If you’re worried that exercise will hurt your joints, here’s some good news: the right kind of strength training is one of the best things you can do for them.
It sounds backwards, right?
If your joints ache, you might naturally think to protect them by moving less.
But the opposite is best: motion is the lotion.
Think of your muscles as a support system.
Your muscles act like scaffolding for your joints.
For example:
- Strong glutes stabilize your hips and knees.
- A strong core supports your lower back.
When those muscles get stronger, they absorb more of the load that would otherwise land directly on your joints.
Less stress on the joint means less pain.
A study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology found that people with a history of strength training actually had a lower prevalence of frequent knee pain and knee osteoarthritis, not a higher one.
The researchers noted that fear of joint pain is likely one of the reasons so many people avoid strength training in the first place, even though it may be exactly what protects them.
Don’t miss the irony there!
The research on arthritis specifically
For people who already have osteoarthritis, the news is just as encouraging. Studies show that progressive strength training lowers pain and increases physical function. Trials focused on the knee show that the effect of strength training can last for a year.
It’s easy to understand why when you look at it plainly. Weak muscles around a joint — particularly the hips and thighs — force the joint itself to absorb more impact and instability during everyday movement.
When you build those muscles back up, the joints get some of that protective cushioning back.
Why form and progression matter more than intensity
Strength training helps joints when it’s done with good form, appropriate resistance, and gradual progression — not when it’s treated as punishment.
So, you don’t have to lift the heaviest weights you can find.
If you have arthritis or old injuries, talk to us about building a program just for you and your specific challenges and goals.
The Arthritis Foundation itself now actively encourages strength training as part of standard arthritis management, a shift from the older advice to simply rest and protect painful joints.
If joint pain has kept you on the sidelines, we get it. But don’t let that concern work against you.
Moving well, with the right support, tends to be exactly what your joints need.
And we are here to help.
Holly Kouvo is a personal trainer, functional aging specialist, senior fitness specialist, brain health trainer, writer, and speaker.