Arthritis Exercise: What to Try and What to Avoid

Arthritis makes your joints hurt, and it’s easy to assume that the pain means you should rest completely and avoid activities that stress your joints. But did you know the opposite is actually true?

Strategic exercise is one of your most powerful tools for managing arthritis, reducing pain, and maintaining function. Understanding what types of exercise are good for arthritis and what to avoid helps you develop an exercise plan that is enjoyable and safe, and our team at Manhattan Orthopedics is ready to help.

Types of exercise to try when you have arthritis

Exercise is essential for managing arthritis. Regular physical activity strengthens the muscles surrounding your joints, improving stability and reducing stress on damaged joint structures.

Stronger muscles also help absorb shock and support your joints during movement. Plus, exercise reduces inflammation, improves flexibility, maintains bone density, and supports weight management, but choosing the right exercise is important.

Try low-impact aerobic activities to elevate your heart rate and get the benefits of exercise without putting excessive stress on your joints. Some good options include:

• Walking on flat surfaces
• Swimming
• Water aerobics
• Cycling

Strength training also helps maintain muscle mass, which protects your joints. Use light weights, resistance bands, or your body weight and target muscles around your arthritic joints. Move from low resistance to a gradual increase as you build strength.

Range-of-motion exercises like yoga and gentle stretching help you maintain flexibility and reduce stiffness. Balance exercises like standing on one foot, heel-to-toe walking, and tai chi improve proprioception and help prevent falls, which can create serious injuries in people with arthritis.

When trying any new exercises, stretches, or movements, make sure they never cause sharp pain. Mild discomfort is generally acceptable, but shooting pain indicates you're doing too much.

What exercises to avoid when you have arthritis

Many activities are safe in moderation when you have arthritis; however, we recommend avoiding high-impact activities that put excessive stress on arthritic joints and increase your risk of further injury. High-impact activities include:

• Running
• Jumping
• Intense aerobics, like high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
• Sports requiring sudden directional changes, like soccer or basketball

And no matter the exercise you choose, you should never exercise through sharp pain. You can expect some mild soreness as your joints adapt to a new activity, but sharp, shooting pain indicates you're doing too much. Pain that worsens after your workout or persists days later also means your exercise plan needs adjustment.

You should also avoid overexertion or starting too much activity too quickly, because it can worsen arthritis. Instead, begin gradually and increase intensity slowly over weeks and months. Rest days are important too, because your joints need to recover.

Developing your personal arthritis exercise plan

It isn’t always easy to know what types of exercise to try and what to avoid when you have arthritis. At Manhattan Orthopedics, we help you develop an exercise plan specifically tailored to your condition and goals.

We assess the severity of your arthritis and review what activities you want to maintain. Then, we can recommend appropriate exercises, teach proper technique to prevent injury, and monitor your progress.

Physical therapy at our practice focuses on arthritis-specific strengthening and flexibility while protecting your joints. We address your pain through appropriate treatment — like medications, injections, or other interventions — so you can participate more comfortably in exercise.

Whether you want to start a new exercise program or revamp your current one, contact Manhattan Orthopedics to develop an arthritis exercise plan that reduces your pain while improving your strength, flexibility, and quality of life.