Why Yoga Can Be Good for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Why Yoga Can Be Good for Rheumatoid Arthritis
"Talk with your doctor first to find out if you have any limitations or restrictions related to your joints," Bartlett says. If some joints are more damaged than others, your rheumatologist may want you to be extra careful about how you use them to avoid pain or stiffness.
Learn from an experienced, certified professional. Bartlett recommends you find a yoga instructor with an advanced level of training and experience working with people who have arthritis. (Find one at the Yoga Alliance.) It's not a good idea to do yoga by yourself with a video or the TV guiding you. Let your teacher know about any limitations you may have before the class starts. They can often offer modifications if some poses are too challenging at first.
Take a gentle approach. If something hurts, don't do it. If you're having an RA flare, listen to your body and adapt your poses, make your session less intense or shorter, or wait for another day.
Research on yoga for RA is in the early stages. While some studies have shown promising results with better joint health, physical ability, and mental and emotional well-being, the studies were small in size and scope.
Bartlett did a study to see if yoga was safe and effective for people with the disease, and if they felt better when doing it regularly.
After 8 weeks of doing hatha yoga (twice a week with an instructor and once a week at home), people said they felt much better, both physically and mentally. There were no bad side effects: No one had to stop doing yoga, and no one got worse.
Bartlett says the study was a good first step. She's optimistic that future research will support her findings. "For many of the people in our study, as they gained confidence in their ability to exercise and listen to their body, they felt more able to try more and different kinds of activities," she says. Some said it changed their life, their relationship with their body, and how they felt about having RA.
The people in the study "enjoyed doing yoga," Bartlett says. "In fact, many of them continued to do it long after the study had ended."
Why Yoga Can Be Good for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Safe Practice continued...
"Talk with your doctor first to find out if you have any limitations or restrictions related to your joints," Bartlett says. If some joints are more damaged than others, your rheumatologist may want you to be extra careful about how you use them to avoid pain or stiffness.
Learn from an experienced, certified professional. Bartlett recommends you find a yoga instructor with an advanced level of training and experience working with people who have arthritis. (Find one at the Yoga Alliance.) It's not a good idea to do yoga by yourself with a video or the TV guiding you. Let your teacher know about any limitations you may have before the class starts. They can often offer modifications if some poses are too challenging at first.
Take a gentle approach. If something hurts, don't do it. If you're having an RA flare, listen to your body and adapt your poses, make your session less intense or shorter, or wait for another day.
Positive Results
Research on yoga for RA is in the early stages. While some studies have shown promising results with better joint health, physical ability, and mental and emotional well-being, the studies were small in size and scope.
Bartlett did a study to see if yoga was safe and effective for people with the disease, and if they felt better when doing it regularly.
After 8 weeks of doing hatha yoga (twice a week with an instructor and once a week at home), people said they felt much better, both physically and mentally. There were no bad side effects: No one had to stop doing yoga, and no one got worse.
Bartlett says the study was a good first step. She's optimistic that future research will support her findings. "For many of the people in our study, as they gained confidence in their ability to exercise and listen to their body, they felt more able to try more and different kinds of activities," she says. Some said it changed their life, their relationship with their body, and how they felt about having RA.
The people in the study "enjoyed doing yoga," Bartlett says. "In fact, many of them continued to do it long after the study had ended."