Exercise can provide many benefits for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) because when done well, it treats the root cause of symptoms; chronic systemic inflammation. When exercising or moving is stressful, however, even the thought of exercising can put you in a stress state. It feels better not to move when exercising is painful, tiring, and discouraging. This state of stress and prolonged times of stillness are pro-inflammatory and thus create more symptoms of RA Doing too much exercise too soon is also pro-inflammatory. The key to optimizing rheumatoid arthritis by exercising well is to make sure exercise keeps you in the anti-inflammatory zone. In this article, I share the 3 steps to optimize how you exercise with RA
Click the image to listen to the podcast on taking the stress out of exercising with RA
Benefits and Challenges of Exercising with Rheumatoid Arthritis
If you have RA, you likely hear a lot of advice about how to help reduce symptoms. Exercising is certainly top of the listed because it is known to improve:
Strength
Flexibility
Pain
Inflammation
Energy
Weight
Balance
Mood
Sleep
However, exercising comes with many challenges when you have RA too.
Pain, especially at the start. That makes it difficult to get and stay motivated. Its difficult to choose to do something that will make pain worse when you are living with chronic pain.
Deconditioning. The loss of mobility, strength, and stamina that happens with flare-ups is the invisible side effect of every illness. You might not notice it until you start feeling better and go to do something and your body has more pain or fatigue. This makes it increasingly harder to keep up with those you love and do what you enjoy.
Side effects of medication and associated conditions of RA affect your mood, energy, sleep, and motivation, making it harder to be motivated
These challenges mean just the thought of exercising can put you in the stress state. That state is pro-inflammatory. Too much or too little exercise can keep you there making exercise less effective for RA. Exercising well means staying in the healing zone, or the Well State rather than the stress state. This is how exercise treats the chronic systemic inflammation of RA.
3 Steps to Optimize How You Exercise with RA
Plan Well
Take an inventory of what is going well and what is challenging right now. Click the box below for a form to guide you
Identify what physical activities are most important for you to be able to do with more ease right now
Choose exercises that mimic those movements
Plan a balance of each type of exercise
Mobility moments once or more a day (stretching, balance, agility)
Functional strength moves twice a week
Stamina exercise (walk, dance, bike, swim, etc) three times a week
Start well
Start at a level for the intensity, duration, and frequency that will be in a pain-free or pain-reducing range
Start a the lightest level for each exercise
Range of motion for mobility
Strength movements with no resistance strength
Cardiovascular exercise at a light breathing level
Do a brief bout for each type.
Ie: a minute or so of stretching, a few repetitions of strength 1-5 minutes of cardiovascular
Write down what you did and how you felt before, during, and after exercising
If you feel better (less pain, more energy), continue to progress well
If you notice an increase in pain or fatigue the next day wait a day and then try each type at a lower duration and intensity.
Progress well
The body can adapt to a 5-10% increase in exercise a week. This is a very small increase. Keep a flexible mindset to progress. Progressing well does not mean doing more every day, it means adjusting so you stay in the anti-inflammatory zone.
Many factors affect inflammation, some out of your control. Over time you will likely notice improvements in your mobility strength and stamina. The day-to-day adjusting of the variables to stay in the anti-inflammatory zone is what allows your body to use exercise to reduce symptoms and improve function.
Continue to learn from pain and fatigue signals in your body to adjust the frequency, duration, intensity, and type of each exercise so it keeps you in the anti-inflammatory zone
Notice your mobility, strength, and stamina as you do movements of daily life. Keep what you do for exercise closely connected to the movements you want to do with more ease.
Takeaways of exercising well with RA
Exercise can provide numerous benefits for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, including pain reduction, increased flexibility, and improved mood and sleep.
Exercising with RA can be challenging due to pain, limited mobility, and associated conditions.
Exercising in the well state, with a focus on mobility, strength, and stamina, can help lower inflammation and improve overall well-being.
It's important to listen to your body, progress gradually, and make adjustments based on your individual needs and limitations.
Plan, start and progress in the well state rather than the stress state by doing each phase mindfully, adjusting based on what your body, brain and heart are telling you about how to Be Well Now with RA.
If you are looking for guidance to optimize how you use exercise to feel and function better with RA, the Start Well program is for you. Choose professional or self-coaching and do this step-by-step program to ensure you are exercising in the well state. Click here to learn more and start today.