Exercise can ease rheumatoid arthritis pain

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can cause pain and stiffness that make moving the last thing you feel like doing. But staying active matters. Beyond its benefits for general health, exercise strengthens the muscles around your joints, improves your range of motion, and lets you keep doing the activities you enjoy.

For people with RA, a cautious, strategic start works best. An individualized program, ideally built with a physical therapist's help, protects vulnerable joints while strengthening the muscles around them. A well-rounded program includes each of these elements:

Aerobic conditioning. Exercise that raises your heart and breathing rates brings many benefits, including lower odds of diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. People with RA should favor low-impact activities such as swimming, bicycling, and walking.

Resistance training. Weak muscles, from inactivity or from medication side effects such as steroids, sap stamina and leave joints less stable. Isometric exercises, which involve muscle contractions with no movement (clasping your hands and pressing your arms together, for instance), are a good entry point. Once pain is under control, free weights or weight machines build muscle and strength.

Stretching and flexibility exercises. Joints damaged by RA do not move as easily or as far (the range of motion) as healthy joints. That makes activities that lengthen and strengthen the muscles around them, such as stretching, tai chi, and yoga, especially valuable for people with RA.

Balance exercises. RA can affect gait and balance, leaving you more prone to stumbles and falls. A physical therapist can recommend individualized balance training, which may include standing on one leg or core-strengthening exercises.