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 JUNE 19, 2002 Get Loose Lying Down When you are in pain all of the time, you may not think of exercise as an option in addition to medication. Gentle warm-up exercises that can be done lying down in bed are perfect for those days when you feel your arthritis acting up. Even when you believe that you can't do much of anything, you can do the simple warm-up exercises devised by New York personal trainer Brian Heir. "Any arthritis patient can do these exercises. Ideally, do them in the morning to help you get out of bed, in the afternoon and at night," Heir says. "You need not worry about hurting yourself. Just go slow and take it easy at first to work out the kinks." A few minutes several times a day can help ease discomfort immensely and loosen up stiff joints, says Heir, who originally developed these exercises for his quadriplegic brother, Doug. He has adapted them for arthritis patients from his book, Tone-A-Metrics: The Bedroom Body Shape-up (Pocket Books). When doing these exercises, keep your body and spinal column flat on the bed and don't arch your back. To start, stretch your legs straight out with your feet about shoulder width apart, heels on the bed. Your hands should be at your sides with the palms down flat on the bed. This is the ready position. Finger Flexes Get in the ready position. Bend your elbows close to your body so that your fingers point to the ceiling. Open your hands and stretch your fingers straight up. Roll your fingers down to make a fist with each hand. Slowly open and close your hands 10 times, flexing your fingers and then making a fist. Wrist Roll Start in the same position as the Finger Flexes -- elbows bent close to your body, fingers pointing toward the ceiling. With your hands open, roll your wrists in a circle in one direction 10 times, then the other direction 10 times. Arm Presses From the ready position, lift one shoulder off the bed and reach your arm and hand up towards the ceiling. Bring your shoulder back down and rest your elbow on the bed. Lift and reach with the other hand and shoulder towards the ceiling. Alternate arms until you have done 10 on each side. Hand Clap From the ready position, extend both arms straight up, fingers pointed to the ceiling, and clap your hands together over your chest. Move both hands back toward the bed, keeping your arms straight, until the backs of your hands touch the bed. Then clap your hands together again, arms straight out, over your chest. Repeat 10 times. Praying Shoulder Rolls Start in the same position as the Hand Clap -- hands together straight up over your chest. Clasp your hands together as if you were praying. With your arms straight and hips flat to the bed, roll to one side so that the back of one hand and elbow just about touches the bed. Let the weight of your clasped hands roll your body over to the side. Roll back to the starting position and then roll to the other side with arms straight. Roll side-to-side 10 times. Shoulder Shrugs Return to the ready position, and with your head relaxed and eyes toward the ceiling, shrug both shoulders and bring them backwards towards your ear, then roll them back down toward the bed. Keep your fingers on the bed and your body flat to the bed as you concentrate on shrugging your shoulder. Do 10 times. Now reverse directions and shrug your shoulders and roll them toward the ceiling and back towards the bed, 10 times. Side Bend From the ready position, pull your stomach in tight, lean to one side, moving one hand down towards the knee on the same side. Your head and shoulders should move slightly to that side as you reach down. Relax your neck and chest muscles as you move. Pull your hand back up so that you are again in the ready position. Lean to one side 10 times, then repeat 10 times on the other side. Knee Bend From the ready position, bring one knee up towards your chest, pause, then straighten out your leg and put it back flat down on the bed. Keep the opposite leg flat on the bed. Alternate one leg at a time, up, and then back down, 10 times on each side. Lift one leg at a time, not both at once so that you don't strain your back. Rockette Kick Start in the ready position. Take two hands and clasp them under one thigh. Pull up on your thigh until your knee points up toward the ceiling. Then kick your foot up towards the ceiling and bring your heel back down again. Keep your knee bent during the entire kick. Do 10 then return your leg to the bed and switch your hands to the other leg. Repeat 10 times on the other side. Ankle Roll From the ready position, bring your feet slightly off the bed and roll both your ankles in a full circle at the same time, 10 times in one direction, then 10 times in the other direction. |
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