Exercise 'may help employees with arthritis'

9th July 2009

Simple exercise may improve the quality of life for those who have arthritis, one expert has suggested.

The condition - which causes acute and chronic joint pain - can decrease a person's ability and mobility in the workplace, according to support agency Arthritis Care.

A spokesperson from the organisation said that a number of treatments are available including painkilling drugs, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy and topical analgesics - however being active can be the best cure.

She remarked: "Appropriate exercise is often one of the most beneficial and efficient analgesics, releasing natural painkillers into the body."

Her comments come after research by Cochrane Researchers revealed that evidence to support the effectiveness of topically applied rubefacients used to help arthritis is inconclusive.

There are currently 387,000 people in Britain with the affliction and approximately 12,000 new cases of rheumatoid arthritis are diagnosed every year. It is more common in women than in men.