Motion is Lotion: Arthritis

"Motion is Lotion"! I'm guessing that you've heard that phrase in the past somewhere or somehow. It's definitely a catchy phrase spoken by many health care professionals and many fitness gurus when they are trying to encourage people to move their body. Is there any truth to this saying? You bet there is. 

Our body is made to move, we have muscles and joints that allow our body to be dynamic in its movements and also get us from point A to point B. When muscles and joints are not moving for prolonged periods of time, stiffness and aches & pains can develop from lack of movement. 

What about people with osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis is the general wear and tear on our body's joints as we age. For anyone who has osteoarthritis and is encouraged to move more, they may say, "But it hurts when I move and feels better when I rest!". So why would health care practitioners make that recommendation?

Turns out there is a sweet spot in the level of physical activity shown to most effectively help decrease pain associated with osteoarthritis. Too little movement is pain causing and too much movement is pain causing (the equivalent of "overdoing it"). That sweet spot is unique to every individual but it functions to help their joints become lubricated with synovial fluid (aka joint fluid also aka "the lotion") and their muscles to warm up and loosen out. When this happens the pain associated with osteoarthritis decreases and, in some cases, disappears completely for periods of time! Wonderful! The important thing is to keep up with moving around to be able to stay in that sweet spot for most of the day to keep the pain down. 

Some activities that could be effective for decreasing osteoarthritis pain are:
- Light aerobic activities like walking, going up and down stairs, biking and swimming
- Local strengthening exercises for affected joints like light resistance training with body weight or small weights

If you need assistance with figuring out your physical activity level sweet spot, decreasing pain or increasing muscle & joint mobility, visit your local chiropractor or book today if you're in the Guelph region! We'd be happy to help get you on track! 

BOOK AN APPOINTMENT TODAY