Exercising with osteoarthritis: overcoming barriers

Professor Kim Bennell, physiotherapist 

I think the key to overcoming the barriers is  to firstly identify what are those barriers that  are stopping you from performing the exercises  because they are going to be different and once you identify those barriers then you can look at  specific strategies that are going to work best  for you and again you might have the same barrier  as someone else but the strategy that will work  best for you is going to differ. So, you can look  at strategies in conjunction with your health professional or get some advice about how you might manage those but they can be very simple so for example if you just simply forget to do your home exercises putting up something on the fridge  can be really useful, having your mobile phone  tell you that you need to do some exercises or  your computer, having your partner remind you that  you need to do them so some simple strategies like  that. If it's around lack of knowledge finding out more about what other benefits of exercise can be more motivating, keeping a logbook can be really beneficial as well.

Lucinda Moody, exercise physiologist 

 Being in the exercise and fitness industry I've heard every excuse that there is for stopping exercise or not coming to an exercise program. People do experience mental blocks and those barriers that they just don't want to get started on an exercise program, for example they say typically I've got to lose weight before I go to the gym. The best thing I can suggest there is to just get started do something that you feel comfortable with buddy up with somebody who's in a similar condition, find an exercise program that has other people with similar health conditions to you. I don't have time is another one, but you need to make time for your exercise. If you make time to eat lunch and have a shower daily you need to look at exercise as something that's going to help you long term to improve your quality of life.

Professor Kim Bennell, physiotherapist

 Some people say that the exercises are boring or can get boring over a  period of time and it's important to look at ways to vary the exercise program so you don't need to  do the same thing day in day out the exercises can be changed they can be varied doing them in  a group setting with others can be really helpful  or doing them while you're watching the television  or having some music on can help with that as well.  

Another misperception is that it's an all or nothing, if you don't do your exercises all the time diligently then there's no point you might as well give up and do nothing and that's actually  not correct. A little bit is better than nothing so even doing a little bit of exercise, being a little bit more active is going to be beneficial.

Lucinda Moody, exercise physiologist 

 If you are time poor and you can't do all of the different sorts of exercise that we recommend for osteoarthritis choose one that you love or one that is easy to access so if you have a gym just around the corner or you might like to go to your local swimming pool and do some warm water exercise. Even if you are time poor try and find 20 to 30 minutes a day to squeeze in that physical activity or exercise which is going to be super beneficial in managing your osteoarthritis.

Can I exercise with a disability or mobility limitation?

Lucinda Moody, exercise physiologist 

Mobility devices should not be seen as a barrier for participation in a physical activity or exercise program. A lot of the local gyms these days, swimming pools have standards whereby you can be hoisted into a pool or there's ramps that are accessible for you to get involved in a physical activity programs. Exercise professionals can modify programs so if you are needing to be wheelchair based you can do upper body workouts and also cardiovascular exercise with handheld bicycles, you know, boxing is always a fun one to get the heart rate up. So, don't feel that those things can be limiting in a physical activity program it's quite likely that  with your osteoarthritis you do need some sort of  device to keep you mobile so we can certainly  modify programs to suit your needs and abilities.