Arthritis Pain can be Reduced With Three-hours-a-week Exercise Program

Arthritis patients can beat their agonizing pain by exercising three hours a week, according to researchers of the Department of Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina. The researchers found that the three-hours-a-week program, which was devised in the US, has proved to be successful. The first exercise involves standing upright from a seated position then sit again without using the arms, while in the second, outstretched arms are used to reach toes from a sitting position with knees straight and the third involves walking as quickly as possible around the house for six minutes.

Researchers found that at the end of the 3 month trial of the exercise regime, the average pain rating for participants had fallen to 4.3 out of 10 from 4.7 and patients with chronic joint inflammation had significant improvements in pain relief, stiffness and tiredness. They are now urging the GPs to prescribe this regime to Britain's 10 million arthritis sufferers to reduce pain levels.

Researcher Dr Sara Wilcox said, "This adds a more flexible format to the existing list of evidence-based programs and it may appeal to subgroups of the arthritis population with less access to community programs."

The study is published in the 'American Journal of Preventative Medicine'.

Source-Medindia