Arthritis and exercise

[Al195]

Does anyone struggle with exercise due to arthritic knees? Any suggestions would be great as walking is difficult fir me. Thanks

[S11m]

Hi, Al195 , welcome.

(Intermittent) Fasting helps with Arthritis.

If you "slim smart" weight loss is not so hard! It is not all about motivation and masochism.

Some of us here find that what works is a combination of The Low Carbohydrate, High-Fat (LCHF) diet (see the forum here on Health Unlocked) and Not Snacking All Day AKA Intermittent Fasting (IF). See:

healthunlocked.com/fasting-...

[Al195 in reply to S11m]

Thank you I will have a read . Nice cat by the way

[cheritorrox]

There's an osteoarthritis forum on HU which has info about a "walk with ease" program - might be worth a look. I'm fortunate as can still walk and seem to be keeping deterioration at bay. Yoga and swimming also help

[Al195 in reply to cheritorrox]

Thanks for the tip, I will check it out.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Hello and welcome to the forum, Al195

You may find some useful ideas here nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/g...

You don't mention the eating side of things which plays a much bigger part in gaining/losing weight. This may give you a new angle healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and it's supported by this phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...

The forum is a great place for support and information. A good starting point is joining a weekly weigh-in on the day of your choices, and sharing your meal plans on the Daily Diary. You'll find them, and much more, in Pinned Posts, and this is how to find them healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Wherever you go, please chat to people, ask questions and offer encouragement; that way, we share the support around

[Al195 in reply to BridgeGirl]

That's great thank you. I have a lot of research to get on with

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Al195]

You're welcome I am one of many who arrived here thinking I knew what to do and just needed more commitment and willpower but I have learned that much of what I knew didn't hold up. I'm happier and lighter for it

[Pineapple27]

I have a significant physical disability, my mobility is minimal - I use a wheelchair outside of the house. I am also very short (4ft 8") as a consequence of my impairment.

I currently eat 1100 for weight loss...

Exercise isn't critical for successful weight loss - weight loss can be achieved without any at all I lost 2.5 stone before I introduced exercise.

In terms of the exercise I do, I have slowly increased my exercise from nothing, to swimming once a week - have tried and enjoyed Pilates (which if you have reduced mobility or movement can really help address imbalance).

I find it really difficult to do weight bearing exercises.

I currently try and do about 1 - 1.5 hour of seated stretches and bounce for 45 mins to get my heart to "peak" on a gym ball (I've included a link below) - I also run/walk once a fortnight using an antigravity treadmill (I pay for 10 x 30 minute sessions - £138.00 - £13.80 a session). They have these treadmills in other places around the country, I use one at the Circle Clinic in Reading where I live.

Thanks to my weight loss, I am able to be more active than I have been in the past 15 years. I enjoy working in the garden - leaf raking and grass cutting (depending on the time of year). Anything that gets you moving a bit more will all help.

Exercise is important, not just for earning calories but to strengthen bones and muscles which really help with balance, improving mobility and prevention of falls. I have noticed a significant improvement in these areas.

I also experience far less pain (less stress on my joints).

You may find these links useful:

My own You Tube videos showing exercise and running on the treadmill:

youtube.com/channel/UCMBGih...

BBC article:

bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-ouch-2...

Get Yourself Active

getyourselfactive.org/2018/...

ben.org.uk/ben-blog/keeping...

patient.info/news-and-featu...

I also have a Blog flidfit.com which you might find interesting and relevant.

[FatFairNFifty-ish in reply to Pineapple27]

This is so helpful- I too have a significant disability. I do specially adapted yoga, which helps with core strength massively.

Weight loss is definitely more to do with food intake than exercise.

My knees are shot with arthritis- same with my neck, spine, wrists and right foot & ankle.

The only respite is when I’m in a hot country - heat works magically on my poor bones & enables me to snorkel & swim in warmer seas than ours!

If I could afford to live in the sunshine I would be mobile & definitely fitter ( not necessarily slimmer).

Exercise with bad knees is a real challenge but thanks to all the info shared, I’m going to have a read and see if anything else is possible.

Thanks for asking the question & for answering it too!

[Pineapple27 in reply to FatFairNFifty-ish]

A please FatFairNFifty-ish - weight loss can help so much with pain it seems only right that I can encourage as many others as possible to get a little more mobile and lose weight.

[Al195]

Thank you so much for all that great information. I need to keep the structure around my knees very strong to keep as mobile as possible. I have tried seated pilates which is quite good for the upper body. I think walking is something I need to build up from zero, slowly. With everyone's great help I will be reading for a while. Thanks again.

[vicreb]

Sorry if it doesn't work, both Youtube & Facebook have a mind of their own, try this

youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6...(Not working as expected?)

[Al195 in reply to vicreb]

Waoh that was a powerful message. Thank you that was great and something I will strive to do

[Craftyperson in reply to vicreb]

That's very interesting thanks

[Hopalong1 3 stone Challenge Host]

Hi A, I have suffered with arthritis for 17months. Don't give up, I have been able to do as much walking as before my first knee went. The doc said self refer for physio and was given 4 weeks of gym in a local hospital and then went to a private gym with my physio exercises. I am sending a link, but would always go for the physio if it was me

yourphysio.org.uk/condition...

Wishing you well

[Floerpot]

Try aquafit the water helps relieve any pressure on your knees unlike normal aerobics.You don't need to be able to swim as they are usually held in the shallow end of the pool. It is great fun. Good luck if you decide to give it a go

[Al195 in reply to Floerpot]

Thanks good advice

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to Floerpot]

Hello and welcome to the Weight Loss Forum Floerpot and thank you for your reply 😊

If you haven’t already then please read the Pinned Posts here healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

This is a very busy forum with lots going on, and nothing beats joining in, reading posts and replying to others. Our group Weigh-in and the Daily Diary are probably the best places to start.

Best Wishes in your weight loss journey

Indigo 😊

[ChangingMe]

Hi

I have struggled with osteoarthritis in my hips and stenosis (narrowing of the spaces within the spine putting pressure on the nerves) for seven years. There are days that I really struggle to get out of the car when I arrive at work. That's the bad news. The good news is that the more I move the less pain I get. I find swimming, cycling, walking, yoga and pilates to be life savers. Be aware that initially getting moving can be purgatory but once moving the pain, for me, can disappear for a while. I find frequency of movement is also crucial as I cease up if I sit too long. The good thing is that this helps in controlling weight which is also crucial in controlling pain. I have also found that there is a relationship between what I eat and my pain. Poor diet seems to increase pain levels, e.g. lots of sugar or processed foods. I try to prepare most meals from scratch. I also find that some healthy foods need to be avoided as they increase pain levels - citrus fruit being the worst for pain.

I hope that helps.

[Al195 in reply to ChangingMe]

Thanks yes it does help. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

[Popmil]

I have recently taken up yoga & tia chi, I find it helps with my pains as you can do them to your ability x

[Al195]

Probably something for the future as I have done Tai Chi before and the movements are too much for my knees at this time, but one for the future definitely. I really enjoy Tai Chi. Thanks

[focused1 Maintainer 13kg]

I found when I lost weight my knees were a lot better in terms on pain / movement . I would ask your GP about the PARIS scheme which is a rehab programme but is extended now to all who have issues with mobility . Google it then I contacted them via telephone and got a phone interview back . A few simple questions then for me it was initial 6 months then renewed after this time up to 18 months which was a discounted gym pass with a go to trainer who spends half an hour before you hit any programme , chatting about needs / goals . If this isn't available I would go into any gym with a pool and see what classes are available as water based exercise seems the kindness and more gentle way to get going . I also felt a class gave me a sense of belonging and made me attend .

[Al195 in reply to focused1]

Great thank you. Will research this. 😀

[Hidden]

Hi there, I use an nhs video called pilates for arthritis.

nhs.uk/video/pages/pilates-...

And I use a senior dance video run by Paul Eugene on YouTube.If nothing else it cheers me up no end! He also does seated dance for bad days.

youtu.be/_K5v6mkfMSQ(Not working as expected?)

Good luck.

Ros

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for that link, I shall check him out 😊

[Craftyperson]

Swimming and or aquarobics.

[Al195]

Not something I would happy doing although I know that it has benefits, but I am not a fzn of the water and it wouldn't fit well into my day. But thank you for taking the time to respond I appreciate it 😀

[Eleanorba Maintainer]

Hi there, good to meet you. It's good you're on this forum because you'll probably find weight loss will really help. I'm not overweight any more but if my weight goes up over 10st 2 (still in the Healthy BMI bracket for me) the pain in my knee switches on like a horrible magic!

But also, I have arthritis in my left knee and hip, and the thing that has really helped me is Pilates. If you can afford it and there's a studio near you, the studio version is even better (where you use funny machines with springs and things!). But an ordinary mat class could also help. It toughens up your core muscles so you are holding and aligning yourself properly. The beginners classes are dead boring! But it's worth persisting with. I went from acute pain in my left hip and not being able to lift my knee up beyond a very shallow step, to virtually no pain at all, because my Pilates teacher worked on strengthening the muscles around there.