Having more than 15 years of expertise as a physical therapist, Ophelia Sanders has assisted many clients in maintaining activity while preserving their joints. Her well chosen low-impact exercise program shows that you do not need intense hammering to get amazing fitness results.
The pillar of Ophelia’s joint-friendly workout philosophy is water-based training. Eliminating 90% of body weight tension on joints, aquatic exercises offer 12 times the resistance of air. For cardio fans, she especially advises deep-water jogging as it provides a heart-pounding exercise milder than even the softest treadmill.
Ophelia’s creative method to strength training is on eccentric motions—the lowering portion of exercises—which increase muscle with less joint compression than conventional lifting.
Arthritis sufferers have found strength without flare-ups via her trademark “slow reverse” bodyweight squats and push-ups. Her routines heavily rely on resistance bands, which provide varied stress to guard joints while still taxing muscles.
Ophelia created a special mix of tai chi and Pilates for folks who enjoy group exercise that concurrently increases core strength, flexibility, and balance. Her clinical research shows that this combo actually lowers knee pain and reduces fall risk in elderly persons by 42%.
Most shockingly, Ophelia supports frequent walking—but with a different approach. Her “glide gait” approach emphasizes correct hip engagement to transfer stresses equally across joints. This strategy has kept former runners mobile pain-free when combined with her basic shoe choice rules, which concentrate on heel-to–toe drop rather than cushioning.
