Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Photo: Shaju JOhn

Exercise everyday It makes joints more flexible

Pain is one of the most common barriers to exercise. Although it is never wise to exercise with an active injury, it is also true that exercise is an effective antidote to the chronic pain of degenerative ailments such as osteoarthritis and inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

Exercise lessens pain by several means. One important mechanism is that strong muscles help take the weight off a worn out or inflamed joint. Weak muscles lead to further joint damage. Regular exercise also helps burn excess fat, and this reduces the load on joints and muscles.

Exercise makes joints more flexible, and flexible joints move more fluidly and less painfully.

Nothing elicits the body’s endorphin response more reliably than a brisk workout. The body’s natural painkillers, endorphins, reduce stress and create a sense of well being. They reduce depression and anxiety and alleviate chronic pain. The more regularly one exercises, the more energy one has for other physical activities.

Finally, exercise improves general health, and slows down many diseases that make chronic pain conditions worse. These include diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

When you have a chronically painful condition, some exercises are good for you, and some are not. Swimming, walking and cycling are good exercises for most painful joints. Running, jumping and other aerobic activities worsen joint pains. Targeted weight training is excellent for building muscles around a joint.

Before beginning a programme of exercise, it is necessary to see a doctor to establish the safety of exercise. It is important to stay within the limits prescribed by a physician.

Injuries sustained during exercise tend to be more serious in those who already have chronic musculoskeletal ailments.

It is important to exercise slowly and steadily and focus more on range of movement than on power.

Warm up and cool down are just as important in those with chronic pain. Split a long exercise session into a few short ones. This will preserve energy as well as enthusiasm for exercise.

Set short-term goals as well as long-term ones. Because exercise is of lower intensity, weight loss and muscle development tends to be correspondingly slower, but is no less important. Finally, if exercise is increasing the intensity of pain rather than decreasing it, it is important to stop and seek medical attention.

RAJIV M.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

---

---