Osteoarthritis - Yoga & Strength Training

This is about the debilitating Osteoarthritis, and the importance of yoga and strength training as a safe ways to move and reduce pain.

Yoga is the solution for many of the body's ills and conditions, and with osteoarthritis, it's essential - it's like two puzzle pieces fitting perfectly together. Daily yoga keeps joints flexible, strengthens the surrounding muscles, slows deterioration of bone and cartilage, and improves bone strength.
According to the Arthritis Foundation, arthritis isn't just one disease; it's an umbrella term referring to joint pain or joint disease, covering more than 100 types of arthritis and associated conditions that affect the joints, bones, and connective tissues around them.

The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, OA, and it affects over 500 million people worldwide and over 32 million Americans. If OA affects you or someone you know, you know how painful and debilitating it is; It's the leading cause of disability in the US. Any joint can be affected, but the hips, wrists, hands, neck, spine, or knees are the most common places. Sometimes, the pain of simple daily activities like climbing stairs can be grueling. With osteoarthritis, the pain, stiffness, and reduced movement contribute to muscle weakness and misalignment, which increase the risk of falling.

How can life in general and moving be less painful? There are some common remedies - analgesics, NSAIDs, injections, and even, in some cases, joint replacements - each has a downside. These therapies might be life-changing, even temporarily, but problems arise when people rely too much on meds to the exclusion of more lasting lifestyle changes.

Motion is lotion, and according to the National Health Service, UK, and many physiotherapists, the gold standard for OA treatment is EXERCISE! The Arthritis Foundation USA says exercise is the most effective non-drug treatment around. A movement plan might include exercises to strengthen muscles to support the joints. Yoga does that. The book Yoga for Arthritis by Dr. Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall provides research-based evidence to use yoga as a treatment.

However, exercise can throw you into a Catch-22 situation because pain, swelling, and loss of flexibility make you want to sit on the couch. But this inactivity leads to a spiraling vortex of more inactivity, increased pain and stiffness, reduced range of motion, more joint stress, and swelling, culminating eventually in loss of muscle (sarcopenia). Sometimes, the thought of more pain with movement can be so daunting that you want to stay put and rely on meds. However, it's outside your best interests in the long run.

There are some suggestions to help you start moving. One of my clients was in so much pain that she started gentle movements from her couch. She began with ankle and wrist movements, soft neck rolls, and seated cat cows. She now does chair yoga and hopes to get on the mat and use props for safety, comfort, and accessibility. Studies show that chair yoga is an effective pain management solution.

In addition to yoga, mindful strength training to build muscle mass is essential. Muscle strength is vital at every age and every condition; health depends on it. When reduced mobility from osteoarthritis leads to weakness, building back muscle is essential before further impairment. Many people have both osteoarthritis and sarcopenia. This is why strength training is necessary! Both strength training and yoga are easy on the joints, improve flexibility, posture, and balance, and build muscle and bone. And, Improving muscular strength around the joints provides support and stability.

Contact Amenia Yoga - a Place for Wellness.
info@ameniayoga.com

Arthritis Foundation, arthritis.org., Benefits of exercise for osteoarthritis. Accessed November 2023

Arthritis Foundation, arthritis.org, Exercise and arthritis,16 joint-protection tips. Accessed November 2023

Bernstein, S. Yoga benefits for arthritis, www.arthritis.org. accessed November 2023.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arthritis risk factors, www.cdc.gov, accessed Nov. 2023.

Fishman, L. MD, Saltonstall, E., Yoga for Arthritis, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2008

Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, Exercise: R x for overcoming osteoarthritis, www.health.harvard.edu., Accessed November 2023.

Lutz, Jennifer. Chair Yoga: Gentle, Effective Exercise for Osteoarthritis Pain www.healthcentral.com 2018 Accessed January 2024.

Osteoarthritis Action Alliance, Prevalence and Burden, www.oaaction.unc.edu. Accessed Nov. 2023