Exercise Treatment for Chronic Illness
Nurse Susan provides valuable information about how exercise can help treat four chronic illnesses.
Chronic diseases are becoming more prevalent all over the world. Recent data show that chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease cause more than half of the deaths that occur each year. If you are suffering from a chronic illness, it is essential to know that you can take many steps to improve your symptoms and take back control of your life. In conjunction with medication and dietary and lifestyle changes, exercise is an excellent treatment option for several chronic illnesses, including the four common ones listed below.
Arthritis
Arthritis comes in several different forms, including osteoarthritis (the most common form) and rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune condition), and affects millions of people worldwide. No matter what kind of arthritis you suffer from, exercise can help improve your pain and loosen up your joints to make movement easier.
One of the many reasons exercise is so beneficial is that it helps strengthen the muscles surrounding your joints. When your muscles are strong, they can support the joints better to minimize pain and discomfort.
Yoga and Tai Chi can be used to help improve range of motion, balance, and flexibility in people with arthritis. Resistance training and practicing compound movements like squats and deadlifts are beneficial for people with arthritis who need to build muscle and improve their range of motion. Gentle, low-impact forms of cardiovascular exercise like walking and swimming are also great for managing weight (which helps reduce pressure on the joints) and flexibility-based practices.
When you first start using exercise to help manage your arthritis symptoms, it is important to start slowly and work with a doctor or physical therapist to ensure you are not putting too much strain on your body. Be sure to support your joints by wearing knee, ankle, or elbow braces.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is one of the most common chronic pain conditions, and it affects between three and six per cent of the global population. Rather than joint pain and inflammation, which affects people with arthritis, people with fibromyalgia struggle with pain in their soft tissue or myofascial.
If you have fibromyalgia, the last thing you want to do when you are struggling with a painful flare-up is exercise. Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do to manage your pain and reduce the intensity and frequency of future flare-ups.
Regular exercise can help improve the health of your muscles so that they can better withstand biochemical and physical stress. Exercise can also improve sleep, help you feel more energetic, and reduce feelings of depression, stress, and anxiety that often accompany fibromyalgia and other chronic illnesses. It is also essential to exercise regularly to control or reduce weight and avoid putting additional strain on your muscles.
Like those with arthritis, people with fibromyalgia need to stick to a varied exercise routine involving resistance training, low-impact cardio, and flexibility practices like yoga. If you feel it is impossible to start an exercise routine with your current pain, focus on starting slow. Going for a short walk or doing a few minutes of stretching a few times a week is a perfect starting point.
Diabetes
Regular exercise can also benefit the 422 million adults worldwide who suffer from Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. It can also help those with pre-diabetes reduce their weight and avoid becoming diabetics.
Resistance training is especially beneficial for people with diabetes because it helps them increase their muscle mass. The likelihood of storing extra glucose as fat decreases when muscle mass increases. Exercise, in general, is also crucial for people with diabetes because it improves insulin sensitivity and lowers blood glucose.
In addition to resistance training, diabetics can also benefit from performing regular cardiovascular exercises like walking, jogging, or swimming to help them reduce and control their weight.
The American Diabetes Association recommends diabetics alternate between medium- and low-intensity forms of exercise several times per week. The ADA also advises against being sedentary for extended periods. Instead of staying seated for hours at a time, either work or home, try to stand up every half hour or so and do some stretches or torso twists. Even low-intensity movements like this can positively impact your blood glucose levels throughout the day.
Asthma
Asthma affects nearly 300 million people worldwide. Contrary to popular belief, exercise does not necessarily cause asthma attacks. It can help people with asthma strengthen their lungs to prevent attacks from occurring in the first place. Some of the best forms of exercise for people with asthma include:
- Walking
- Yoga
- Cycling
- Golf
- Pilates
- Swimming
It is essential to take some precautions if you exercise to help treat your asthma reap the benefits. Of all these activities, swimming is probably the best for people with asthma because they are exercising in a warm, humid environment. Maintaining a horizontal position can also be beneficial because it seems to help loosen mucus that accumulates at the bottom of the lungs.
First, keep in mind that cold weather can trigger asthma attacks, so you may want to take your workouts inside during the winter. Second, if swimming is your workout of choice, make sure you are not swimming in an over-chlorinated pool, as this can also trigger attacks.
Final Thoughts
If you suffer from any of these common chronic illnesses, remember that exercise is a viable option for helping you treat your symptoms. Do not forget that it is never too late to start incorporating regular physical activity into your routine.
As long as you start slow, work with a professional, and are patient with yourself as you find the right kind of exercise and adjust to this new lifestyle, you will almost certainly see your symptoms improve.
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- NURSE, S. (2018) Exercise Treatment for Chronic Illness [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article327.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Nurse Susan has always been passionate about helping people heal. After she retired from a lifelong career as a nurse, that passion did not disappear. She loves to use her expertise to write about the best ways to keep you and your family healthy, active, and happy.