Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by joint deformation, limited mobility and the development of contractures (immobility). To reduce symptoms, treatment includes exercise therapy, massage, swimming and physiotherapy. Therapeutic exercise for rheumatoid arthritis is aimed at strengthening ligaments and muscles, increasing range of motion in joints and slowing down pathological reactions. Exercise therapy is indicated for almost all patients. With significant restrictions, it is possible to perform breathing exercises.
The main condition for exercise therapy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is regularity of exercise and systematic increase in load. Do not perform exercises with force. After proper physical activity, the patient should experience increased strength and decreased stiffness.
Why do you need gymnastics?
Arthritis is an inflammatory disease affecting the joints. Externally, it can be recognized by such features as:
- Swelling of the skin around the affected area;
- Redness;
- Severe pain;
- Stiffness.
Moreover, it is important to understand that this pathology occurs not only in the elderly, but also in the young - such a disease has no age. As a result of this rejuvenation of the disease, many men have appeared who complain of knee pain. Treatment of arthritis should be comprehensive, but gymnastics plays a significant role in this complex.
Exercises for knees with arthritis are of particular importance. After all, the knee joint is subjected to heavy loads every day - all movement, jogging, squats, etc. - all this is his merit. If some kind of failure occurs and inflammation begins, arthritis develops. And this is the destruction of cartilage tissue and the growth of the bone surface. To prevent such a problem, it is worth doing special exercises. Gymnastics will help keep muscles and ligaments strong and elastic, and also prevent joint deformation.
As experts note, exercise therapy for knee diseases is indicated at different stages of the pathology. After all, light and well-chosen physical activity allows you to restore the functioning of muscles, ligaments and even cartilage. And this costs a lot, because even a slight knee injury can disable you, and later will cause pain and discomfort. Therefore, it is worth eliminating this option in advance.
Exercise therapy stops the development of arthritis, because movement is the enemy of any bone disease.
Ideally, exercise therapy for knee arthritis should be carried out under the supervision of a specialist. But if it’s not there, then you can study on your own.
You should be careful in a situation where the joint is already damaged - you cannot use excessive physical activity in this case. After all, there is a risk of damaging the joint even more.
Therapeutic exercise for arthritis of the knee joint provides the following positive aspects:
- Restores joint function;
- Relieves pain;
- Increases joint mobility;
- Relieves tension from muscles;
- Allows tissues to be saturated with useful elements;
- Improves the quality of life of a person with arthritis.
Therapeutic physical education (PT)
Therapeutic physical education (PT) is a special training program aimed at activating the human body in the fight against illness. Training works well when paired with consistent drug treatment.
Active physical activity increases the chances of traditional treatment. A well-chosen program allows you to quickly restore the functionality of the knee joint and shorten the rehabilitation period after surgery.
Exercises for knee arthritis
When performing exercises for arthritis of the knee joint, the body, when pressure is applied to it, activates the immune system. With the general composure of the whole body, serotonin and endorphin are released. Hormones have a pain-relieving effect on the body.
If you have knee joint pain, do light exercises. As a result of the correct selected load, the respiratory function of the body improves. Metabolic problems are reduced. For chronic arthritis of the knees, between repetitions of the acute phase of the disease, yoga, swimming, and promenade are used.
It all depends on the patient himself
It all depends on the patient himself, if you do not use physical therapy, do not treat the pathology under the supervision of doctors. No doctor can ensure a complete recovery. As a result, complete stiffness in the joint will occur.
Blood circulates through the connection, like any other human organ. The joint absorbs all the chemical elements necessary for life and functioning. Unnecessary chemicals produced in the joint are released through movement. That is why physical activity is an integral part of the healthy functioning of the human musculoskeletal system. With arthritis of the knee, the joint becomes inflamed, stiffness occurs, and nutritional function is disrupted. The cartilage in the joint is destroyed, the muscles and ligaments decrease in size and lose their sensitivity.
The patient avoids unpleasant sensations
In case of pain and development of joint destruction, the patient avoids unpleasant sensations. During movement, uses auxiliary joints. Doctors notice all this and select a training program that develops the joint and returns functionality.
If you do not notice a complete restriction of knee mobility, then look at the second one. If it feels like the other one is moving the same way, then look at other people. Keep an ongoing dialogue with your doctor and tell him how you feel.
Important Tips
Before starting a workout, it is necessary to warm up the muscles - this is a prerequisite that will prevent injuries. Warm-up should be easy. It should be remembered that over time, muscles get used to the load. This means that we need to deprive them of this opportunity - we just need to constantly increase the number of repetitions of exercises and the time of training.
You definitely need to learn which exercises are contraindicated as part of exercise for arthritis of the knee joint. Putting too much stress on it makes the situation worse. This means that when performing classes it is necessary to exclude:
- Squats;
- Run;
- Jumping;
- Aerobics classes;
- Asymmetrical exercises.
Special care should be taken when performing workouts for the hamstrings and quadriceps.
There is no point in giving up training at all - you can achieve the opposite effect. After all, the muscles lose their mobility. The only thing is to ensure that there is no pain in the knees while performing certain exercises. It is best to use those options that are suitable for beginners, and not for advanced athletes. It is important to understand that pain is an indicator that either the exercise is being performed incorrectly or there is too much stress on the joints.
Examples of the best exercises
Experts have long identified a list of the best and most effective exercises that will keep your knees healthy.
One of them requires the presence of a chair. You need to sit on it and perform oscillatory movements with your legs. In this case, during execution, you should extend your legs so that they take a position parallel to the floor. After extension, the leg should be fixed in the air for a couple of seconds. The number of repetitions is 10 on each leg. It is recommended to perform this exercise once a day.
Another option involves lying on the floor on your back. It is important to take care of yourself here - your back should be in close contact with the floor. From this position, you need to bend and straighten your legs in turn. In this case, the end point of the bend should be at the stomach - the leg in a bent position must be pressed against it. Alternatively, you can use a similar exercise to prevent and treat arthritis – cycling.
You can do another exercise on the floor. Only in this case you need to lie on your stomach. In turn, bend each leg so that the heel reaches the buttock. Gymnastics for knee arthritis are performed at a slow pace and provide the opportunity for gentle stretching. This option should be repeated at least 7 times on each leg. This exercise can be performed several times a day.
Exercises for knee arthritis often involve performing them from a lying or sitting position.
Another effective option is as follows. You need to lie on the floor, with your legs extended along their entire length. Next, you need to bend at the torso, while reaching your feet with your hands. If you have enough flexibility and stretching, you need to hug them at the same time. When performing this action, you must ensure that your legs remain straight - this is the only way the exercise will show maximum effectiveness. There should be 10-15 such slopes.
Test movements
- Stand up, straighten up, bring your legs together, lean forward, reach the floor with your upper limbs. If you succeed, it means that the elasticity of the back and thigh muscles is normal.
- Place a stool in front of you, take a horizontal position facing up, fix your feet on the stool. Raise your pelvis to its maximum position. If you succeed, then your abdominal muscles are normal.
- Lie on your abdomen with your arms up. Synchronously raise your upper and lower limbs high above body level. If you succeed, it means that the lumbar muscles are toned.
- Take a horizontal position, face up, synchronously raise your upper and lower limbs and connect them. The smaller the distance between your limbs, the stronger your abdominal muscles.
After completing the test exercises, it will become clear to you how toned the muscles are.
Physical education for rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis differs from normal arthritis in that it may cause signs of infection. It causes joint stiffness and other negative manifestations. However, for the most part, it is not particularly different from arthritis. Physical therapy exercises for the knee joint for rheumatoid arthritis are also performed at a leisurely pace and with a certain number of repetitions and approaches.
One of them is the following. You need to sit on a chair and begin to alternately swing your legs forward and backward - you should feel tired. As soon as it appears, you can stop doing the exercise.
Starting position – lying on your side. You need to bend the leg that lies on the floor, slowly raise the other one up and fix it at the top point for 2-3 seconds. When the time comes to raise the second leg, you should control the angle of bending and lifting - it should be the same.
You can also do this exercise. Standing near a chair, you need to rise on your toes and linger at the top point. To make the task easier, you need to hold on to the back of the chair with your hands. During this exercise, the leg muscles should be tense.
Based on the previous option, you can complicate the task. Standing in the same starting position, you need to gradually roll from toe to heel, each foot moving in the opposite direction. The advantage of this exercise is the fact that it can improve blood circulation in the legs. And improved blood circulation is an opportunity to nourish the joint.
Leaning on the back of the chair, you need to lift your toes up and then freeze on your heels. Ideally, you should stand for at least 60 seconds. Everyone performing such an exercise should be prepared for the fact that at first it will be difficult to perform such an exercise for a minute. It's okay - over time you just need to increase your professionalism.
Yoga for knee arthritis
A very popular gymnastics today for correcting the condition of the knee joint is yoga. After all, it is not traumatic, it is aimed at stretching, saturating the whole body with oxygen, and improving blood circulation. The undoubted advantage of this option is the smooth execution of exercises and precise movements. All exercises help relax the mind and body, which helps you recover faster.
Ideally, you should conduct classes at least 4 times a week. A greater effect can be achieved if you do gymnastics after a warm and relaxing shower.
The following options are popular for restoring joint function:
- Sensitive joints;
- Jam jar;
- Resting tree;
- Torso rotation.
Yoga helps in the presence of joint diseases due to the fact that it meets the following functions:
- Relaxes body and soul;
- Relieves pain - not always completely, but significantly reduces it;
- Returns mobility to the knee joints;
- Calms the nervous system;
- Normalizes the activity of blood vessels and nerve endings.
It is worth understanding that before practicing one or another method of restoring the mobility of the knee joint, you should consult with your doctor.
After all, by choosing the wrong exercises, doing them at the wrong pace and with the wrong number of repetitions, you can only harm yourself even more.
Exercises in the pool
An excellent solution would be to train in the pool. Water lowers blood pressure, and performing certain exercises is quite simple. To normalize the condition of the joints, it is recommended to perform the following options:
- Movement of the legs in the water – amplitude up and down;
- Bicycle: lying on your back on the water, you need to bend your legs and begin to imitate movements on a bicycle;
- You should try to grab the handrail in the water with your toes, and then begin to bend and straighten your legs at the same time;
- To relax, it is advised to lie on your back, relax and surrender to the will of the water.
This complex is called standard or basic. If you regularly perform such options under water, you can note the restoration of mobility of defective joints. In addition, everyone will feel an undeniable improvement in their condition. For those who lack challenging workouts, you can do more serious training in the water. After all, here the loads are not felt so much, but at the same time they are there.
Swimming pools and water procedures allow you to quickly get back to normal - they are constantly recommended as a way to recover from injuries. And an excellent solution would be a combination of different types of load - both water and conventional.
With long-term illness
If the disease lasts for a long time, you must actively perform the movement, but at the same time gently apply pressure to the knee. When a joint becomes inflamed, a large amount of fluid accumulates in it. It affects the ligaments and muscles, they weaken and stretch. The patient tries not to move or perform movements that do not put pressure on the joint. This is a critical error. Uneven load during movement leads to disruption of the musculoskeletal system. For example, if the knee is swollen, the patient does not straighten the joint completely and includes the hip joint in motion. As a result, the muscles and ligaments of the knee weaken and bend the joint even more. Then the knee becomes deformed.
If the disease occurs in childhood
If the disease occurs in childhood, the deforming joint affects the normal growth of the limbs. The bones can grow and one leg will be longer than the other. Due to the difference in leg length, curvature of the spine occurs.
Try to move as much as your joint allows. There is no need to completely exclude the sore knee from movement. But don't put too much stress on it either. Exercise therapy for contracture of the knee joint, you need to avoid jumping and vibrating elements.
