At the Water's Edge

Showing posts with label outdoors. Show all posts

**This post is a part of the first annual RA Blog Week, spurred on by RADiabetes. For more information and the full list of prompts, click here.

RA Blog Week Day 5 Prompt: "Exercise and RA – write about your favorite exercise. What do you like about it, and what keeps you going? Maybe you like to run marathons or do finger exercises. Perhaps you love to walk, or maybe stretching is your cup of tea. Maybe you are tired of being told to exercise? Give your readers the rundown on what does or does not move you."

I call this my "conquering RD" photo - a
successfully pain-free backpacking trip on
Isle Royale National Park

I've seen the issue of exercising with Rheumatoid Disease hotly debated. There's a huge push from most health organizations to exercise because it is good for your joints and will ultimately help you move better. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. I know a lot of people with RD who say exercise helps them tremendously. I also know a lot of people who say if they try to do any real exercise, they will end up in bed for a week reaping the repercussions. According to a survey of over 1,400 RA patients, conducted by the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, 67% of respondents said that physical activity actually caused their RA pain to increase. Only 18% said physical activity caused their RA pain to decrease. So, what's the deal with exercise?

Here's the way I look at it: exercise is good for the body in so many ways, and an active lifestyle is of course healthy -- if your body is in proper condition to do it. But you have to listen to your body. For me, I can usually tell the difference between various types of pain caused by rheumatoid disease. There's the stiff, achiness that sometimes infects my joints and makes it difficult to move. In this state, I find that moving and stretching does, in fact, loosen up my joints and help me feel better. This is like the traditional "morning stiffness" that many people with rheumatoid disease experience (though not always in the morning!). Moving around and just getting on with everyday tasks often helps loosen me up and get me to feeling better. Unless...