Exercise is essential for the health of our muscles, bones and joints. It is also critical in maintaining overall physical and mental health. Unfortunately, as we experience injuries, the high impact activities we are used to can sometimes cause more harm than good. This is when low impact exercises are beneficial.
ViscoGen™ is Orlando’s leader in knee and joint pain relief, offering patented treatments like our KneeVisc 5® Plan. However, viscosupplementation is just one step in a series of methods to help our patients heal quickly. So, by combining a healthy, active life with low impact exercises, patients can reap the many benefits and get one step closer to a pain-free life.
High Impact vs. Low Impact
Impact refers to the force exerted on bones and joints in physical activity. Common high impact exercises include jogging and running, tennis and contact sports such as football, basketball and soccer. These movements create a force equal to about 2.5 times your body weight, which in turn, can place additional stress on your joints, ligaments and tendons while also increasing the chance of injuries.
In comparison, low impact activities refer to exercises in which both or one foot stays in contact with the ground such as walking or strength training. Not only do low impact exercise come with the benefit of improved strength, but regular low impact activity helps to replenish lubrication to the cartilage of the joint to reduce stiffness and pain while also decreasing the risk of musculoskeletal injury.
The Best Low Impact Exercises to Aid in Joint Pain Relief
Low impact exercises that also promote body awareness are great ways to improve balance, prevent falls, improve posture and coordination and increase flexibility. Yoga and Tai Chi are two examples of low impact body awareness exercises. In addition to the physical movement, they also offer breathing and mindfulness techniques for optimum relaxation.
Yoga – Practicing yoga for just 10 minutes each day can help increase balance, strength and flexibility. Variations of low impact yoga for those experiencing injury and for older adults include:
- Chair yoga uses modified poses with chairs as a prop to increase stability and mobility.
- Gentle or restorative yoga includes props such as blocks and straps as well as modified poses that help with protecting joint pain and preventing injury.
- Aqua yoga uses warm water and buoyancy to ease muscle tension and increase blood flow for those with joint and muscle pain.
Tai Chi – Improves body awareness while also providing low impact movements with minimum stress on the joints and muscles. The benefits of tai chi have been widely researched to show the long standing outcomes on the health of individuals who practice it.
Low impact sports are also a great way to stay active without the added stress on your joints. Sports such as swimming and cycling are great examples of sports you can participate in as you age that are low impact so you can reap the benefits without the pain.
Swimming – A common recommendation by doctors and physical therapists, swimming has been known to soothe joint and muscle pain in patients with chronic pain. The buoyancy of the water helps relieve the strain on the joints while offering resistance and is enjoyed as a sport or recreationally, including water aerobics.
Cycling – A popular low impact sport in Florida among athletes, young and old. This low impact exercise and sport provides little stress on the joints while also building muscle in the core and legs.
Improve Your Everyday Life with ViscoGen™
There are times that injury can’t be avoided, even with low impact exercises. Thankfully, ViscoGen™ can help. We offer non-invasive and non-surgical treatments such as JointVisc and KneeVisc 5® to alleviate pain and get you back to exercising and enjoying life.
Learn more about our available treatment plans and how we can help you live the pain free life you deserve.
