Scoliosis and Arthritis

roughton2011

Hey everyone. I need to lose weight. Point blank period. I have a 38° curve in my lumbar spine. I was also just diagnosed with Arthritis of the spine. I am starting to feel it in my other joints as well. I am only 24 years old. Losing weight should help ease off the pain, but I don't know what I should start with. What are good foods for arthritis? Something that helps with flairs? Ehats good excersices?

kk_inprogress

It all starts with a calorie deficit. For exercise, do you have access to a pool? It would be easier on your joints.

roughton2011

I can get to a pool, but I stay home with my 4 year old and 18month old. So I will need something I can do at home. My main thing is I don't want to do something that will cause further pain.

lauracups

Definitely consult with a doctor over recommended exercise. What works for one might aggravate another. I have scoliosis , compression, nerve damage. I REALLY like pilates. I do a lot of walking, recumbent bike (worth the money to have my own ) and elliptical. There are many websites dedicated to back issues and various core strengthening and stretching. GOOD LUCK!

runningkel

Not sure about arthritis...but there's a DVD my physical therapist recommended called "Yoga for Scoliosis". It's a lot of stretching and some strengthening, which will help relieve pain. And the instructors in the video all have pretty severe scoliosis, so they will also show how to adapt certain poses. The stretching session really helps my back (I have more mild scoliosis, but it still hurts without stretching/working it out)!

strongenoughtofly

I have scoliosis too but I have found that doing yoga has done wonders for my back. I'm a soccer player and a runner so I find that doing a lot of those activities will cause my back to hurt.
Try doing some light walks and yoga to start with. Yoga will help strengthen your back but also relieve some of the pain. For me, I can do pilates but after a while I start hurting. I can do tons of leg exercises but as soon as my abs are involved (on a mat) my back begins to hurt.
Honestly, it's a lot of trial and error which sucks but once you find something that doesn't hurt but helps you be active, you'll feel so much better!

Domicinator

I very much sympathize with you on this. I have had psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis for several years now, and a recent MRI showed that I have two bulging discs, nerve damage, and arthritis at the base of my spine. I take 50 mg of Enbrel weekly via a click pen injection to keep symptoms under control, but nothing stops those bulging discs from acting up, and when they do, it is absolutely brutal.

I see a rheumatologist 4 times or more a year, and during this last bout with the bulging discs, he said "My best advice is definitely to keep trying to get down to a healthy weight. The less pressure on your spine, the better."

You should definitely see your doctor regarding your specific conditions as far as what exercise you should be doing, but I have found that really low impact cardio such as biking and the elliptical trainer have helped me get my exercise in without worrying about aggravating my joints or my bulging discs.

Also, don't stress about the exercise too terribly much. I had a nasty episode with my back the first week of July that had me actually walking with a cane for few days. I had to do 2 different rounds of prednisone, muscle relaxers, and prescription strength Advil to get the swelling down. But even with all that going on, I still managed to lose 2 or 3 pounds by just sticking to my diet.

grimendale

I have loradosis (less severe back curvature) and have found that yoga/stretching and strength training have helped dramatically. Strengthening the muscles around my spine (squats, deadlifts, and back extensions have been great for this) has helped take the stress off my lower back and drastically reduced pain.