Importance of Rest

An important consideration for people with arthritis is getting the proper balance between exercise and rest. Just as you need exercise to maintain function and enjoy diverse activities, you also require adequate rest. In fact, you need two types of rest—general and joint-specific (Minor and Westby 2001).

Arthritis, especially in the lower extremities, alters one's biomechanics during walking and other activities. With changes in biomechanics, the body expends more energy to perform simple chores and thus fatigues more rapidly. Focus on getting a full night's sleep-which may be six hours for some people, nine for others—so that you feel rested in the morning. Also, incorporate short morning and afternoon rest periods into your routine. A friend said she used to feel guilty about needing a regular short rest period when she came home from work, until the doctor told her that the rest periods were an important part of her routine. A regular rest routine helps protect other bodily systems and is crucial during arthritis flare-ups.

Joint-specific rest is necessary for joints that are compromised and may be inflamed. During inflammation, the joints are usually less stable and at greater risk for injury. Joint rest involves decreased loading on that joint, which you can accomplish in several ways. For lower-extremity joints, alter the exercise to reduce the amount of impact and decrease the movement stresses applied to the joint. For example, you may choose cycling rather than jogging until inflammation subsides. You can also splint a joint to protect it during this time of increased vulnerability. Both general and joint-specific rest are components of injury prevention, because they allow the tissues to respond properly when needed. In chapter 8, I will point out potential indicators of overuse and lack of rest and discuss what to do in response.