Keeping moving with rheumatoid arthritis during difficult days
Nicola Tik
You already know what RA is and how it affects your joints. This article is about the practical side, specifically how to keep moving on the days when inflammation is higher and everything feels harder.
RA does not feel the same every day, and learning to read the difference between general stiffness and active inflammation is one of the most useful skills you can develop. Stiffness that eases with gentle movement is usually a signal that moving is helpful. Joints that are visibly swollen, warm to the touch, or significantly more painful than your usual baseline are signalling that they need a gentler approach for that day.
This is not about avoiding movement altogether. It is about adjusting the type and amount of movement to match what your body is telling you.
During a flare, the goal is to keep joints gently moving without adding load or demand that increases inflammation. Range of movement exercises, where you take a joint slowly and comfortably through its available range without resistance, are well suited to this. Gentle finger curls and extensions, slow wrist circles, and easy ankle rotations all maintain mobility without stressing an already inflamed joint.
Warmth can help significantly before movement on difficult days. A warm shower, a heat pack on the affected joints, or simply waiting until later in the morning when stiffness has naturally eased can make gentle movement feel considerably more manageable.
Fatigue in RA is closely tied to inflammation levels and tends to be more significant on higher inflammation days. Planning the most demanding parts of your day, whether physical or cognitive, for your better hours is a practical and sustainable approach. For most people this is late morning to early afternoon.
Breaking tasks into smaller segments with rest in between is more effective than pushing through a task and then needing a long recovery period afterwards. This applies to physical tasks like preparing food or doing housework as much as it does to desk work.
On difficult days, small adjustments make a meaningful difference. Using assistive tools with wider or padded handles reduces grip demand on finger and wrist joints. Sitting with joints supported rather than left unsupported and dependent reduces the load through already sensitised areas. Avoiding sustained static positions, even comfortable ones, helps prevent stiffness from building.
If you would like to try a gentle guided movement for stiff joints, VIDA has a short video you can follow at your own pace.
If your symptoms are significantly worse than your usual baseline, or a flare is lasting longer than expected, it is worth contacting your specialist or GP. Medication adjustments are sometimes needed during prolonged flares and are best managed with your clinical team rather than through activity alone.
Your VIDA pain check-in is a useful way to track how your symptoms shift over time and identify patterns that are worth discussing with your specialist.