| As with many things in life, the short answer is "it | | | | each day will increase the durability of your muscles |
| depends"! There are many different forms of exercise, | | | | which will aid in keeping your joints decently aligned, |
| that all work different parts of the body, and that all do | | | | thereby diminishing the chance of osteoarthritis. Doing |
| different things. Many people cite exercise as one of | | | | some gentle weight lifting is often quoted as being a |
| the best ways of dealing with osteoarthritis, so long as | | | | good exercise to do, since it is low impact, but will help |
| it is done the right way. There is no single right or | | | | strengthen your muscles. Another good option for |
| wrong answer, but here is a general guide: | | | | exercise is power walking. One of the best options is |
| Different types of exercise will have different effects. | | | | swimming, and other water-resistance exercise. |
| Anything that puts your joints under a large amount of | | | | Swimming puts almost no pressure on your joints |
| stress (such as road running) is likely to cause | | | | whatsoever, and so is a great choice for any arthritis |
| problems - osteoarthritis (often mis-spelt oesteo | | | | sufferer, not just osteoarthritis sufferers who wishes |
| arthritis or osteoarthritis) is caused by the cartilage | | | | to be more active. |
| around your joints wearing thin, and high-impact | | | | As always, not doing any exercise at all will cause |
| exercise could risk wearing the cartilage further. | | | | many more problems than it will solve - keeping active |
| Running on a treadmill or on grass would be a better | | | | will help keep a person's body weight down, which in |
| option, since these surfaces will normally have a little | | | | turn puts less pressure on the joints, and thus will not |
| more 'give', however, you should always consult a | | | | wear the cartilage so much. Additionally, not working |
| physician before undertaking any high-impact exercise | | | | your joints at all would simply cause extra stiffness, |
| or training. | | | | making the already existing pain worse. |
| At the same time, taking part in some gentle exercise | | | | |