The Arthritis Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention, control and cure of arthritis in the United States. Walk with Ease is a community-based walking program developed by the Arthritis Foundation. WWE group sessions meet three times per week for 6 weeks. Trained group exercise leaders begin each session with a pre-walk discussion covering a specified topic related to exercise and arthritis, followed by a 10- to 40-minute walk that includes a warm-up and cool-down periods. AFAP is a water exercise program created by the Arthritis Foundation and the Y-USA for people with arthritis and related conditions. The classes are conducted by a trained instructor and include joint range of motion, stretching, breathing, and light aerobic activities.

Results Of the 51 participants interviewed, 96% were female, with an average age in years of 67 (range, 32–90 years). Participants reported deriving considerable social support from exercising in a group with others who have arthritis. They identified two main factors that motivated them to continue participating in the exercise class: ability to work at their own pace during the class and confidence that they could do different kinds of exercise safely. Participants also reported that the instructor played a vital role in sustaining their motivation to exercise. Among the participants, noncompleters of the program reported arthritis-related illness or insufficient physical challenge as key barriers to class participation.

Introduction Regular physical activity has emerged as an important component of a healthy lifestyle. People who exercise regularly live longer and are healthier than those who are sedentary (-). Arthritis often leads to decreased physical activity, which over time reduces joint mobility, strength, fitness, and exercise participation and increases the risk for development of coronary heart disease (,). In the past, people with arthritis were cautioned to rest and were discouraged from participating in exercise activities. However, this approach has changed over the last quarter of a century.

Since 1975, study results have consistently indicated that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is safe and physically and psychologically beneficial for people with arthritis (,-). Although people with arthritis tend to be less fit than their peers without arthritis, studies have demonstrated that most people with arthritis can safely participate in appropriate conditioning exercise programs to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, psychosocial status, and functional status. According to Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (), regular moderate aerobic or resistance training exercise programs relieve symptoms and improve function in people with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, or both. One way of motivating people with arthritis to be more physically active is to encourage their participation in community-based group exercise classes ().

The Arthritis Foundation (AF) has developed two such programs, the AF Aquatic Program (AFAP) and the People with Arthritis Can Exercise (PACE) program (). AFAP is a water-based program, and PACE is land based.

PACE was developed in 1987 and revised in 1999. PACE is targeted for adults who are not currently exercising regularly and allows for variation in course content and scheduling. The PACE program is offered at basic and advanced levels. At the basic level, class content consists of range-of-motion, gentle strengthening, balance, weight-bearing, breathing, and endurance exercises at a level appropriate for participants with functional limitations.

All exercises can be performed in a standing or seated position to accommodate individuals with different limitations. Antivirus Gratis Recomendado Para Windows Xp here. Nascar Thunder 2004 No Cd Crack Download. In addition to exercises, instructors provide education in proper body mechanics, breathing and relaxation techniques, self-management behaviors, body awareness, and exercise principles. These components are included to decrease symptoms such as pain, fatigue, depression, and stress. Ad1981b Driver Win 7. Instructors are also encouraged to promote self-care and self-esteem using behavioral strategies such as verbal contracting, buddy systems, exercise diaries, and discussion of home exercise problems. For a more detailed description of the PACE program, see Boutaugh (). While PACE and AFAP have previously been evaluated in different settings and appear to be beneficial, they are not widely used; fewer than 1% of individuals with arthritis have enrolled in or taken these classes (,). Because of the documented efficacy of exercise for arthritis, clinical and public health practitioners are recommending participation in exercise or physical activity programs like PACE and AFAP.