A meta-analysis published in the Journal of Rheumatologyin 2008 found that strength-only training helped with symptoms, but that aerobic activity helped alleviate symptoms as well as improved physical function.
And besides helping your heart, says Kathleen Sluka, PhD, a professor of physical therapy and rehabilitation science at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, “the aerobics activates your endogenous opioid mechanisms…to reduce pain.”