Exercise for Aching Joints: Tips From a Fitness Specialist

When it comes to aching joints, movement can be medicine! Tyler Wunderlich, a fitness specialist from Sagewell Health & Fitness, shares how exercise can be beneficial for joint pain in this 2 Your Well-Being segment with WFMY News 2.

It's hard to exercise when I have joint pain. How do I manage that? Can exercise help with joint pain? 

"It's really quite simple -- just make sure that we're remembering that movement is medicine! Appropriate exercises have been shown to reduce pain from arthritis in multiple people. And it doesn't stop the pain, but it does reduce it. So just making sure that we're continuing to move and getting active is the most important thing."

"It doesn't have to be something that's you know, putting a lot of stress on your body, or anything like that. It's just making sure you are moving, getting something done and making sure that you are active."

When first starting out with exercise, is it normal to feel some pain?

"Part of exercise is muscle soreness. So you will have a little bit of soreness as you begin to exercise, but overall, it can be reduced once your body is used to getting that extra movement."

What kinds of exercises can help with stiff, achy joints?

"There's really no one size fits all -- it's just making sure that you do something that keeps you motivated. Again, it's just making sure that you are moving. So cardio is going to be good -- obviously, it's going to keep your heart healthy. Strength training is going to help you be stronger, of course, and a little bit of both cardio and strength training would be good. But again, it's just making sure it's something that you can stick with long term."

Learn more about exercise for aching joints by watching the full video interview above.