Pain and exercise in osteoarthritis
It’s normal to experience some pain with exercise when you have osteoarthritis. It is not a sign that you are doing damage to your joints. On the contrary, movement and exercise is necessary for joints to get the nutrition they need, and exercise benefits even those with very advanced osteoarthritis.
Here’s 3 pieces of good news to remember:
- In the long term, exercise REDUCES the amount of pain people with osteoarthritis experience day to day
- There’s a whole buffet of options for the type of exercise you can do. Most of the time, the exercise you enjoy the most is the best choice
- There are short-term fixes that can help take the edge off pain – think of them as your ‘Pain Management Toolbox’ (see below)
Tips for exercising with pain
- Take note of how you feel during and in the 24 hours after exercising (it can be helpful to write notes about this so you can discuss with your physiotherapist). When you exercise, aim to keep pain to a manageable level, and no worse the next day.
- If you still have increased pain into the night or the next day, you can rest a bit longer until the pain settles to a level you are comfortable with before recommencing, and take it a bit easier the next time you do exercise.
- If you find a particular exercise very painful, your physiotherapist can help you find a way to modify it or suggest an alternative exercise.
Build your Pain Management Toolbox
There are other things you can do to manage your pain in the short-term. Some examples of ‘tools’ that commonly help with pain from osteoarthritis are hands-on physio techniques, gentle movement, heat, TENS machine, and anti-inflammatory gels. Everyone is different though, so try to find a few different options for relieving pain that work for you. If you have been prescribed painkillers, be sure to regularly take them at the prescribed dose. Be aware of the role that stress and lack of sleep can play in pain – and make sure you schedule time to relax and maybe a few early nights if you are feeling stressed or tired.
Need some help?
This article just briefly covers some advice that people living with osteoarthritis find helpful, but nothing beats one-on-one conversation, hands on support and guidance so that you can keep doing the things that matter to you. Our physios are ready to help, so give us a call or book online.