Home and garden - World Arthritis Day

Getactive!
Physical activities and exercise
suitable for people with rheumatic
and musculoskeletal diseases
Home
and garden
Top 5 tips
1.Move to Improve! Incorporate physical activity
and exercise into your daily tasks
2.Set yourself achievable goals and challenges to
stay motivated and rewarded
3. Plan and prioritise you activities with rest periods
4.Use aids to help you stay physically active and
able to do more
5.Get a good night’s rest, but avoid sitting or lying
still as much as possible during the day
about it is better to move little and often with short rests,
than to try and do too much and then collapse. The longer
you are sitting or lying still, the more your muscles and
joints will stiffen up, making it even more painful when you
try to move again.
Introduction
Physical activity is defined as any movement
you perform when you are not lying or
sitting still.
Adding more movement into your daily life, however small,
is important to your health and keeping you mobile. As the
popular expression goes, ‘use it, or lose it’, meaning the
more active you are the less you risk losing, or restricting
your range of movement and energy. Everyday physical
activities include doing tasks around the house, playing
with children, walking the dog, and gardening.
Getting started
Starting your day, setting goals and
alternating rest with activity
Most people with RMDs will be affected by some level
of joint stiffness in the morning. Allow extra time for
gentle stretching and mobilising movements to ease your
muscles and joints into the day. Once you are up and
Getactive!
It is easier to be physically active when you have goals
and things to look forward to, such as meeting friends. But
if there is nothing special in your calendar you may need
to set yourself a few positive goals or small challenges to
motivate yourself to move. Keep a note of your goals and
achievements, however small, and think of the satisfaction
and rewards your efforts bring. Give yourself a gold star!
Even when it’s tempting to let others do things for you, try
and do as much as you can for yourself.
Gardening is a great hobby for people
with RMDs
If you have a garden, window box or flower pots, nurturing
and growing plants is a satisfying and rewarding way to
keep physically active. Nurturing plants, watching them
grow or harvesting fresh flowers, fruit, vegetable or herbs
can be very therapeutic both physically and emotionally.
Digging, watering, pruning, raking or weeding – gardening
is a great way to relieve stress and lift you mood.
Design your garden so it is easy to maintain, for example
narrow raised beds can be managed sitting down. Look
for garden tools and gadgets that have been specially
developed for people with joint problems or who have
difficulty standing, bending, doing heavy work and/or
have problems with their hands.
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Considerations
Try and incorporate one or more of the
following into your daily routine:
If your body and energy levels allow, you
can also try:
• Instead of viewing everyday tasks – cleaning, cooking,
laundry and taking out the rubbish as a drudge or
burden, make them fun and see them instead as
a positive benefit and an opportunity to be more
physically active
• Parking a little further from the entrance
• Lift your mood and boost your energy by playing
upbeat music to move to as you perform your tasks
• If you expend all your energy at work and feel too
exhausted to do anything when you return home,
prioritise tasks to small, manageable jobs and lower
your expectations of perfection
• Take frequent ‘stretching’ breaks – you can incorporate
these into cleaning windows or reaching for cooking
ingredients
• Making more than one trip with shopping from the car
to the house
• Cycling or walking to the shops instead of driving to
pick up small items
• Using a shopping basket on wheels for heavier items
• Using stairs instead of elevators (if your knees allow)
• Getting off public transport one stop early to walk the
extra distance
• Getting a dog
• Taking the children out to play
Equipment
Sitting on a firm chair or low stool try these
gentle exercises:
• Stretching out your fingers and toes and wiggling them
• Straightening and bending your legs (one at a time)
• Lifting one foot off the ground and putting it down on the
floor and then lifting the other foot and replacing it
• Moving your hands up and down to gently work your wrists
Assistive technologies
• Flexing and stretching your feet to gently work your ankles
There are a wide range of assistive technologies available
to help you perform everyday tasks and remain physically
active.
• Rolling your shoulders back
• Turning your head slowly from side to side, keeping
your chin level
- Adaptable gardening tools
• Rotating your spine (waist turn)
-‘Grabbers’
• Bending to the side from the waist (side bend)
- Walking sticks and walking frames
• Tilting your pelvis back and forward to gently loosen
your lower back
- Household appliances and gadgets
You will find information on more exercises suitable for people with RMDs in our Guide to Physical Activity and Exercise.
This is general advice for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs), but individuals may have
specific problems. Always check with your doctor or physiotherapist before you start a new form of exercise.
Disclaimer: Information available on this website is made available for general informational and educational purposes only. Nothing on this website should be relied on in any way, whether
as medical advice or otherwise. You are encouraged to seek medical advice from a health practitioner if you are concerned about your health or the health of someone you know. We do not
accept any responsibility for information shared on this website.
Getactive!