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When pain strikes, it鈥檚 human nature to avoid doing things that aggravate it. That鈥檚 certainly the case for people with arthritis, many of whom tend to avoid exercise when a hip, knee, ankle or other joint hurts. Although that strategy seems to make sense, it may harm more than help.

Taking a walk on most days of the week can actually ease arthritis pain and improve other symptoms. It鈥檚 also good for the heart, brain, and every other part of the body.

A national survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that more than half of people with arthritis (53%) didn鈥檛 walk at all for exercise, and 66% stepped out for less than 90 minutes a week. Only 23% meet the current recommendation for activity鈥攚alking for at least 150 minutes a week. Delaware had the highest percentage of regular walkers (31%) while Louisiana had the lowest (16%). When the CDC tallied walking for less than 90 minutes a week, Tennessee led the list, with 76% not walking that much per week, compared to 59% in the聽聽District of Columbia.

The findings were published in the journal , one of its contributions to Arthritis Awareness Month.

Beyond walking

Walking is good exercise for people with arthritis, but it isn鈥檛 the only one. A review of the benefits of exercise for people with osteoarthritis (the most common form of arthritis) found that strength training, water-based exercise, and balance therapy were the most helpful for reducing pain and improving function. 鈥淪wimming or bicycling tend to be better tolerated than other types of exercise among individuals with arthritis in the hips or knees,鈥� says rheumatologist Dr. Robert H. Shmerling, associate professor of medicine at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Exercise programs aim to help people with arthritis:

• increase the range of motion in the affected joint
• strengthen muscles
• build endurance
• improve balance

You can create an exercise program of your own, with help from a trusted doctor, nurse, or physical therapist. Or you can try one that鈥檚 been developed by arthritis experts. Examples include the program from the University of Illinois at Chicago, or one of several programs developed by the Arthritis Foundation: its , program, or program.

The fatigue, pain, and stiffness caused by many types of arthritis present a barrier to exercise鈥攂ut these are the same symptoms that tend to improve with regular exercise.

If you have arthritis and don鈥檛 currently exercise, start slow. Take a five-minute stroll around your block, swim, or workout on an exercise bicycle. Do it every day, and then gradually increase the time spent exercising or how hard you exercise, but not both at once. If you have heart disease or other health issues, check with your doctor before embarking on an exercise program.

鈥淚f exercise was a newly developed medicine, it would be a blockbuster,鈥� says Dr. Shmerling. 鈥淚t has an excellent safety profile, and enormous benefits for people with arthritis, heart disease, and a long and growing list of other health problems.鈥�