Which Sports/Exercises Are Less Likely To Bother My Arthritis?

 

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Question: Which sports/exercises are less likely to bother my arthritis?

Answer: Well, there's been a revolution in aerobic exercise is certainly useful and there are even some studies suggesting that strength training and weightlifting may be of use. But with this, I would suggest that you be cautious and at least speak to your doctor and your healthcare provider before deciding to do either of those.

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Now, most sports involve a mixture of those two activities -- so certainly aerobic activities like swimming; there are aqua exercises that often are sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation, that do not include swimming, but include exercising in the pool; these are heartily recommended by most rheumatologists and physicians.

Bicycling may be useful, but exercises that put the body at risk, and sports that may cause injury are ones that I think most of us would probably caution you against. I certainly have patients in Arizona that do extensive hiking and long-distance bicycling. And as long as this doesn't cause them undue discomfort and they take medications to help control their disease activity, we usually encourage these.

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