If you suffer from joint pain, you might feel like exercise isn’t for you. Many of our clients feel like they have to lead an inactive lifestyle because they’re waiting for a certain joint to quit causing them pain. Making some simple changes to your lifestyle and exercise regimen can help you get through your workouts without major joint pain!
- Warm up. Skipping your warm up is a common mistake that can cause a lot of unnecessary pain. Include movements that will stretch and loosen your major joints and muscles and increase your blood flow.
- Use heat. Heat is a very effective treatment for chronic joint pain. Heat helps to increase your blood flow to a certain area and soothe tight and painful joints.
- Break up your workouts. Instead of choosing to do “leg day” or “arm day”, exercise your leg muscles with some squats, then switch it up to do an arm exercise. This helps you disperse the amount of work exerted by your joints.
- Focus on low-impact exercises. These types of exercises include elliptical workouts, walking, swimming, or cycling. This will help your muscles stay strong while lowering the impact on your joints.
Chronic joint pain is not something you have to deal with alone. Our physical therapists at RPT can create a plan to help you recover and get back to your life, without significant pain. We are located all across the Salt Lake Valley, so we can serve you close to home. Are you ready to gain back control? Give us a call at 801-572-0690 to schedule your appointment.