Exercise with RA: Push Ups from a chair exercise

This next exercise, you wouldn't do if you had an elbow replacement. Okay? Place your palms on the arms of the chair, seat slightly forwards. You're going to push up to straighten your elbows. You don't have to stand all the way up, just go as far as you can and hold for two seconds. And then lower back down and repeat that. So push up, straighten your elbows as much as you can, hold for two seconds and then lower back down. Great. Let's keep going. How about trying with your feet slightly further underneath you before you do the exercise and then we'll push up to standing. See, if you find that easier. Equally, if you want to make it harder, feet further away from you will make the exercise a little more difficult. Have a go. - See, what I mean? - Yeah, that's harder. Good. The other thing I was just going to say, is my hands get quite clammy. So I'm finally going to slip off. Is there anything that I can do? You could, yes, you could, may be pop a flannel or a cloth at the end of the armchair there to give you extra grip and to stop you from sliding. Sometimes that works. Okay. Thanks. Jessica, it would be really helpful if you could give me some advice because I have a real problem having long standing disease. And with my wrists fuse, I can't bend my wrists and both elbows replaced. I have a real struggle getting out of chairs and really the only way I can do it is to use my arms to push myself out of the chair which I know is not the ideal thing to do. But I, you know, I often don't have a choice really, especially if I'm sitting in a lowish chair. Or if I'm going to a meeting or something and I'm in reception, they say, have a seat, and it's one of these very low couches, I just stand, I don't sit down because I know I won't be able to get up. Well, not with any dignity anyway. So when I get out of a chair like this, I have to kind of spread my legs a bit and do that which is, I know, it's not ideal but I don't know. So is there any way that you can help me to reduce that pressure or to do something a bit differently? You're right, it's difficult. I think you pointed out the height of the chair is really important. So do try and sit in a higher chair if you can do. Trying to avoid using your elbows too much if you've had an elbow replacement, it's really important. Inevitably, it's not completely avoidable. Everybody will have their ways and means around doing it and I think for you, making sure you're in a comfortable position to stand up we've to begin with and picking the right height chair is probably the best you can do there. However, if elbow replacements aren't a problem and the best thing for people to do in order to try and get out of the chair would be to try and get your bottom further to the edge of the chair to start with, with your feet underneath you. Hands resting on there, lean forwards a little bit to give yourself some momentum, and then try and let your arms and your legs help you to push up to standing. Okay. I bet, 'cause I don't think that would, that would work for me. Because if I, if I got my legs sort of closer together in front of me that I've got kind of no, no way of... You're right. You're right. Yeah, 'cause I do use my legs to help push up. The perfect method won't work for everybody. No. Okay. So if I could use my arms, my forearms a bit... Using your forearms to come forward does help. - Yeah. There we are. - It's not perfect. With less use on your elbows. Okay. All right. Well, that's that. Yeah, well, that's helpful. I will try and think about doing that more, you know, in the future. Great. - Thank you. - That's okay.