This condition can be extremely painful and hinders all everyday activities.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects more than 1.1 million Nigerians, and its specific cause is still unknown, as well as its cure.
Yet, researchers believe that this chronic is a result of an autoimmune disorder, and its symptoms are triggered when the antibodies attack the synovial joint fluid, leading to chronic inflammation. It usually afflicts people between the ages of 30 and 60, and women are more likely to develop it at a younger age than men.
There are four categories of potential risk factors associated with its onset, as follows:
- Hormones
- Poor lifestyle habits
- Genetics
- Environmental risk factors
These are the most common early arthritis symptoms:
- Joint pain
- Joint tenderness
- Fatigue
- Joint deformity
- Redness and warmth in the joint
- Joint swelling
- Fever
- Loss of joint range of motion
- Many joints affected (polyarthritis)
- Both sides of the body affected (symmetric)
- Loss of joint function
- Anemia
Fortunately, arthritis symptoms can be relieved naturally, and the following moves will help you regain flexibility and fight it in a completely safe way:
1. Pilates:
This is an excellent way to boost joint health.
2. Bicep Curls:
This move will help you boost endurance and thus strengthen the joints and build more muscle mass.
3. Wall Squat:
It will strengthen the muscles and joints, and reduce the pressure on the hip and knee joints.
4. Knee to Chest:
It improves flexibility and treats the stiffness in the hips.
5. Zumba Fitness:
Zumba burns calories, but it does not jar the joints and improves flexibility instead.
6. Elliptical Machine:
This exercise increases endurance and provides secondary strength to the arms.
7. Walking:
According to Eric Robertson, a Physical Therapist in Denver, “Cartilage is like a sponge and it gets nutrients from the compression and decompression of your body weight as you walk.”
8. Chair Leg Raises:
This exercise will help you to control the range of motion with the legs, and less with the arms.
9. Qi Gong:
This Chinese exercise tones the core muscles and improves body posture and balance.
10. Gardening:
Gardening can be a great exercise with a myriad of benefits, such as treating depression, which has been linked to rheumatoid arthritis.
Moreover, make sure you avoid high-impact exercises at the beginning, and just to be on the safe side, consult your doctor before you compile a set of exercises that you intend to do routinely.
