Exercise for Osteoarthritis
Understanding osteoarthritis and how the right exercises can help reduce pain, improve strength and support everyday movement.
What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a common joint condition that affects the cartilage, bone and other tissues within a joint. It can cause pain, stiffness, swelling and difficulty with everyday movement.
Osteoarthritis commonly affects the knees, hips and hands, although other joints, including the shoulders and spine, can also be affected.
For some people, osteoarthritis can make everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs, getting out of a chair or reaching overhead more challenging.
Although osteoarthritis can’t currently be cured, there are effective exercise strategies to help manage symptoms and maintain an active lifestyle.
Exercise is one of the most important recommended treatments for osteoarthritis, particularly in the knee, hip and shoulders
Why is Exercise Important?
When a joint becomes painful or stiff, it's natural to want to move less. However, avoiding movement over time can often make the pain worse as it can contribute to muscle weakness, reduced mobility and difficulty performing everyday activities.
Appropriately prescribed exercise can help manage osteoarthritis symptoms and improve your ability to move comfortably and with more confidence.
Research supports regular exercise as a key part of managing knee and hip osteoarthritis. Benefits may include:
What Types of Exercise Can Help?
Strength Training
Exercises to strengthen the muscles supporting your joints, through activation and resistance training
Mobility Exercises
Gentle stretches and movement’s to help maintain comfortable joint movements and reduce stiffness.
Aerobic Exercise
Exercises that increases your heart rate above resting level such as walking, cycling and water based activities
Balance and Functional Exercise
Exercises to strengthen the muscles supporting your joints, through activation and resistance training