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A recent finding from the journal of Arthritis Care & Research shows that adults with arthritis should exercise for at least 45 minutes a day. Exercise may be very challenging particularly for individuals with arthritis but its health benefits are very worth it.

Based on the research, adults that have engaged in an exercise each week experienced better physical functions.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL Professor of rheumatology and preventive medicine, Dorothy Dunlop, and her colleagues have reported that 45 minutes of exercise every week for patients with arthritis help them maintain better physical functioning. Moreover, the exercise will lessen the patient’s risk of other health problems like heart disease and diabetes.

The most common form of arthritis is Osteoarthritis or OA which is the inflammation of the joints. This happens when the cartilage that’s supposed to protect the joints breaks down. When this happens, the problem in joint movements start to occur and is usually accompanied by swelling and pain.

Arthritis usually happens to adults between the age of 65 and up. A report from the Disease Control and Prevention or CDC shows 49.7 percent of older adults in the US have already been diagnosed with arthritis.

One of the main problems that arthritis causes to a patient is limiting their physical movements to avoid further pain. And for this reason, not all arthritis patients are recommended to undergo the 45-minute exercise each week. Based on research, only 1 in 10 older adults, for both men and women, with knee Osteoarthritis is recommended to undergo the exercise.

However, for patients that were able to endure the pains and the challenges of exercising experienced improved movements and remained physically active. About 80 percent of the patients who exercised for 45 minutes a day of moderate-intensity exercises like brisk walking experienced better physical functioning.