Why is exercise important?

It’s important to keep your joints moving and your muscles strong – if you don’t use it, you may lose it. If arthritis is causing pain, you may not want to move. But this can increase stiffness and in the long term your muscles will weaken, making movement even more difficult.

Exercise is important because it can help you to

• ease stiffness
• improve joint movement
• strengthen muscles
• keep your heart healthy
• lose weight, putting less strain on your joints
• strengthen bones and maintain bone density.

Exercise also has positive mental effects. Often you’ll feel much better and more self-confident when you’ve done some exercise. This can affect the way you cope with a condition.

Visit Arthritis Research UK