Exercise is a fantastic way to lower joint pain and stiffness which is caused by psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Although it can be hard to imagine exercising when you’re in pain, performing some sort of physical activity will probably help.
In addition, regular exercises can help to lower stress as well as enhance your sense of well-being. The thing which you need to keep in mind is to be aware of your exercise routine as well as to listen to your body’s signals.
Speak with your doctor before starting a new routine. They will be able to offer you some suggestions for getting started or offer advice on what movements to try or avoid.
Common Exercise Mistakes With Psoriatic Arthritis
You Don’t Work On Your Muscular Strength
One of the things to remember – which a lot of people don’t – is the importance of strengthening. Essentially, the stronger your muscles are, the better they are able to absorb shock as well as control motion. This ultimately minimises stress on the actual joint.
It’s very important not to start out with too much weight or resistance. Rather, start at an intensity which doesn’t feel too difficult, and perform more repetitions of the exercise as opposed to what you would at a higher weight.
You Don’t Get Sufficient Aerobic Activity
As important as strength training is, it’s also important to incorporate aerobic exercise into your workout routine.
If you’ve felt discomfort in your joints while doing moderate-impact aerobic exercises such as jogging you may be tempted to skip cardio entirely. However lower-impact alternatives such as elliptical machines, stationary bikes, rowing machines, swimming, or – alternatively – pool exercises can improve your health without overstressing your joints.
As an alternative, you are able to use lighter weights for strength training and perform them in a circuit fashion — with short and timed pauses in between activities — in order to get a cardiovascular benefit.
You Focus On High-Impact Exercises
Running and jumping may not be great choices if you have psoriatic arthritis since they can put strain on your joints and speed up the inflammatory process. Walking places between 1.5 and 2 times your body weight in stress on your joints, while jogging places five to eight times your body weight in stress on your joints.
That’s loads of stress for a joint which is irritated or inflamed. There’s a huge amount of force coming up through your legs and into the spine. And any kind of jumping or rapid form of resistance activity could be even worse for your joints. Those activities just aren’t going to be tolerable in most people with joint issues.
Don’t Forget Your Strength Training
These exercises are created to boost muscle strength. The stronger your muscles, the steadier your joints. You should choose light weights with lots of repetition and not lift heavy weights. Aim to perform strength training two or three times a week, on alternating days. Although you could need to work yourself up to this.
Work On Range-Of-Motion Exercises
These types of exercise include gently stretching your joints as far as you are able to in each direction. Performing range-of-motion exercises can assist with keeping your joints flexible and stop you from feeling stiff.
Aim to perform range-of-motion exercises every day, such as wrists bends, arm circles as well as leg raises — however take breaks as-required to protect your joints.
Include Endurance Exercises In Your Routine
These activities can assist with improving your cardiovascular fitness as well as overall health in addition to your psoriatic arthritis symptoms.
The best endurance exercises for individuals who have psoriatic arthritis are walking, swimming, and biking. If you’re can, running is fine too. Just make sure to run on softer surfaces in order to avoid any repetitive, hard impact on your joints.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
Are you eager to discover more about exercise? If you do then you need to do our Personal Training Course. Follow this link to find out more.
