For those suffering from joint pain, we often wonder whether we should be continuing exercise or not. Are we doing more harm or are we helping reduce the pain? We can tell you that doing moderate exercise can help alleviate pressure on the joint, and to help stimulate it with good blood flow. But there’s a catch.

A great deal of literature has pointed out that impact exercise can have a harmful effect on joints. For example, running has a stressful impact on the knees and ankles, leading to special running shoes being introduced to soften the blow of the impact.

So what is the verdict?

We thought an expert should help us make the decision – and our research led us to  Professor Patrick McNeil’s, whose findings suggest:

“It’s a myth to make the general statement that exercise is bad for your joints.”

What Professor McNeil goes on to explain, is that it all depends on HOW the exercise is performed, especially on an already-injured joint. The type of exercise will determine whether the joint will be helped or harms. For example, if someone has joint pain in their knees, hips or ankles, high-impact exercise such as running could aggravate the symptoms. In this instance, it would be better to undertake low-impact exercises like swimming or bike riding.

What does this mean?

Ultimately, it means that exercise can be beneficial and helpful for the relief of joint pain. It also means that your exercise routine should be monitored by a professional first and that you should take it easy, especially if you haven’t exercised in a while.

There are a wide variety of exercises you can do to help relieve the stresses of joint or muscular pain. There are also natural pain relief products that aim to alleviate any pain after your exercise routine.

Here are the benefits of exercise for joint-pain sufferers:

• Decreases pain
• Improves muscle strength
• Relieves pressure off sore spots
• Improves mobility
• Improves flexibility

If you suffer from joint pain, it’s best NOT to do high-impact training exercises, but rather to follow the instructions of professionals or attempt low-impact exercises.

In addition to exercising, you should also consider pain relief products to help alleviate the stress and pain to your joints and muscles. For more information, visit Zen Pain Relief