Arthritis Workshop

Below are the links to the exercises we review in class. A theme of the questions we discussed during our workshop were what exercises are safe. Please note, low impact exercises are generally safe for people with osteoarthritis. However, you may need to regress (make easier) or progress the exercise depending on your functional level. Please note if these exercises are painful and do not feel appropriate for your functional level please consult with a physician or a physical therapist.

If you are new to exercise or it’s been greater than 6 months since you have consistently exercised, I would recommend starting out completing this routine twice a week. Each time you do the exercise, I would do 1 round of 10 repetitions of each activity. each week, I would add 1 repetition to the program until you can do 15 repetitions. After this, progress to 2 rounds of 10 repetitions adding 1 repetition to the program each week. Once you can complete 2 rounds of 15, move on to 3 rounds of 10. Again, add 1 repetition to the program each week until you can complete 3 rounds of 15. From here, add additional days per week.

Neuromuscular Exercise Program

  1. Introduction to the exercise program

  2. Warm up- ride a bike, walk or use elliptical fro 10 minutes

  3. Circuits: Exercises are performed one after the other in a circular manner

    1. Core: Please note, these exercise can performed without a ball(bridge/ sit up) AND the planks are supplemental to the main exercises.

      • Bridge

      • Sit up

    2. Postural Orientation

      • Forward and backward Slide Lunges

      • Sideways Slide Lunges

    3. Lower Extremity Muscular Strength

      • Hip Abduction

      • Hip Adduction

      • Seated Knee Extension

      • Seated or Prone Knee Flexion

    4. Functional Exercises

      • Sit to stand

      • Step up

  4. Cool Down- 5 to 10 minutes

    1. Walk forward 30 feet then backwards 30 feet watching yourself in front of a mirror maintaining an upright posture

    2. Stretches- here are some examples. Try 10 repetitions or 30 second holds. Remember the goal is to provide gentle, relaxed movement.


How to rate and gauge if exercise is safe and appropriate

“A visual analog scale (VAS) graded from 0 to 10 is used for monitoring pain during and after training, where 0 is “no pain” and 10 “pain as bad as it could be” (Figure 2) (Thomeé 1997). Self-reported pain up to 2 on the VAS is considered “safe”, pain up to a level of 5 is considered “acceptable”, and pain above 5 is considered “high risk”. The day after training, pain should subside to “pain as usual” and not increase over time. “Pain as usual” is defined as the pain level prior to exercise.”


Additional Resources

  • If you would like to read more on what is arthritis and what PT can do for arthritis please follow the links to my blogs. Additionally, I wrote a blog regarding the safety of running for joints. It provides additional insights and evidence based references regarding exercise and arthritis.

  • If you would like to learn more about nutritional guidelines please read this material from the Arthritis Foundation.

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