A huge part of living with rheumatoid arthritis is taking care of yourself. This includes not only medications, but activity and exercise, what you eat, weight management and stress reduction.
When you are in pain, resting may seem like it is the best idea. And on some days it might be. But overall getting up and moving and taking care of yourself is the best option overall. (Yes, I have to keep telling myself this! 🙂 ) What you have to do is find a balance between keeping moving and at the same time not overdoing it. You have to listen to your body.
There are numerous ways to live well with rheumatoid arthritis and it’s challenges. Making small lifestyle adjustments can go a long way in improving your overall health.
Here are some tips to make living with rheumatoid arthritis manageable.
This post may contain affiliate links for which I may earn commissions.
Please note that all opinions are my own and are not intended to be taken as medical advice.
Get Regular Physical Activity
Most of us don’t like to exercise when we feel good, let alone when we feel really crappy because we are in pain. The problem with physical pain is that we feel like we need to get more rest or the pain will get worse. Actually, the worst thing you can do is become a couch potato. We need to keep moving and get regular exercise or our joints will get even worse. My worst days are when I have to do a lot of sitting. My entire body becomes stiff. It is so important to get up and move!
Products to Make Exercising and Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis More Fun
Treadmills
Walking is one of the best types of exercises for people with arthritis. One of the advantages is you can go at whatever pace works best for you – fast or slow. Walking moves your entire body and also gives you a cardio workout at the same time.
Getting outside in the sun is also an additional perk. However, if you live in the north like I do, getting outside isn’t always a good option. Treadmills come in really handy to get your walking in even when the weather outside is frightful.
There are a wide variety of treadmills ranging anywhere from around $100 to thousands of dollars depending on what kind of features you want. Below are a couple of the best sellers on Amazon.
Weslo Cadence G 5.9 TreadmillBuy on AmazonXTERRA Fitness Folding TreadmillBuy on Amazon
If you have trouble with balance, there is this treadmill that has full length handrails on the sides. The walking assistant handrails with their foam padding give you something easy to hold on to so it provides a safe and easy walk.
The speed starts out at a low 0.2 mph and adjust in increments of 1/10’s up to a maximum of 5 mph. There are also ten shock absorbing deck cushions that offer extra reinforcement to reduce joint impact while walking.
Exercise Bikes
Exercise bikes are another option for exercising inside, out of the weather and in the comfort of your own home. Again, like the treadmills, there are a wide variety of prices as low as $100 and going up into the thousands. It all depends on what extra features you want.
There are several different types of exercise bikes. The step through feature of a recumbent bike allows for quick and easy mounting and dismounting. The result is that it is easier on the knees and back.
Recumbent Exercise BikeBuy on AmazonXTERRA Fitness Folding Exercise BikeBuy on Amazon
If space is an issue you may want to consider a pedal exerciser. A pedal exerciser gives you the same benefits of an exercise bike without taking up all the space in your home. This device consists of a small set of pedals that are attached to a sturdy base. It allows you to engage in low-impact cardiovascular workouts while sitting in a chair.
Their compact size and lightweight design make them easy to store and transport. You can move them around to any room in your house. A pedal exerciser can be a perfect solution for someone who does not have enough room for an exercise bike.
Under Desk Bike Pedal Exerciser with Calorie Tracker and Adjustable ResistanceBuy on AmazonMagnetic Under Desk Elliptical Peddler, Portable Foot & Leg Pedal ExerciserBuy on Amazon
Exercise Videos
One of the challenges I have had with exercising is – what kind of exercise do I do? There are a lot of common exercises where I just don’t have the flexibility for them. We do not live that close to an exercise facility where I could obtain the assistance of a personal trainer and to be honest I prefer to exercise at home at my own pace.
Exercise videos give you instruction and in their own way give you someone to exercise with. While you may not be that old yet, some of the best exercise videos are targeted toward seniors. But that doesn’t mean you have to be a senior to use them.
This particular set is a chair exercise program with stretching, aerobics, strength training and balance. 75% of the people who reviewed this product gave it a 5 star rating. The biggest complaint people had was that it wasn’t quite as vigorous as they would have liked. Personally that sounds just right for me!
If you are living with rheumatoid arthritis you should look for programs that are low impact. There are a bunch of exercise videos designed for people living with arthritis. Many of the sales pages include a trailer type video. These trailers will give you a hint of how difficult the exercises are.
Eat The Right Foods
I discovered that I actually had food allergies that were contributing to my rheumatoid arthritis. Not all of my allergies showed up in allergy testing. Some of them I discovered by keeping a food diary of what I ate along with the symptoms I experienced and I found a pattern. I started avoiding those foods and my arthritis improved. Migraine headaches that I had associated with the arthritis in my neck went away when I avoided eating eggs.
Reduce Your Stress Levels
This is a really big one for me! When you are stressed out, your body becomes tense. Tenseness in your body is really hard on your joints. Once your body becomes tense and your joints start reacting to that tenseness, it is all downhill from there.
If you have noticed that you are stressed out when your joints start to hurt, it is a good idea to figure out what is causing that stress. Then figure out ways to reduce the stress you are under. I know – easier said than done. I will be writing more articles on stress. That is a whole other subject.
Purchase Products That Will Make Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis Easier
When you are living with rheumatoid arthritis daily activities and tasks might become more difficult. Making some modifications in your home and changing up some of the products you are using can make living with arthritis easier.
This entire site is all about making your life easier to live so feel free to browse around.
A couple of suggestions is that items that you grasp with your hand should be bigger. For example, silverware is available with larger handles. There are various different types of jar and bottle openers.
Vacuuming is something that can be difficult to do and it can suck the energy right out of you. Consider a robotic vacuum and let it do the work! I don’t personally have one, but I know a couple of people who do and they LOVE them!
Think of the tasks you do around the house and see what products are available to make them easier. I am continually adding suggestions to this site, so check back often and see what new I have added.
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