Start Planking Today!
Exercise can improve joint pain, and the plank strengthens arms, core, shoulders, and legs anywhere, even poolside or right by your bed.
Many of my arthritis patients tell me that they can't exercise, and I get it. When you're in pain and have whole-body stiffness, who wants to move and feel sore?
But it's been proven that exercise CAN improve joint pain. Some autoimmune diseases, like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis, carry a higher risk of heart disease, so moving your body is important.
That is why the plank is a great way to start strengthening so many parts of your body, including the arms, chest, abs, shoulders, legs, and neck. This isometric exercise (isolating different muscle groups) can be done anywhere, even poolside or right by your bed, and you can modify the position and length of your plank based on your needs.
The benefits: it improves flexibility, tightens your core, improves balance and posture (especially for individuals with osteoporosis), and may improve back pain.
To give yourself a challenge, try raising one knee to the opposite elbow from a resting plank position (hands on the ground), doing a side plank while raising one leg, or lifting one leg and extending the same arm!
Start planking today!
Dr. Maggie Cadet, MD