Think you can’t fit exercise into your busy day? Think again. A new study shows that just two minutes of exercise daily is enough to ease pain. In the study of 198 office workers with frequent neck and shoulder pain, those who completed two minutes a day of resistance exercise with elastic tubing experienced relief similar to those who completed 12 minutes of daily exercise.
Although the study did not focus on people with arthritis, Duke University physical therapist, Cynthia Harrell, who specializes in arthritis, says short bouts of exercise can strengthen muscles and relieve pain and stiffness due to arthritis. And even two minutes can be broken up into smaller chunks of different types of exercise that can give your whole body a boost.
Ready for some quick relief? Try these two-minute workouts.
Relax and relieve muscle pain and stiffness:
- Diaphragmatic breathing, or deep, belly breathing, for 30 to 60 seconds
- Hamstring stretch for 30 seconds
- Calf stretch for 30 seconds
Strengthen muscles to support knees:
- Ball squeeze between knees, 5 second squeezes, for 60 total seconds
- Seated straight leg raise for 30 seconds for each leg
Strengthen hip and thigh muscles:
- Marching in place for 30 to 60 seconds
- Walking forward and backward,10 steps each way
Strengthen and improve upper body range of motion:
- Arm circles backward for 30 seconds
- Work arms and back by moving your arms on a table top as if your doing the breast stroke for 60 seconds
- Wrist circles, wrist bends (up and down), and open and closed fingers for 10 seconds each
I had the same hand surgery last October and now I can do any daily function with my hand and more than I did before surgery. My hand is still healing but my surgeon said complete healing can take up to a year, so hang in there and do your home exercises, too. It will pay off as time goes by. Good luck!
I also, 7 weeks ago, had surgery on my hand...Trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction with tendon interposition.(LRTI) It's quite a mouthful!!)I'm working very hard at PT to increase my ROM and will soon start strengthening exercises.My orthopedist said I should gain back 70 percent of my strength and ROM but have been reading up on the procedure and I'm not very encouraged even tho my physical therapist said I'm doing very well.
Has anyone out there had the procedure and how did you do??
I am so sorry to hear of your pain standing. Please bring along lightweight, foldable camping chairs (that you can carry overy your shoulder). I am also 56 and just found out I have R.A. Weekly Methotrexate & daily 4 mg Prednisone are relieving most of my symptoms though my right hand middle knuckle is already deforming. What can you do? You have to use your hand at work & home (esp. cooking Thanksgiving meal)...
Keep seeking a good rheumatologist's care.
Here is the problem. If I stand for any length of time (waiting in line, at a party, sport field, my feet burn and my legs kill me (painful, but not burning). Dancing for any length of time, and I have to lie with feet elevated with ice packs. What is causing the leg pain and what can I do . I feel like an 80 year old invalid. Thank you. Mindy Kaplan
The last set of exercises in this article addresses upper body stiffness, including neck and shoulders. For more moves and exercise routines, please also visit our Exercise Videos & Photos under the "Fitness" section of the website.
All the best,
The Editors
Arthritis Today
Why put that as you tag line when you concentrated on knees, thighs, hips, etc?
Disappointed in you!!
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