3 Types Of Fitness Programs For Patients With Severe Lower-Limb Arthritis

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Developing arthritis in your legs or feet can make it so much harder to be active. Many traditional forms of exercise, like walking and cycling, become difficult or impossible. As such, many people with lower limb arthritis gain weight and lose fitness, which only serves to make their condition worse in the long run. Thankfully, it is never too late to start working on improving your fitness again, and there are a few types of fitness programs that are well-suited to people with severe lower-limb arthritis.

Chair Aerobics

Chair aerobics is really popular in senior centers and for older adults, but there is no reason you cannot participate at any age. You don't even have to stand up during these routines. You can do all of your exercises from your chair, whether that's a wheelchair you are always in, or a chair you sit down in once you reach the fitness center.

Chair aerobics classes consist of upper body and core exercises. Usually, the exercises move at a pretty upbeat pace so that you're able to get your heart rate up without even working your lower body. You may be given hand weights for some of the exercises. Expect a little of everything, from overhead arm raises to neck rotations. 

Swimming

Swimming is a great exercise for anyone with lower limb arthritis. It does require you to use your legs somewhat, but the support of the water around your legs alleviates a lot of the pain. Using your legs gently while swimming can actually help loosen up your arthritic joints. Plus, swimming burns a lot of calories as it is a full-body workout, making it a good choice for anyone trying to lose weight.

You don't have to swim laps to get a good workout, either. Look for a swimming class for beginners or for those with limited mobility. These typically contain a lot of floating and water-treading exercises.

Rowing

Rowing may not sound very entertaining at first, but there are actually entire fitness classes that consist only of rowing on a rowing machine. The instructor has participants change up their rhythm, row with one hand at a time, and make other modifications to challenge different muscle groups and keep things interesting.

While you do need to brace yourself with your lower legs while rowing, you don't really bend them, so for most people with lower limb arthritis, rowing is a good choice.

Don't let arthritis in your legs keep you from being active. From swimming to rowing to chair aerobics, there are a lot of great fitness programs suited to your needs.

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22 January 2021

Talking About Learning To Love Exercise

Hello, I’m Gene. Welcome to my website about exercise. While I was growing up, I viewed exercise as an unnecessary way to torture myself. I did not have the confidence required to see that I had the ability to perform exercises with the best of them. Through the years, I have learned to love exercise by slowly ramping up my activity levels. I always switch up my exercise routines to avoid growing bored with the activities. I hope to use this site to help other people learn to love exercise as well. Please feel free to visit my site often to learn all you can about this important topic.