About 40 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients need more exercise
While a prescription to buy Canadian Celebrex can help relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, moderate physical activity should also be part of a patient's treatment plan.
While a prescription to buy Canadian Celebrex can help relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, moderate physical activity should also be part of a patient's treatment plan. However, new research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine indicates that about two out of every five people with this condition remain inactive.
Prior to the 1980s, physicians had recommended regular rest for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. More recent studies suggest that moderate exercise may be more beneficial to joint flexibility, muscle strength and pain relief.
In order to investigate the activity levels of rheumatoid arthritis patients, the team of scientists equipped 176 study participants with accelerometers to measure their movements.
Results showed that over the course of one week, 42 percent of patients did not engage in any 10-minute stretch of moderate-to-vigorous activity. About one-half of subjects also lacked strong motivation or beliefs about the benefits of physical activity. These last two factors accounted for 65 percent of inactivity, as published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.
"Our results suggest that public health initiatives need to address the lack of motivation to exercise and promote the benefits of physical activity to reduce the prevalence of inactivity in those with [rheumatoid arthritis]," said researcher Jungwha Lee.
About 1.3 million Americans live with rheumatoid arthritis, the researchers report.
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