Do you find you use a banister to pull yourself up the steps, or do you jump with your "good" leg so the painful one doesn't have to do any work? Maybe you go up leading with the better leg and try to keep the "bad" knee out of it entirely. These are all good compensatory strategies, but they do...

Getting up and down from the floor can be quite challenging when you have arthritis. Previous videos have shown how you can do this on your own. If you are looking for an even easier way you only need a step stool for easy and pain-free trips from the ground. 

Getting up and down is a lot...

How good are you at activating your butt muscles (gluteal muscles)? When people think about muscles they most often think in terms of how strong or weak they are. In many cases improving your ability to control your muscles is more important than making them stronger. Your ability to activate...

Your ability to control a pelvic tilt will inform how you stand, sit, walk, climb stairs, and even sleep. The pelvis is the connection between the spine and the legs and as such, its position will determine how well you can engage the muscles in your thighs, hips, and trunk. When you lose the...

The bridge is one of the most common exercises performed by people with arthritis, and for good reason. Bridging exercises are an effective way to improve strength in the gluteal (butt muscles) and flexibility in the hips and are easy on the joints. However, when I watch people perform bridges...

Getting up and down from the floor is an important life skill, but can be difficult or even dangerous for many people. It requires strong leg muscles, good mobility in your ankles, knees, hips, and back, and good balance. People who struggle to get on and off the ground often make the activity...

Throughout the night, immobility and dehydration deplete the synovial fluid in your joints making them feel stiff and uncomfortable. Synovial fluid is a thick liquid located in your joints cushioning the ends of your bones and reducing friction when you move. Arthritic joints are very...

Having arthritis does not mean you have to give up on playing sports. For those who are able, continuing to engage in athletics improves strength, coordination, flexibility, and fun. The recipe for reducing arthritis pain. So much of how you feel will depend on how you move so you have to listen...

Managing stairs is one of the most physically demanding things we go through in our day-to-day lives and a frequent cause of pain for people with arthritis in the legs or low back. You need a different type of strength and control for going down stairs than going up. That is why some people feel...

Stairs are a common challenge for people with joint pain. Some try going up leading with their "better" leg, or going up sideways, or just avoiding them altogether. All of these strategies focus on avoiding pain rather than improving technique. In this video, I demonstrate how to use your...

You could be getting out of chairs more easily and with less pain. With a few changes to your form, you can get up more efficiently and with less pain and strain in your knees, hips, and low back. You will identify where your center of gravity is and how to balance over your feet when rising....

Squatting is an essential movement for comfortable and healthy daily activities. Every time you get up from a chair or take the stairs you are performing some variation of a squat. Learning the fundamental principles of squatting will help you increase strength in your legs, stabilize your core,...

How you shift weight from your back foot to your front foot will determine the type of stress you put through your knees and therefore how much pain you will have while walking. In this video, you will explore your own personal tendencies for weight shifting and learn how to make changes that...

Gravity is constantly pushing down on your body. You can either absorb those downward forces, compressing your joints, and straining your tissues, or you can resist that downward force with longer, stronger legs. In this movement improvement session, you will learn how to lengthen your legs...

Going downstairs is a significantly different activity than going up. Descending stairs requires different muscle coordination, produces strain in different areas, and requires your muscles to work in a different way as compared to ascending. Last week we broke down the process for going...

Climbing stairs is a complex movement that requires a number of different skills to all come together seamlessly. Inability in even one piece of the movement can cause compensations leading to joint breakdown and pain. 

In this video, I break down the act of climbing stairs into its key...

Rising from sitting is a challenge for millions of people. Whether you struggle to rise easily or sit gently or have pain in the joint when you do it, there are a few simple steps you can take to feel better right away. 

In this video, we will discuss the 3 fundamental aspects of sit to...