Modify your workout – don’t completely stop exercising, as it helps to reduce the chronic inflammation associated with arthritis and can even increase your pain tolerance. Exercise also strengthens the muscles around the joint and increases blood flow to the joint, two things that can minimize discomfort.
Maintain your general fitness. Pick up a sport; keep your weight in control and your health in check.
Start working out with weights, even for females! Some of the most noteworthy benefits of strength training include decreased fear of falling and diminished age-related declines in muscle mass, strength, and muscular power. Levels of testosterone in our bodies reduce as we hit 40, thus building muscle early on is very beneficial.
Take note of the different discomforts you feel. Is it a sharp or throbbing pain, constant or intermittent — it comes and goes? Do you feel your knee weakening after walking for a distance, as though it’s unstable and won’t hold your weight? Does your knee lock, preventing you from straightening out fully?
Don’t overexert yourself. Never overdo any exercise during the initial days, as this will exhaust you to the point of quitting before you even start seeing positive results. Choosing the wrong equipment or doing the exercise wrongly will affect your knees and legs in the long run.
Don’t rest completely. Pain is not always a bad thing, and it doesn’t mean that you should stop your activities completely. There’s an old adage — Use it or lose it — which is true for most conditions. Modifying the activity works a lot better than stopping it totally.
Don’t be a couch potato. Living a sedentary life doesn’t just reduce endurance and strength of the body; it also leads to difficulty controlling weight gain and a slow metabolism, which in turn leads to many lifestyles diseases.
Don’t choose the wrong exercises. If you have weak bones, then running, jogging and jumping rope is a strict no-no. Running on a concrete road or pavement can damage the knees due to the pressure exerted on the legs. Try low-impact exercises like swimming or cycling to help you maintain your overall fitness.