天博体育

Although I鈥檓 pretty dedicated to my exercise routine, there are times during the long Boston winter when it鈥檚 awfully hard to drag myself out of bed for an early morning workout. I can鈥檛 image what it would be like to get up to exercise if my joints were stiff and achy. But that鈥檚 exactly what a friend of mine with rheumatoid arthritis does nearly every morning.

When I first met Sandra (not her real name) about a decade ago, she used a cane while walking outside鈥攅ven when the sidewalks were slick with ice and snow, thanks to a retractable circle of sharp metal teeth at the cane鈥檚 tip. Sandra rarely complained about her aching joints, but she was troubled by arthritis-related fatigue. Her fingers were often swollen and her knees stiff, making it difficult to maintain her beautiful backyard and rooftop gardens.

Frustrated, Sandra decided to make some changes. She joined the neighborhood pool down the street from her home and started swimming. Not long, at first, just 10 lengths a day. Gradually, over the course of several months, she increased that distance to 20 lengths. After about a year, Sandra was swimming 36 lengths, or 陆 mile, nearly every day. That 陆 mile eventually stretched into a full mile. Last New Year鈥檚 Day, just before her 74^th birthday, Sandra fulfilled her long-held goal of participating in Boston鈥檚 annual Polar Bear Plunge, during which locals dive into the icy waters of Dorchester Bay.

The regular exercise, coupled with paying more attention to her diet, helped Sandra lose the 40-odd pounds she鈥檇 gained since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She has more energy, no longer uses a cane, and has cut back on her medications. Her advice to would-be exercisers with arthritis? 鈥淪tart slowly and work up to more time or distance very gradually. If you push yourself too hard, too quickly, you鈥檒l get hurt.鈥�

If you have arthritis, exercise can help keep your joints mobile and your muscles strong. Swimming and other water-based exercise are especially good because they鈥檙e easy on the joints. So is tai chi, a low-impact, slow-motion exercise with origins in Chinese martial arts. Your local has information on exercise programs in your community, including both aquatic and land-based programs.

You can read more about exercise and other self-care strategies for coping with this painful joint condition in the 2011 edition of 鈥淎rthritis: Keeping your joints healthy.鈥� At this link, you鈥檒l find an excerpt and a Table of Contents for this new Special Health Report from 天博体育 Publishing.