3 Types of Exercises Best for Seniors With Arthritis

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3 Types of Exercises Best for Seniors With Arthritis

Arthritis can inflame your joints because of lifelong wear and tear, making them brittle. It’s a common yet incurable disease affecting millions of Americans.

On average, 47.30% of seniors have doctor-diagnosed arthritis. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with this disease, you would want to learn more about managing the associated pain.

According to the CDC, low-impact exercises can improve joint performance and ease arthritis pain in older adults. A well-crafted workout plan for arthritis patients can help keep their joints moving, decrease pain, and make the muscles stronger.

In this blog, we will list different types of exercises perfect for people who have arthritis.

#1. Hand Exercises: For Patients With Arthritis in Their Wrists

Reports suggest that hand dexterity significantly decreases in people over the age of 65. That means you won’t be able to perform daily functions due to issues with finger tapping, wrist flexion, aiming, stability, etc. Most of these are predominant in people with arthritis. That’s why you’ll need exercises to maintain finger and hand flexibility.

The workouts beneficial for your hand and wrist joints include the following:

Closing and Opening Your Fists

Ball your hand slowly into the shape of a fist. Hold it for a few seconds. Then, release and relax your fingers. Consider repeating this ten times in each hand.

Wrist Bends

Rest your elbow somewhere flat and point your hand towards the ceiling. After that, push your open palm slowly with the other hand until you feel pain. Hold this stretch for a few seconds before releasing.

The ‘O’ Exercise

For this, you’ll need to attempt making an ‘O’ shape with your fingers. Bend your thumb to gently touch all your fingers to increase flexibility in your joints.

#2. Joint Exercises: For Patients With Arthritis Pain in Their Hips, Ankles, or Knees

Doing these exercises will help stretch your leg muscles and gently move your hips to relieve pain. Moreover, you will gain a full range of motion in your ankle joints by relieving muscle tension.

You can perform these workouts while sitting on the bed, floor, chair, or near the staircase without any special equipment.

Stretching

To perform stretching exercises, you’ll need to extend your legs in front while sitting. After that, you have to slowly bend forward with your body. It will put light pressure on your hips as you try to touch your feet. Yes, stretching can bring mobility to your leg joints and hips.

Step-Ups

While standing near a staircase, place one leg on the bottom and push yourself up one step (like you’re climbing the stairs). Once done, you’ll need to look carefully and move backward off the step. Repeat the process a few times to bring flexibility to your ankles and knees. But remember to hold the banister for proper balance.

Ankle Circles

This exercise will help stretch your ankle joints. All you have to do is raise one foot slightly off the floor while sitting. Point your toes upwards and move your foot in a circular motion. Do it five times, in each direction, for both feet.

#3. Full Body Exercises: For Patients With Arthritis in Multiple Areas of Their Body

Some exercises can be challenging when you have arthritis in multiple areas of your body. That’s why you need soothing workouts that will stretch and strengthen your muscles. For instance, you will need low-impact workouts that enhance flexibility, reduce muscle stress, and help improve balance.

The types of full-body exercises for arthritis include the following:

Chair Yoga

Did you know that trying out chair yoga can improve blood circulation, help lower blood pressure, and enhance muscle strength? You can try different types, including overhead stretch, reverse arm hold, neck stretch, seated forward bend, chair pigeon, and more.

 To get the most out of this type of yoga, you’ll need a sturdy chair, a level surface, comfortable clothing, and an experienced instructor.

Swimming

According to Versus Arthritis, swimming can reduce muscle stiffness by stimulating blood circulation to ease pain. Water reduces the weight on your joints, making it easy to perform aerobic exercises.

It can also help you strengthen your cardiovascular health and make your joints more flexible.

Tai Chi

Many patients don’t know that Tai Chi can help alleviate pain caused by arthritis. For example, 67-year-old Betty Broderick decreased her knee pain by taking regular Tai Chi classes. This form of meditative exercise focuses on deep breathing and gentle movements. That’s why it can improve your overall balance and flexibility over time.

In conclusion, people over the age of 65 are more likely to develop arthritis because of deteriorating bone health and low energy. Once diagnosed, you’ll slowly develop severe joint pain, swelling, stiffness, etc.

Therefore, you’ll need to perform exercises to reduce the effects of these issues. For instance, if you have arthritis in every joint, you should focus on chair yoga or swimming. Similarly, pain in your hands will call for fist or wrist exercises. You should also do stretching exercises and ankle circles to reduce joint pain in the lower part of your body.

But before anything, remember to consider hiring a physical therapist and consulting a doctor to get the best workout plan.