The Victorious Cycle – How JA and Mobility Link up for Success

July is Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month:  Did you know that 300,000 children in the USA are affected by various forms of arthritis?  Inflammation, swelling, and stiffness turn their developing joints painful, causing immobility.  In some types of juvenile arthritis, inflammation and medications used cause bone loss, resulting in greater risk of broken bones! In others, joint damage results from inflammation. Studies show that kids with arthritis are deconditioned compared to their healthy counterparts:  they have less muscle strength and poorer endurance.
 
What is to be done about it?  Exercise! Bones are living tissue that needs exercise to get stronger.  Weight-bearing and strengthening exercises are best for bones, but during exacerbation phases of arthritis, pain may limit a child’s ability to move or bear weight on those painful joints.

While there is not currently a cure for juvenile arthritis, the goal of treatment is to relieve inflammation, control pain and improve the child’s quality of life.  Physical activity improves arthritis pain, fatigue, function and quality of life!  Exercise is considered the most effective non-drug treatment available for reducing pain. But what if your walking is limited by arthritis pain?  “Staying active” in the face of joint pain seems like an impossible task!
 
Off-loading a painful joint and moving it repeatedly is an effective way to decrease arthritis pain.  Using the LiteGait® for body-weight supported walking can take some of the load off of arthritic hips, knees or ankles, allowing the person to walk longer, and accomplish their health and fitness goals.  As an added bonus, the muscle strengthening and repeated movement associated with walking actually helps to relieve the joint pain associated with arthritis.  Start a victorious cycle of improvement:  decrease your pain, so you can exercise more, so you have less pain!  Now there is a gift that keeps on giving!