Moving with Confidence – Supporting Movement with Osteoarthritis
Updated: Aug 30
Mobilates Introduction
At Mobilates we embrace everyone's individuality and provide a person-centred approach to exercise activities. Below you will find details about Osteoarthritis – a condition that some of our members live with. You'll find information about the condition alongside top tips on exercising whilst staying safe, supported, and adapting movement to suit your individual needs.
Our Moving with Confidence blog series explores how gentle, adaptable movement can support people in a way that feels safe, achievable, and person-centred.
This latest blog focuses on Osteoarthritis and how movement can be adapted to support symptoms such as joint pain, stiffness, reduced mobility, and muscle weakness.
A Note from Our Members
Throughout this blog, you'll find insights from Mobilates members living with osteoarthritis. Their comments help bring the information to life by sharing real experiences of exercising with the condition and some of the adaptations that help make movement more comfortable and accessible.
1. Definition: What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis in the UK. It is a long-term condition that causes changes within a joint, which can lead to pain, stiffness and difficulty with movement.
Osteoarthritis is sometimes described as simply "wear and tear", but we now know that it is more complex than this. Changes can occur throughout the whole joint, including the cartilage, bone and surrounding tissues.
Almost any joint can be affected, but osteoarthritis most commonly causes problems in the:
Knees
Hips
Small joints of the hands
Symptoms vary considerably from person to person. Some people experience relatively mild symptoms that come and go, while for others pain and mobility difficulties can have a significant impact on everyday life.
Common symptoms can include:
Joint pain and stiffness
Reduced range of movement
Swelling or tenderness
Weakness around the affected joint
A grating or crackling sensation when moving
Increased stiffness after being still for a period of time
These changes can make everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs, getting up from a chair, dressing or using the hands more difficult.
However, having osteoarthritis doesn't mean that movement should stop. Staying active and maintaining strength are important parts of managing the condition, and exercise can be adapted to suit the joints affected, your mobility and how you are feeling on the day.
2. What Causes Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis develops when changes occur within the tissues that make up a joint. The body continually repairs and maintains our joints, but with osteoarthritis this process becomes altered, leading to changes in the cartilage, bone and other structures within the joint.
There isn't always one clear reason why someone develops osteoarthritis. A number of factors can increase the likelihood, including:
Age – osteoarthritis becomes more common as we get older.
Previous joint injury – an injury or operation can increase the risk of osteoarthritis developing in that joint later.
Joint stress or overuse – repeated strain on a particular joint may contribute to its development.
Genetics – osteoarthritis can sometimes run in families.
Other joint conditions – damage caused by another form of arthritis can sometimes lead to osteoarthritis.
Body weight – carrying additional weight can increase the load placed on weight-bearing joints such as the hips and knees.
Osteoarthritis is a long-term condition and there is currently no cure, but there are many ways to manage symptoms and support joint health, mobility and everyday function.
Exercise is an important part of this. Appropriate movement can help maintain joint mobility and strengthen the muscles that support and protect affected joints.
3. Focus
When exercising with osteoarthritis, the focus should be on maintaining movement, building strength and supporting everyday function.
Pain and stiffness can make it tempting to avoid moving an affected joint. However, regular movement can help maintain joint mobility, while strengthening the surrounding muscles can provide additional support and help with everyday activities.
Exercise should be adapted to suit the individual, the joints affected and how symptoms feel on the day. This may mean changing position, using additional support or choosing a seated option instead of exercising on the floor.
“For me, having genuinely accessible options in exercise is EVERYTHING.”
You don't need to achieve a large movement for an exercise to be worthwhile. Smaller, controlled movements can still challenge the muscles without forcing a painful joint.
“My range might be limited, but I can still work within it and give those muscles a workout without pushing until the pain screams in like a banshee!”
Maintaining strength, mobility and balance can support everyday activities such as walking, getting up from a chair, dressing and moving safely around your home.
At Mobilates, the aim is to find ways to keep moving that work for you, rather than feeling that your body has to fit a particular exercise.
4. Exercise Tips
When exercising with osteoarthritis, comfort, control and adaptability are important.
Everyone's symptoms and mobility are different, so exercises may need to be changed to suit the joints affected and how you are feeling on the day.
Some helpful tips include:
Work within your own range of movement. A smaller movement can still be effective, so don't feel you need to force a joint further than feels comfortable.
Choose a position that works for you. Exercises can often be completed seated, standing, lying or on a bed. You don't have to get onto the floor to benefit from Pilates-based movement.
Build strength gradually. Strengthening the muscles around affected joints can provide additional support and help maintain everyday function.
Use equipment for support. Chairs, balls, resistance bands and yoga blocks can all help make exercises more accessible and comfortable.
Think about stability. If equipment moves, consider whether it can be safely supported or positioned differently to give you greater confidence.
Keep joints moving. Gentle mobility exercises for areas such as the hands, fingers, feet and toes can be incorporated throughout the day.
Allow for different days. Pain and stiffness can fluctuate, so an exercise that works one day may need adapting on another.
Don't push through significant pain. Exercise should challenge you appropriately without forcing painful movement.
Small adaptations can make a big difference. Callie explains how she adapts equipment to suit her knees:
“I place my ball against the sofa so I'm not dealing with any unexpected movement that makes me suddenly stabilise myself through my knees. Bands are useful because they give me a certain amount of control while using my body weight as additional resistance, and I use yoga blocks to elevate and support my knees where that reduces pressure or pain.”
If getting down onto a mat – or back up again – is difficult, uncomfortable or simply not an option, seated exercise can provide another way to maintain movement and strength.
Mobilates Sitting Down Movement Guide:
Try out our seated and standing classes:
Try our seated Mobilates class:
5. Exercises to Try
The following exercises provide examples of ways to support joint mobility, muscle strength and control. Osteoarthritis can affect different joints, so choose the exercises that are appropriate for you and how you are feeling on the day.
Mobilates member Cathy highlights how even small, focused movements can make a difference:
“Particularly toe and hand exercises make a big difference, but Mobilates has kept me able to get off of the floor and put on pants and trousers without falling over!”
1. Foot & Toe Mobility
Gentle movement through the feet, toes and ankles can help maintain mobility and support everyday movement.
Follow our short Mobilates Foot & Toe Mobility Sequence.
2. Hand & Finger Mobility
Gentle movement through the hands, fingers and wrists can help maintain mobility and dexterity for everyday activities.
Follow our short Mobilates Hand & Finger Mobility Sequence.
3. Pelvic Tilts
Encourage gentle mobility through the pelvis and spine while activating the core muscles.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet supported.
Gently tilt your pelvis, allowing your lower back to move towards the surface beneath you.
Return slowly towards your starting position.
Keep the movement small, smooth and comfortable.
Pelvic tilts can also be performed seated or standing if this is more suitable for you.
4. Heel Slides
Encourage controlled movement through the hips and knees without taking your full body weight through the joints.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet supported.
Slowly slide one heel away from you, allowing the leg to lengthen.
Slide the heel back towards you with control.
Alternate sides and only move as far as feels comfortable.
5. Bridging
Strengthen the glutes, hamstrings and muscles that help support the pelvis and lower body.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet supported.
Gently engage your abdominal muscles.
Slowly lift your hips away from the surface, only as high as feels comfortable.
Lower with control and repeat as appropriate for you.
A bridge doesn't need to be high to be effective. A small, controlled lift can still activate the muscles.
6. Toe Taps
Build core control while coordinating movement through the hips and legs.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet supported.
Gently lift one foot a small distance from the floor.
Return it slowly and with control before changing sides.
Keep your pelvis steady and work within a comfortable range.
If this feels comfortable and appropriate for you, the exercise can be progressed by bringing the legs into a tabletop position and gently lowering one foot towards the floor at a time.
6. Final Thought
Living with osteoarthritis can mean changing how you move as symptoms and mobility change over time. Maintaining movement and gradually building strength can help support the everyday activities that are important to you.
At Mobilates, we believe that movement should adapt to the person – not that the person should have to fit the exercise. Finding ways to move that work for your body is what matters.
As Callie puts it:
“Movement doesn't have to look a particular way to count. Sometimes the right chair, ball, band, block or adaptation is the very thing that makes movement possible.”
7. More from Callie
Callie has shared how important accessible exercise and being able to work within her own range of movement have been while living with severe osteoarthritis in both knees.
One of the biggest things Mobilates has given her is lots of different ways to strengthen.
“Bed Pilates was brilliant for me in 2020–21. At that point, I could only stand with support for around 8–10 seconds. Gradually strengthening my legs helped me progress from there to being able to walk my dog using a walking stick. Sadly, since 2025, progression of osteoarthritis means that's no longer possible, but that experience showed me just how much maintaining strength and movement can matter, even when the underlying condition itself isn't getting better.”
For Callie, the benefits have extended beyond exercise:
“The community, and particularly learning from teachers with lived experience, has encouraged me to keep experimenting, adapting and finding different ways to move rather than simply focusing on what I can no longer do.
It has inspired me to try new forms of exercise, make all sorts of useful changes in my everyday life and, rather wonderfully, gave me the confidence to train as an accessible yoga teacher myself.”
8. Further Information and Guidance
Already a member? Book your online Mobilates classes here.
Not yet a member? Then you can book your free online Mobilates trial here.
Mobilates Resources
Looking for ways to keep moving without needing to exercise on the floor?
Mobilates Movement Guides
Our Mobilates Movement Guides provide step-by-step exercises, photographs, adaptations and practical guidance to help you find ways of moving that work for you. Each guide also includes a QR code linking to a guided Mobilates session so you can follow the movements at home.
Seated Strength & Mobility for Everyday Life: Gentle, supported seated movement focusing on posture, mobility, strength, coordination and everyday activities such as standing, reaching, turning and walking.
Standing Confidence: Balance, Strength & Stability – Supported standing exercises focusing on balance, lower-body strength, stability and confidence with everyday movement.
Foot & Toe Mobility Sequence – A short follow-along sequence focusing on gentle movement through the feet, toes and ankles.
Hand & Finger Mobility Sequence – A short follow-along sequence focusing on movement and dexterity through the hands, fingers and wrists.
For More Information Visit:
These organisations provide trusted information and resources about osteoarthritis, including symptoms, treatment, exercise and managing the condition in everyday life.
NHS: Osteoarthritis – Information about symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and living with osteoarthritis.
Versus Arthritis: Osteoarthritis – Detailed information and practical guidance about osteoarthritis, including exercise, managing pain and looking after your joints.
You can read other blogs in this series by clicking on the links below:
Already a member? Book your online Mobilates classes here.
Not yet a member? Then you can book your free online Mobilates trial here.
Mobilates CIC provides inclusive, adapted exercise for people living with long term health conditions, chronic pain, fatigue and disability.
We create safe, welcoming spaces to move, connect and build confidence in what your body CAN do, whether you join a class in person, online, or from your bed. We’re led by lived experience and powered by community. Together, we’re redefining what movement can look like.
💗 Join Da Mob: www.mobilates.com
📧 Get updates: Subscribe to our newsletter for gentle inspiration, community stories, and upcoming events.
Comments