TIPS ON TRAVELING BY AIR FOR PEOPLE WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA)Notify the airline in advance of any special needs you have. Airline personnel can help you with your luggage and assist you in boarding and getting off the airplane. Airlines can often accommodate special diets.Try to travel during light air traffic hours and the least busy weeks of the year. It’s best to avoid crowds.If possible, find a flight that will deliver you to your destination without stopping in another city on the way, especially if the flight involves changing planes. If it isn’t possible to book a nonstop flight, allow for adequate time between flights. Arrangements can be made to have a wheelchair or cart transport you and your luggage to the next departure area.Carry as little luggage as possible onto the airplane. Heavy luggage should be sent through normal airline luggage processes.If you are wheelchair bound use the restroom before boarding the plane. Restrooms on board are often not easily accessible for someone in a wheelchair.When planning a hotel or motel stop, call in advance to find out whether their facilities will meet your needs. If the facilities will make it difficult for you to maneuver or if they will force you to exert energy that you would rather save to use elsewhere, then you’ll probably want to find someplace else to stay. Ask these questions:• How close is the parking lot to my room?• Where are the elevators in relationship to my room?• Is it possible to book a room that has bathroom tub and toilet “grab” bars?• If you are in a wheelchair are there ramps, and are the doors to the room and bathroom wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair?*124/209/5*

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: BEGINNING YOUR AEROBIC EXERCISE PROGRAMSelecting a form of aerobic exercise depends on several factors: convenience, time restraints, the joints that are affected with arthritis, and most importantly, the form of exercise you enjoy. Possibilities include brisk walking, swimming, stationary bicycling, low-impact aerobics or dancing, cross-country skiing, and rowing. After you have chosen a program and your doctor has approved it, we recommend that you follow these guidelines when beginning:•   Always warm up for at least five to ten minutes with range-of-motion and stretching exercises.•   Start slowly in the beginning. Try five minutes of aerobic exercise the first day, checking your pulse before and after. If your pulse exceeds the target rate, slow down.•   Increase the time spent doing aerobic exercise by small increments each session. Alternating spurts of five minute high-intensity exercise with low-intensity rest periods is a good way to increase the duration of aerobic exercise. As you get in better condition, shorten and eliminate rest periods until you do fifteen to thirty minutes of uninterrupted aerobic exercise. In the beginning you should check your pulse at least every five minutes.•   Stop immediately if you develop chest pain, palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, weakness, or increased joint pain.•   If you have pain for more than two hours after exercise or experience increased joint pain or swelling the following day, modify the program.•   Always follow aerobic exercise with at least five minutes of cool-down exercise, allowing you heart rate and breathing to return to normal.*82/209/5*