EXERCISE CRUCIAL TO ARTHRITIS MANAGEMENT

For Immediate Release:
April 30, 2002

Mary Ellen Ankeney, Manager
Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program
(800) 316-0935

EXERCISE CRUCIAL TO ARTHRITIS MANAGEMENT
Warmer Temperatures, Longer Days are Perfect Reasons to Get Moving

You're never too old to feel young, but more than one million Missouri adults are far too young to be feeling so old.

During National Arthritis Month (May), the Missouri Arthritis and Osteoporosis Program (MAOP) in the Bureau of Chronic Disease Control, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, is recommending ways to alleviate the pain and disability that often accompanies this disease.

"Arthritis patients should take advantage of rising temperatures and longer days to get moving," said Mary Ellen Ankeney, MAOP Manager. "While it might cause some initial discomfort, light to moderate exercise, such as walking,can produce tremendous, positive results for those living with arthritis."

Regular exercise, even activities like walking, were once thought to cause more harm than good for patients. However, regular exercise is valuable not only in managing pain, but in decreasing anxiety, blood pressure, depression, bone loss and body fat, according to the Arthritis Foundation.

MAOP suggests that patients consider the following ways to get moving:

• Range-of-Motion and Stretching (Flexibility) Exercises: Daily stretching activities counteract the decreased ability to move joints through their fullest degrees of movement (range-of-motion), and is one of the most devastating consequences of arthritis. Patients who can do 10 minutes of continuous flexibility movements daily should achieve the mobility and endurance needed to advance to muscle-strengthening exercises and aerobic activity.
• Muscle-Strengthening Exercises: Stronger muscles help provide support to joints and help to maintain the functional strength necessary to perform everyday tasks like lifting bags of groceries or climbing stairs. Patients will likely benefit from isometric exercises, such as tensing a set of muscles against an immovable object, and from isotonic exercises, such as moving a limb against lightweight resistance. Weight-bearing aerobic activity particularly benefits the hip and spine, and can strengthen bones.
  
• Aerobic (Endurance) Exercises: These exercises strengthen the heart, lungs and blood vessels, and can provide additional energy to accomplish more throughout the day. Remember: moderate aerobic exercise, like walking the dog or swimming, can be just as beneficial to your body as strenuous exercise!

"It's important that patients understand that there may be some temporary discomfort when they begin exercising, and it is not harmful" said
Ankeney. "However, if pain lasts for long periods of time, or if it increases after you stop moving, you've overdone it. The best approach is to start slowly and advance slowly."

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Media interested in profiling an arthritis patient in their area who has started an exercise program may call Andrew Shea, Bureau of Chronic
Disease Control Public Information Assistant at (800) 316-0935 for contact information.


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