I know exercise is important. I am a marathon runner and haven't been able to run since last fall. It is killing me not to. I have gained weight and am not happy about it. My disease is somewhat mild at this point. I started hydroxychloroquine about 3 months ago and feel much better. I had started doing yoga since it is low impact and I have been feeling really good. I had a check up on Friday and still have swelling in both my knees, one elbow and some mild swelling in my hands that comes and goes. The doc was not happy I was doing yoga - he said it is hard on the joints. I thought it was a good alternative to a lot of other activities. I see a lot of people on here do yoga and was wondering what your docs think of it?
My Rheumy is fine with yoga for her patients and I did it of and on for 20 years. Now I am unable to do a lot of poses but do pop in for a class now and then with an instructor who understands that I do my own thing. I exercise in a heated pool now 88-92 degrees. I do a combination of yoga and dance moves and love it.
I don't do yoga, although I keep thinking about it. I tend to get joint instability, so this would be the one thing to keep an eye out for, if I were to do it. That said, I do try and keep active. I walk most days, sometimes ride my bike. Need to try out rollerblading again, and am just starting to do some running now. One of my knees is always swollen, but looks okay on x-ray. So I only baby it if it's actually hurting me. It's been this way for years now.
Thanks for the encouragement. My husband says I should go ahead and try to run, but I just don't want to damage my joints anymore than the disease itself does. I do have one finger that bends backward at the middle joint. Is that what you mean by joint instability? Sometimes my knees feel weak like they might give out, but that doesn't happen very often. I thought that yoga would help to strength the muscles around the joints to help them be stable. Just trying to try to stay as healthy and active as I can.
I do yoga for people with arthritis on DVD. At most YMCA's they also offer a yoga under seniors and those with fibromyalgia, arthritis, etc... It helps.
Immunity, can you give me the title or an Amazon link for that video? I might like that.
Immunity? said:
I do yoga for people with arthritis on DVD. At most YMCA’s they also offer a yoga under seniors and those with fibromyalgia, arthritis, etc… It helps.
I do yoga and it is totally approved by my doctors. I adapt the poses so I'm not stressing inflamed joints/tendons. There's a book called Kundalini Yoga: Unlock Your Inner Potential Through Life-Changing Exercise that has a ton of poses to work different areas, which helps when you can't put weight on your knees or feet or whatever.
Yes, that type of thing. It means that the joints are "loose" due to soft tissue damage, and they don't move correctly. I actually wound up having the base of my thumb operated on to tighten the joint, as it was very painful and had lost quite a bit of function.
Goofy Pirate said:
Thanks for the encouragement. My husband says I should go ahead and try to run, but I just don't want to damage my joints anymore than the disease itself does. I do have one finger that bends backward at the middle joint. Is that what you mean by joint instability? Sometimes my knees feel weak like they might give out, but that doesn't happen very often. I thought that yoga would help to strength the muscles around the joints to help them be stable. Just trying to try to stay as healthy and active as I can.
I do yoga as much as I can, though I don’t have joint instability and would be cautious if I did. I find it great to help stretch out and relieve tendon stiffness.
Interestingly for me, I really need to do gentle Vinyasa (flow yoga), not Hatha (dominated by static poses) because holding the same position for too long actually irritates my tendons and joints, so you may need to try a few types before finding what works for you.
Jen,
The class I am taking is a very introductory class. We do as much stretching as we do poses. We have recently started doing sun salutations, I believe this is the Vinyasa or flow yoga. I do agree it is easier on me than when we first started with just holding the poses as we learned them. I enjoy the spiritual and meditative aspect as well as the physical aspect of it. I am glad to see others are ok with yoga.
I will have to look up the book. I am looking for ways to avoid being on my knees and hands. I think the plank is the hardest on me, my wrists bother me a lot. This book sounds like it will have some good alternatives.
rosen said:
I do yoga and it is totally approved by my doctors. I adapt the poses so I'm not stressing inflamed joints/tendons. There's a book called Kundalini Yoga: Unlock Your Inner Potential Through Life-Changing Exercise that has a ton of poses to work different areas, which helps when you can't put weight on your knees or feet or whatever.
I am a marathon runner also. I try to run as much as possible because I love it so much, unfortunately I am not able to put the miles in I used to. This is the only exercise that makes me feel good. I tried the elliptical, biking, and swimming but find they actually cause more pain than running for me. Once I start running I usually don't feel any pain, not sure if its the endorphins or what. I did read a medical research article a while back that actually showed that high impact activities like running resulted in higher functional levels in those with RA and less cartilage loss. Of course, my issues are not as pronounced as some of you.