Osteoarthritis, or OA, is the most common type of arthritis. It's a condition that affects the whole joint, including the muscles, the cartilage, and the ligaments. The root cause of the pain with OA is inflammation, from damage to the joint and thus muscles, bone, cartilage, and ligaments. Exercise can help but it is stress-producing when it's painful, and you are limited in what you can do. I address those challenges and guide you to finding the solutions right for you in the latest episode of The Be Well Now Method Podcast
The Challenges of Exercising Well with Arthritis
The downstream effects of that pain include the three main challenges I address in the podcast.
1. The cycle of inactivity. Pain makes you avoid physical activity, and that can lead to muscle weakness, joint instability, more pain, and other health problems. This is particularly true in people with lower limb osteoarthritis, such as with your knees or your hips or ankles and feet.
Staying active and keeping muscles strong can help with the pain and stop this cycle of decline. But doing that when you're in pain is a challenge.
2. Weight gain. Reduced activity can lead to weight gain and weight gain can cause more pain, further reducing activity. This is a very, this can be a very frustrating cycle.
That can lead you to feeling like you can't exercise and you can't lose weight because you can't exercise feeling stuck.
3. Mental and emotional and social stressors. When you have limited movement, it limits what you can do and your ability to do things with those you love. This can add to stress and social isolation. All of these can mean that OA can lead to chronic stress, even lead to depression and anxiety.
How to be Exercising Well with Arthritis
These challenges can cause chronic stress, which is pro-inflammatory. In this podcast I address these three challenges and talk about how to treat the root cause by exercising well/. Exercising well means you are exercising in a way that shifts your cells from the stress state to the well state right away.
The Be Well Now method is the three-step way to do this because it addresses the whole person challenges and helps you find whole person solutions.
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Need guidance in exercising without pain and stress with arthritis? The Start Well Program was made for you! Click here to learn more!