Last Updated on January 17, 2021
3. Living a sedentary lifestyle
Besides contributing to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and many other health issues, a sedentary lifestyle can also damage your joints and make it much more difficult to deal with rheumatoid arthritis. Physical activity is essential to strengthen both your muscles and joints, and it can even have anti-inflammatory effects on the body that can help patients manage RA symptoms. Unlike what you may think, having an active life does not mean being constantly in the gym. You don’t even need to hit the gym at all. Going for a walk every day might be enough to maintain a good physical shape, avoid a series of complicated health conditions, and strengthen your joints. Just stand up and start moving!
4. High-impact activities
We’ve mentioned that exercising is one of the things that makes rheumatoid arthritis better. However, if you are a RA patient, you need to be extremely careful with your exercising routine. High-impact exercises (such as running, plyometrics, tennis, and gymnastics, for example) are great for cardiovascular conditioning. Still, they will put a lot of stress on your joints (the term high-impact is precisely used due to the high impact it has on the joints). That’s why you should avoid these activities at all costs. Talk to a certified personal trainer and ask him to build a specific training plan taking into account your rheumatoid arthritis condition.
5. Being under great stress
Stress and anxiety have become common problems in modern society and have a huge negative impact on many aspects of our lives. The question is: does stress make RA worse? Well, maybe it does. Even though there’s no direct link between stress levels and rheumatoid arthritis, medical experts believe that exacerbated stress may affect the patient’s ability to manage the symptoms. Considering that dealing with a chronic condition is very stressful in itself due to the pain, the treatment, and costs associated with the disease, lowering stress levels should be a top priority for every patient. Meditation, walking in nature, and spending quality time with your loved ones are some activities that can help you control your stress levels. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to seek professional support . Luckily, there are many trained therapists out there whose job is to help people overcome mental health issues.
