Keep Moving

Image found here. 

After my bone-chilling swim the other day, I am reluctant to pack up my swim bag and head over to the fitness center again. But after reading this article, which was surprisingly good.... (Ooo. Did I actually say that about major network news? Why, yes. Yes I did. Sarcasm? Me?) ......I realized that even if the pool doesn't work for me, maybe the recumbent exercise bikes would, or the treadmill, or any of the other low impact exercise machines.

Here's a bit of this motivating article, but you can head over to ABC Action News to read it in it's entirety.

....pain is what deters people with arthritis from exercising, says Rebecca Castleton, arthritis-program manager for the Utah Department of Health.
"Physical activity," Castleton says, "is the best prescription for managing the disease." 

Not that long ago, doctors told patients the opposite. People with arthritis were supposed to take it easy so as not to stress their joints. Many of them ended up crippled as the inflammatory disease deformed and calcified their hands, feet, hips, shoulders and knees. 

Arthritis is still something of a mystery to researchers, especially the autoimmune forms such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosis, Still's disease and juvenile arthritis. The most common form is osteoarthritis, which appears when joints wear out. No cures exist for any of them. 

Anecdotal evidence over the years has shown that exercise -- even the most basic small moves -- helps. Not until the past couple of decades, however, has exercise been examined scientifically as a treatment for osteoarthritis, with most of the emphasis on hips and knees. It is now generally accepted that exercise regimens that focus on cardiovascular conditioning and lower-extremity strength training help manage the painful and often-disabling symptoms.

Dang. Guess I'll give it another try. Now where did I put my swim shoes.....