Having a blood or bleeding disorder does not mean you can’t be physically active. It just means you should think carefully about the types of activities you choose and consider some precautions. This section of Steps for Living focuses on the benefits of physical activity, the types of activities available, and what you need to know about physical activity for people with bleeding disorders.
This section of Physical Health covers:
Physical Activity and Bleeding Disorders
Benefits of Physical Activity
Physical activity is important for people with bleeding disorders. Safe physical activity can strengthen your musculoskeletal system. Your joints will become more stable, and you will be less likely to have bleeds and pain. Working with a physical therapist and other health care providers at an HTC can help you figure out the best physical activities for you.
Below are some other benefits of physical activity:
- Increases your energy level
- Boosts your mood and attitude, including improving self-esteem and self-confidence
- Improves sleep
- Helps your body adjust to routine activities that can cause a bleed and other complications, especially in joints and muscles weakened by lack of movement
- Increases strength and joint stability which can decrease bleeding episodes and pain
- Decreases the likelihood of developing other conditions such as cardiovascular disease
Types of Physical Activities
Understanding the risks of certain physical activities can help you make your own choices about what is right for you. When choosing a sport or exercise routine, it’s important to consider your body type, past bleeding history, and the condition of your joints. There’s no standard answer. Before you begin an activity, talk with your health care provider or HTC team.
A regular exercise routine is an important part of healthy living. An effective routine should include aerobic exercise (the kind of exercise that makes your heart beat faster), strength training, and balance and flexibility. This combination helps to improve mobility and strengthens the body to reduce the risk of falls.
To gain maximum benefits exercise regularly. Exercising moderately for 30 minutes every day will keep your body healthy and lowers the likelihood of strain or injury from pushing your body too hard during infrequent workouts. Regular physical activity can also help increase strength and improve joint stability.
Here are some types of exercises and how they may help you:
- Aerobic exercise: Supports reducing the load on weight-bearing joints.
- Strength training: Increases muscle mass and strengthens the tendons that support your joints.
- Balance and flexibility: Improves posture and range of motion.
Whether you’re playing team sports, recreational games, or other sports like dance, you may want to keep in mind what could happen while you’re playing. Even the safest sporting activities have risks.
When reviewing sports, the Playing It Safe activity ratings can be a helpful tool. The ratings are not recommendations and are based on statistics from the general population. Ratings are given for many different types of activities, ranging from low risk to high-risk activities. Exercises or sports that are rated 1-2 indicate that the benefits MAY outweigh the risks.
Physical Activity and Bleeding Disorders
With careful thought and planning you can maximize the benefits of physical activity and minimize the risks. If you do have a bleed from physical activity, report your bleed to your HTC team or health care provider. A health care provider can give guidance on when it is safe to return to being physically active.
Below are some things to think about when considering being physically active:
- Don’t compare yourself to others. This is about you and not your peers.
- How comfortable are you with physical activity? An honest assessment of your comfort level will help you reach your goals quicker
- What do you want to accomplish by being active? Setting goals gives you something to work toward. By creating a plan and tracking your progress, you can know when you’ve met your goals.
- Your health records can help you find a starting point to track your progress.
- Your HTC team or health care provider can:
- Discuss activities that will help and not hurt your body.
- Suggest ways to modify the activities you want to do to minimize the risk of injury and bleeding.
- Review your infusion, prophylaxis, or other treatment plan and help you adjust it, if necessary, to fit your increased level of activity.
- Help you adjust if you do get injured or have a bleed.
- Advocate for you. They can talk with your teachers, coaches, and even other providers to help promote your level of physical activity and help you avoid risks.
- Treating prophylactically will make it easier and safer for you to take part in many activities but bleeding due to injury or overuse is still a possibility.
- Discuss with your health care provider when you should treat based on your activity.
- The activity should take place soon after treatment, when your clotting factor level is at its peak. Depending on the physical activity and any incidents that may have occurred, you may need to treat afterwards.
- All injuries need adequate time to heal. If you don’t take the time needed to recover, you could end up with long-term or permanent joint and tissue damage.
- Use the P.R.I.C.E. protocol (Protect, Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate).
- Talk with your health care provider about your treatment options and to determine when you can continue being physical active.
- Stretching. This is the part of conditioning that makes your muscles more flexible and allows your joints to move more freely.
- Strengthening. This is the part of conditioning that increases your muscle strength for greater joint support.
For more information about activity ratings please go to Table of Activity Ratings.