Rheumatoid Arthritis Exercises

Arthritis is a disease that affects the musculoskeletal system, specifically the joints. It leads to swelling, pain and stiffness of the joints and also of the muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones. Rheumatoid arthritis is a autoimmune, chronic disorder causing inflammation of joints, typically the small joints in hands and feet. It affects the lining of our joints, which results in swelling along with severe pain, that can probably result in bone erosion and joint deformity.

Performing exercises for rheumatoid arthritis is known to be an effective way of treating the problem. Usually patients are asked to continue the exercises to recover from this disorder and live a healthy life. The rheumatoid arthritis exercises help maintain flexibility of muscles, tone muscles and improve joint mobility. These are also known to improve sleep quality and reduce stress. Range of motion exercises are the best treatment for pain relief.

Exercises to Perform

Start performing these exercises daily. Remember that do not perform these when there is severe joint pain. Perform ten repetitions on each side of your body for each exercise.

Exercise #1
Sit upright on a chair or stand straight and extend your hands in front of you, in a manner that you are seeing your palms. Your fingers should point upwards and your palms must face you. Now gently squeeze your fingers to make a fist. Now stretch them to wide open the fingers apart. You can perform this exercise together for both the palms.

Exercise #2
Keep your wrist straight. Now work the base joints of fingers, these are the one which connect fingers to your palm. Now bend the base joints of fingers, making sure that your wrist and the middle and end joint of fingers is straight. Hold for 10 seconds and unbend.

Exercise #3
Sit upright on a chair. Choose a chair, sitting on which, your legs will hang. Now stretch them forwards to straighten them and hold for 10 seconds. Now bend your legs to form a 90 degree angle. Repeat ten times. While keeping your legs stretched, flex and point your ankles ten times.

Exercise #4
Sit upright on a chair, place arms on your lap with palms facing upwards. Now bend your arms at elbow, palm will face shoulder. Keeping your fingers relaxed, bring the fingertips towards your shoulder. Do not clench fist, hold the position and bring your elbow upwards. Now draw imaginary circles in air with your elbow, do not touch fingertips to shoulder. After ten repetitions unfold your arm at the elbow and stretch hands upwards, towards the ceiling, hold for 5 seconds. Now slowly bring hands to initial position and relax.

You can also perform other stretching exercises regularly. Also performing activities like cycling and swimming is recommended for the patients. Performing aerobic exercises will also be helpful in maintaining healthy body weight.

Consulting your orthopedic before you start performing these exercises is essential. Regularity in performing these exercises is a must. Also, do continue these exercises regularly even after you get the desired results. The aforementioned exercises are the best to maintain a wide range of motion, increase your strength and endurance and improve general health along with a feeling of well-being.