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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    I have arthritis in my left leg, what exercises can I do?

    Related Topics
    Fitness and Sports Medicine Rheumatoid Arthritis Rheumatology
    My knee it gets stiff from time to time and if i sit for to long its hard to get up
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    Matt Tinski

    Exercise Physiologist, Personal Trainer

    Matt offers professional advice for introducing and / or fine tuning exercise for weight loss and has assisted many clients with various chronic illnesses to … View Profile

    Flexibility, Stretching: either regimented like a Tai Chi / Pilates or at home stretching infront of the TV. Arthritis is uncomfortable but you can reduce it's impact by maintaining your joint mobility.

    You can do any exercise you want if you can accept the fact you'll be sore if you do or sore if you don't… Do you want to give in or fight on?

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    Vangel Rizos

    HealthShare Member

    I have had clients with arthritis in both knees, some with bad hipps.    It's best not to move the knees too much with exercise,  and exercise the rest of the body. Tummy, shoulders, hips, quads, arms, I isolate the knees and give you many weight loss exercises you can do for the rest of your body,  and then set those exercises in a weight loss routine. This is done after an assessment of your abilities, and lifestyle.

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    Andrew Dowler

    Exercise Physiologist

    As an exercise physiologist i concentrate my practice on postural re-education, and orthopaedic rehabilitation delivering individualized exercise interventions for a wide range of conditions.Working closely … View Profile

    The type of exercise youu can do with arthritis in your knee depends on the type of arthritis, and the severity of the inflamation / reaction at any given time.

    Rheumatoid arthritis can vary in its symptoms rather significantly, with things like diet, stress, exercise, weather, and medications all contributing to the degree of inflamation. If the pain is significantly limiting your knee movement then it needs to be investigated to rule out any potentially nasty effects such as degenerative tissue damage ect. A visit to your GP would help as there are numerous startegies they can employ to help reuce inlfamation, swelling and pain.

    Once you have a green light from your GP to exercise then i wiould recomend exploring these types of exercise as each has been shwon to be very beneficial for arthritis, but there is alot of individual variations, so what wirks for one perosn, may not work for you.

    1. A structured knee strengthening/flexibility program focusing on, functional movement patterns, quad, hamstring, calf, adductors,  and abductors.

    2. Aquatic exercise, such as water walking, water strengtheing and swimming.

    3. Low intensity cycling and walkimg.

    4. Yoga and tai chi with appropriate modifications

    5. Pilates


    working with an experince exercise professional who can guide and adjust your exercise program is very important so that each exercise can be fine tuned to your needs. There is alot of things to explore, have fun and good luck, if you have any questions please ask.

    Drew


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