Modifying Activities for osteoarthritis
Activities That May Increase Your Pain & How To Modify Them
Examples
- Stomping on shovel while digging
- Stomping while dancing
- Hopping, jogging, or skipping
Modifications
- Use your body weight to push down
- Tap your foot lightly on floor
- Fast walking or a high step march can get your heart rate up
- Plant & pivot in dancing, ball sports, raking & shoveling
- Standing postures in yoga, tai chi & Pilates
- Extreme yoga & Pilates postures
- Move your feet, don’t twist through your knee or back
- Keep your knee over your 2nd toe, no “knock knee” positions
- Don’t go as deep into the position
- Chair yoga & Pilates reformer may be easier
- Bouncing to stretch
- Rowing & kicking vigorously
- Sitting on your heels & squatting
- A controlled hold at the point of discomfort is much more effective
- Move at a speed that allows you to control your movement, in your comfort zone
- Use a towel, yoga block or stool to limit how deep you bend
Getting down to floor or up
- Gardening
- Cleaning
- Gym class, yoga
- Playing with children/grandchildren
- Use a gardening bench or stool
- Use a stool, chair or aerobic step to lean on to help you get up & down or to raise your seating level
- Cleaning, gardening, yoga, exercise, praying
- Knee pads or rolled-up towels to kneel on if kneecaps are sore
- Roll up mat/towel & put under shin below kneecaps
* Kneeling will not cause knee damage, but it may be uncomfortable if you have knee arthritis. You can either kneel on a firm, soft surface like a rolled-up towel or position a towel beneath your upper shin. For gardening, you may like a garden kneeler seat with side handles that help you get up from ground level.
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