Exercises and joint pain relief

When one is in pain, the last thing you really want to do is to exercise. The throbbing or ache anytime you move makes you think twice about stressing the joint further.

Many people are afraid that exercises will increase their pain or cause further damage to their joint but the fact is that joints are designed to move. Limiting exercises will only make the joint more painful and stiff as the muscles and surrounding tissues which support the joints are weakened due to increased inactivity.

There are many conditions that may lead to painful joints including osteoarthritis, old injuries, repetitive or overly forceful movements during sports or work, posture problems, aging and inactivity. The right set of exercises however can be a long lasting way to tame a knee or shoulder pain by strengthening key supportive muscles and restoring flexibility.

In addition, regular exercises will stimulate production of your body’s own natural pain relieving hormones known as the endorphins.

Before you commence any exercise programme it is advisable to consult your Physiotherapist who will, depending on your condition, draw up an appropriate exercise program for you. Please be cautious with exercises downloaded from the internet as they might not be suitable for you. If your pain is quite severe, your Physiotherapist can use some modalities such as the cold or hot packs, TENS, Infra red lamp to help reduce pain.

While these modalities may offer quick reliefs, fixes like these are usually temporary.

There are usually 3 types of exercises your Physiotherapist will expose you to.

Range of motion exercises

These exercises involve moving the joints through the normal range of movement such as raising your arms over your head or bending your knee backward. They relieve stiffness and increase your ability to move your joints better. These exercises should be done daily.

Strengthening exercises

Weight training is an example of a strengthening exercise that can help you build strong muscles that help support and protect your joints. Do your strengthening exercises everyday but take an extra day if your joints are painful or if you notice swelling.

Aerobic or endurance exercises

This is to help with your over all fitness and improve your cardiovascular health, help you control your weight and give you stamina to get through the day. Examples include walking, riding a bike or swimming. You can carry out the aerobic exercises in addition to the strength and range of motion exercises.

Beyond the benefits to your joints, becoming more active is good for your heart especially if you have a sedentary job. Exercises sharpens the mind, it nudges blood pressure down and morale up, eases stress and shaves off unwanted kilograms. Most importantly it lessens your risk of dying prematurely and will help you age gracefully.

To protect your joints, start off your exercise programme slowly to ease the joints into exercise especially if you haven’t been active for a while. If you push too hard you might overwork the muscles and worsen the joint pain. If you feel pain following your exercises, take as break and use ice especially if the exercises caused some swelling.