While you may be worried about what the various factors are that cause knee arthritis, it may come as a complete surprise to you to learn that running is not a main risk factor in spite of the fact that medical opinion on the subject is almost evenly divided between those who think it does affect your knee arthritis and those who think it does not. Furthermore, there are even some studies that suggest that if a person keeps his or her mileage to below thirty miles, then the risk of contracting knee arthritis is not very high.
Elliptical Trainer
Such studies obviously raise the question as to what are the best exercises to treat knee arthritis, are, and in this regard aerobic exercises could play an important role for treating the condition. In order to get the best results from your complete exercise program it would be a smart idea for any patient that has knee arthritis to use the following training program, aerobics would be the best to start off woith then moving on to stretching and strengthening. If you belong to a gym or a fitness club another consideration would be the elliptical trainer, this works well for individuals with knee arthritis, you can purchase this equipment for your home or they are almost always found at your local fitness clubs.
The benefits to using the elliptical trainer for your knee arthritis condition is that it lets you move in a way that is kind of like a stair climber and the movement of a bicycle. You can keep your feet on the pedals while you get a smooth elliptical motion that does not involve any impact, which results in better cardiovascular workout as well as a low-impact workout.
If you like the water, then you can choose to swim in order to improve your knee arthritis, as this exercise too will give you a good cardiovascular workout and it is also not an impact activity. However, it may not be very suitable if you have a shoulder problem as certain strokes could lead to aggravating your shoulder problem even more. Nevertheless, for knee arthritis it makes for an excellent choice and you should go ahead and swim without fear of any repercussions.
You might even consider using a stationary bike that is ideal for aerobic conditioning and it is yet another non-impact activity, though for your knee arthritis condition, you should ensure that the tension is very low and you must start off very slowly to prevent the risk of worsening your knee condition. You can also use it for quad strengthening as well as for stretching the hamstring.
You should not use a treadmill for your knee arthritis as this is an impact activity that can only make your knee condition get worse. Keeping in mind these activities and exercises, you should be able to deal well with your arthritis problem.