18 exercises to strengthen your joints
- Overview
It's tempting to give up on exercise when you experience pain in your joints. After all, you don't want to make it feel worse. But exercise has been proven to support joint health by building and maintaining strength in the supportive tissues around your joints.
Professionally approved joint pain exercises
The following workout is clinically devised for use by people with joint pain. These six basic exercises each have a progression and a regression (18 exercises in total), to suit your individual level of fitness.
If you find a specific exercise increases your pain, you should find an alternative. A physiotherapist or personal trainer will be able to advise you on the best bespoke exercise plan for you.
Not in the mood for a full workout? You can view and try any of the six main exercises below.
Exercise 1 - the Squat
Exercise 2 - the Seated Row
Exercise 3 - the Leg Extension
Exercise 4 - the Shoulder Press
Exercise 5 - the Step Up
Exercise 6 - the Stability Challenge
Get free professionally guided advice
At Nuffield Health, we’ve helped change the lives of thousands of people suffering with joint pain. Our Joint Pain Programme is a free 6-month course that allows you to work alongside a professional recovery specialist to learn more about your condition and reduce pain and symptoms.
The best thing about the Joint Pain Programme is that it really works. If you’re looking for relief through exercise, the programme is a great framework to structure your long-term joint pain recovery around. You can also learn more about the lifestyle factors that can aggravate and increase your pain in the future.
You can also find more tips on our joint pain advice hub
Last updated Tuesday 8 August 2023
First published on Wednesday 17 October 2018