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Alleviating Rheumatoid Arthritic PainAlthough arthritis is generally seen as an adult disease, rheumatoid arthritis can be debilitating even for young children. Soreness in wrist joints hinders your ability to pick up even the lightest of items such as an empty coffee mug. Knee and hip joints can also be affected and prevent you from walking properly. The pain is often brought on by weather changes and is most prevalent before a rainstorm. Usually when the rain starts the pain subsides. However in some cases the pain continues even with the rain. Though there is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis there are things that can be done to prevent the pain. There are medications available that help alleviate the pain. Seek advice from a medical professional before taking any medication though. Another way to alleviate and sometimes even prevent the pain altogether is through exercise. We all know that exercise is one of the best ways to keep ourselves healthy but not all of us realise the full benefits of exercising. Or the type of exercise we should be doing. Exercise keeps our hearts strong, improves muscle tone, and gets our blood circulating. All of which impacts on our overall body, inside and out. Aerobic exercise is the best for getting your blood circulating and increasing heart strength. Which directly impacts on preventing rheumatoid pain if done consistently. You can't just exercise at the onset of pain and expect the pain to disappear. You need to exercise regularly to feel the benefits. So what is regularly? Three to four times per week for 45 to 60 minutes per session. But for the exercise to be beneficial you need to increase your heart rate to a rate that is both safe and effective for you. How do you determine what is safe and effective? Global Health and Fitness has a free Heart Rate calculator that you can use as do several other web sites. Also check with your medical professional. You can also calculate your heart rate by taking 226 minus your age for women and 220 minus your age for men to determine your maximum heart rate. Then multiplying that by 60-80 % to determine your target heart rate for exercising. However this calculation is based on you having a resting heart rate of 70 beats per minute. As stated earlier consult your health professional. So to help alleviate and possibly even prevent rheumatoid arthritic pain start an aerobic exercise program and get your blood circulating properly. The benefits are immeasurable to any other form of treatment. And can help in other areas of your life.
Dianne Salmon
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