Effects of exercise on physical limitations and fatigue in rheumatic diseases

Figure 1 Graphic design of physical activity guidelines during our normal life in one week, suggested by the World Health Organization recommendations, to prevent the onset of some diseases related to sedentary lifestyle. This graphic represents the pyramid of the physical activity recommendation. At the base the suggestions for every day’s activities and at the top the activities to perform rarely are shown.

Figure 2 Macroscopic and microscopic signs of osteoarthritis knee hyaline cartilage. A: The microscopic observations of osteoarthritis knee hyaline cartilage showed structural alterations, reduction of cartilage thickness of the cartilage zones and subchondral bone fibrillations; B: The microscopic observations of healthy knee hyaline cartilage showed a preserved morphological structure with no sign of cartilage degradation.

Figure 3 Graphic design of the three basic categories of physical activity. Aerobic (aerobic physical exercise such as walking or jogging), resistance (anaerobic endurance exercise such as marathon or cross country skiing), and flexibility training (stretching exercises to increase functional range of motion and to reduce the risk of injury).

Figure 4 Graphic design of different stretching exercises (head, neck, spine, upper and lower limb stretching exercises). This graphic includes the stretching movement for all joints and muscles of the body such as flexion, extension, adduction, abduction, pronation, supination, intra and extra rotation, circumduction.

Figure 5 Graphic design of some home exercise. This graphic includes different types of exercises that can be performed safely at home, using the common home furniture.