Arthritis and cycling

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Originally Posted by dachshund

I had always heard that keeping joints moving keeps the "inner parts" lubricated. Low-stress exercise should be therapeutic. I think swimming is probably the best form of exercise, quickly followed by cycling.

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the worst injury i have suffered was while swimming. I tweaked a shoulder
and it resulted in 1.5 years of immobility, frozen shoulder which i am still
feeling the effects of.
I'm not saying that swimming is bad, but put an uncoordinated person in the middle of the ocean (me) and they can hurt themselves even while not trying to do anything terribly difficult.
I'm saying that bike riding is GREAT!! even for folks with Arthritis!
A sensible bike rider can do a lot to stave off arthritic symptoms. Immobility
makes the joints worse, easy pedalling is what our doctor recommends.

I know my Mom felt like swim therapy helped with her knees but now she has arthritis in her shoulders and it's got her down really bad. Plus it's starting to settle into her back as well.

I tried jogging a few years ago but it killed my knees and I was told by a doctor that walking was much better for women and that cycling was also better than jogging. I'm really enjoying riding and I took my new bike out on a hour long ride yesterday. My first real ride clipped in. I was a bit nervous but I made it. I felt great and I could have gone another hour but my hands got a little sore. Then when I got home I noticed a little burning in my knees. I don't plan on giving up just because of a little pain, I'll just need to get my knees adjusted to the new workout.

Oh, yeah, it's rough on shoulders, you're right. My mom went through this, too. Yeah, stick with cycling!

Read the book Younger Next Year , or Younger Next Year for Women: the authors talk about how continued activity--that is, doing regular exercise 6 days a week, for example, oh, I don't know, cycling maybe :D --can stave off not only arthritis but also some of the other effects of aging.

Both authors are huge fans of cycling as a sport that can carry us into our 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s.....