Krista (physiotherapist): A lot of people lately talking to me about exercise and how there's so many people out there
that don't think that people with arthritis can exercise.
Duncan: I think it's really important to have fun and what you do because if you're gonna have fun then you're going to want to do it more often
and so just getting involved in any type of sport. I really enjoy hockey and I play hockey all the time.
Lindsey: I just try to keep up [inadubile] important in general for any person to be physically active and try to be healthy.
And I think that's more important for someone with arthritis.
Duncan: In order to play hockey, I know I have to be in shape so that also helps me get into shape because that's my goal.
Krista: And we know that kids that are less active have the risk factors
of having their joints actually become more sore and more stiff, you know, gaining weight
that type of thing when they're missing out on exercise. Have you had the experience with
having to do an exercise that you know is important, but that you may be don't find all
that interesting to do. How have you fit that into your life and been able to continue to do those?
Lindsey: I have seven weights, so when I'm watching TV, or just, you know, really productive or when I'm watching TV
I do some weight exercises just to keep my mobility up.
And I try to go swimming because really that's the best thing to work all my joints at once.
Krista: What we usually tell people as you're doing this exercise for your knee because we want it to
be less stiff and painful, we want the muscles to grow bigger and stronger so that you're able
to do your basketball two months from now or two years from now.
Duncan: Like even though the next day I wouldn't feel any different, I knew that in the long run it was really important for me to
do that, so I thought, you know, it's just part of the routine.
So, I take my pill. I just have to do it if I want to be healthy.
Krista: What about when times are tough and you maybe are experiencing a flare of your arthritis and you're having difficulty with some specific joints and it is leading to
difficulties with activities, how do you deal with that?
Danielle: I still do what I would normally do just to different extent and like it's still important to stay active as much as you can and like don't
be discouraged cause you're in pain. Like whatever you can do is perfect and like that's how you
are you're individually planned.
Lindsey: I still try to remain relatively active but if there is a day where I'm really sore then I know I need to slow down. I need to maybe not walk to the mall or not
go work out just for one day. Just take a break because that's okay. Like you can't push yourself
and push yourself because your body is not going to be happy about that. And you need to know your
limitations and be happy with it and, you know, find that happy medium.
Duncan: Push yourself as far as you can if you can't do something then, you know, try something else.
Krista: But lots of teens have told me, that through their experience with arthritis, they've had difficulty either participating in physical
education at school or regular fitness activities in the community.
Danielle: I talked to my teacher and I explained to her what was not easy for me and what she had to understand about me participating every
day. Luckily, like she did understand and my mark wasn't deducted so I had lots of fun in the class.
Duncan: With gym class, I think as long as the teacher sees that you're trying your best and, you know, working
as hard as you can then there's no reason for them to mark you down. So there's no reason not to do
it's great and it keeps you healthy, which is good.
Krista: Know that the benefits are improving their joint flexibility, decreasing pain and stiffness, improving their overall fitness and I think all of
those things together also have a positive impact on self-esteem and how you feel about yourself
and how you feel about the world around you as well.
Duncan: Whenever I work out or whenever I do something, I always makes me feel better. I always feel healthy and I always feel, you know,
not just my body, but also my mind. I always like working out so I think that it's really important to stay active.