From: The Healing power of exercise by Goldberg M.D. and Elliot M.D.:
Exercise is part of the treatment for inflammatory arthritis.
Rather than being harmful, exercise reduces joint destruction. Importantly, people with rheumatoid arthritis who exercise are able to be more active and have fewer limitations as a result of their joint problem.
By exercise, we do not mean just gentle stretching. The more intense activities resulted in the greatest improvements.
Even when followed for a decade, people with rheumatoid arthritis who exercised did not have more inflamed of damaged joints.
As a person with inflammatory arthritis, when you begin a program of physical activity, you should work on 1. cardiovascular endurance, 2. muscle strength and 3. joint flexibility.
Is it rheumatoid arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is definitely present if you have four or more of these findings:
- Swelling in 3 or more joint areas for at least 6 weeks
- Joint involvement that is similar on both sides of your body
- Involvement of hand joints and wrists for 6 weeks or longer
- More than one hour of joint stiffness when you wake up
- Rheumatoid nodules (bumps along the undersurface of your forearms)
- Positive blood test for rheumatoid factor
- X rays showing thinning of the bone next to an inflamed joint