Certain Exercises May Make Osteoarthritis Worse

Exercise is also recommended for people with osteoarthritis (OA), the common form of arthritis (even it is considered as the most common type of arthritis). Since typically it affects joints of knee, hips, and spine – there are also some exercises that may make this joint disease worse.

As well we know, your knee (the most commonly affected by OA) is a weight-bearing joint. In exercise, it can load more strain than other joints. And if you have OA in there, inappropriate exercises may worsen the problem. These may include:

Workouts with high-impact on your joint

There is opinion that sport activity can be potential to damage the cartilage in the joint which then eventually may cause OA. But it is confirmed that participating in sport such as running doesn’t increase the risk. There is also no evidence that vigorous low-impact workouts are linked to the increased risk of OA.

However, there is a chance for a specific sport activity to cause injury, particularly if you start it without stretching before. And this injury may become a trigger to make OA to occur earlier, especially for injury that affects the articular cartilage (a tough tissue in the joint).

While the role of certain exercise in increasing the risk of OA may be still debatable, it’s clear that high-impact exercise is not recommended once you had this joint disease.

Any physical movement that makes both of your feet to leave the ground can cause high impact on the joint, particularly on your knees. These include hopping, running, skipping, jumping rope, and some steps in cardio dancing & aerobic (such as off the step, jump on, or run around).

Popular sports such as volleyball, soccer /football, and gymnastics can cause high-impact on your joints, particularly for the articular cartilage in the knees.

Extreme workouts

You can maintain your fit status with regular exercise. But overdoing it can be counterproductive and may harm your joints. You need to know the limit of your body!

Just make sure to allow your muscles to recover. Even though you don’t have OA, avoid taking strenuous /heavy exercise every day!

Participating in physically extreme sports is also not recommended if you have OA. Because this can put you at high risk of getting injury and can be so harmful for your OA!

Beware to any physical activity with hyperextension risk!

The affected joint by OA can get worse by joint hyperextension. For instance, yoga is one of the safely relaxation therapies for many health conditions. It may also help for OA.

But there are also some steps in yoga that may not be safe enough for your OA. The movement such as rotating your upper leg into a level that allows you to get contact between the hip socket and leg bone can pose of a danger of hyperextension in your joints.

Again, even though you have OA, this doesn’t mean that your body doesn’t need plenty of physical activity. Instead, there is strong evidence that regular exercise (both resistance and endurance training) can be helpful and provide some benefits in controlling OA – according HHS (the Department of Health and Human Services).

However OA is a joint disease that can cause limited movements, there are some adjustments you need to know in responding with the disease. This issue is also important to make sure that your exercise works effectively.

Make sure to tell your doctor that you are planning ahead of involving exercise to help treat and control your OA. This is important to allow your doctor check you physically, and then he /she can determine whether or not your body is ready for exercise!

Don’t forget to ask specific questions to your doctor that can help you start your exercise properly! For instance, how hard and long you should exercise without harming your joint.

For more advice, if necessary consult also with a professional trainer /physical therapist with adequate experience in helping people with joint diseases such as arthritis!