Arthritis and activity advice please.

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forruths
forruths Posts: 196 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been steadily losing weight (85lbs so far) and becoming more active since last summer. It is all going well except I had already done damage to my knees and have arthritis (OA) in both but worse in one. I love walking but suffer pain in my knees all the time. In 3 weeks I am doing a long distance walk (62miles over 6 days) and I am seriously concerned that my knees won't recover enough between walks. I'm wondering if anyone has advice other than anti inflammatories which are only a minimal help to me. Any tips on what to do to prevent stiffening up? And are supports or wraps any help? Thanks.

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  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
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    Just to give you a little background I have bone-on-bone arthritis in my knee and the I will eventually need a replacement knee. I've also had a double hip replacement. I'm 56 years old.

    Without knowing the extent of your injuries my suggestion is compression wraps. My other suggestion is to get yourself evaluated for a set of orthotics. Between the hip replacement and the Orthotics I've noticed that my level of pain and discomfort in the knee has dramatically decreased. Another factor that will help you is the fact that you've lost all the weight.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Congrats on your weight loss and love of walking. Do you think its a good idea to walk 62 miles with this condition? It's up to you, of course, but please consider if it's wise. I have no advice and don't know anyone who has successfully treated it at an advanced stage, aside from joint replacement. Good luck!
  • forruths
    forruths Posts: 196 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    Congrats on your weight loss and love of walking. Do you think its a good idea to walk 62 miles with this condition? It's up to you, of course, but please consider if it's wise. I have no advice and don't know anyone who has successfully treated it at an advanced stage, aside from joint replacement. Good luck!

    Thanks for the thought. The walk is spread over 6 days and my dr. is ok with me doing it. I use 2 walking poles when I hike so that my arms take some of the impact. Until about 3 weeks ago I was coping well with little pain but jarred my knee and had this set back. I'm not prepared to cancel this as I've looked forward to it for a long time but I have come to terms with the fact that if I have to skip a day because of the pain then I will.
  • kg7usg
    kg7usg Posts: 2 Member
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    How did the 6 day walk go? How did your knees hold up? I hope it was fun for you. :-)
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Arnica gel. U can get it at CVS, Walmart and Wallgreens.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I read today that the use of a standing desk had been shown, n=1, to improve arthritis pain in one non-scientific study.
  • forruths
    forruths Posts: 196 Member
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    Well I managed the walk and it was fantastic-a combination of gel, icing my knees and knee supports got me through! Just about to post a success story if you want to see more!
  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
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    congratulations on finishing! i am working up to a similar event and am trying to add foot and toe flexibility trainng aka toe yoga to prevent more damage and keep circulation going... Cheers!
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    forruths wrote: »
    Well I managed the walk and it was fantastic-a combination of gel, icing my knees and knee supports got me through! Just about to post a success story if you want to see more!

    Way.to.go!!! :)

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