it can help in pain management, it helps in maintaining a healthy weight and gives more energy to do your daily activities.
As always when starting an exercise program you will want to check with your doctor to make sure you are cleared to exercise. At Degree, with your permission, we can work with you and your health care professionals to build a program that works best for you. Exercise is not one size fits all; the more we work together, the better we can help you reach your goals!
Our fitness journey will always be a work in progress as we move forward to be the best that we can be. It comes with bumps in the road but the key is to keep working together to jump over the bumps.