Anybody dealing with arthritis?

carlaringuette

I am headed to the doc on Friday. Probably arthritis. I've been having knee issues since January and sometimes all my joints hurt.

I used to be able to at least do yoga and walk. Now that's painful too.

How do you keep up with exercise when you're hurting?

kosseychick

I have arthritis in my knees, ankles and hands. I had to change my exercises. I used to do alot of walking.. now I ride the bike more.. easier on my knees. Swimming is great too.. I love to water jog.. easy on the joints. You just have to find something easier on the joints.😊. Good luck.

wmweeza

Exercise eases my arthritis...not a ton, but at least I don't want to scream. I have arthritis in my hip, back, and foot

zaknjakesmum

wmweeza - love your BT! I have 2 myself!
Anyway, I have arthritis. I have had MS for 22 years and I have fallen and broken many bones, which has given me a lot of arthritis hands, shoulders, toes. I was taking Tylenol arthritis but now use diflucan 10% cream. I really don't exercise beside taking the doggies on slow walks lol

Jennifer
234 / 192 / 140?

AnnPT77

Technically, yes, in back and knees, mostly.

Keeping moving seems to help, getting stronger/fitter seems to help, reaching a healthy weight helped quite a lot (especially knees). Nutrition possibly makes a difference for me, as definitely does keeping my hypothyroid medication properly adjusted over time (that's big, for me).

On the exercise/activity front, it's important to me to figure out what is more doable vs. more aggravating, and to increase intensity/frequency/duration gradually to avoid injury. I've learned that some carefully-chosen daily yoga/stretching first thing when I get up tends to be helpful; and that I need to avoid impact/twisting motions of my knees. The latter means that rowing and cycling are good activities for me, aerobic dance kind of stuff is a bad idea, running is entirely out of the question, and even walking for exercise needs to be managed in terms of frequency/distance/technique.

Unfortunately, I suspect a lot of this is quite individual.

I've gotten a lot of benefits over the years from physical therapy (I pepper those people with questions to learn things!), massage therapy from people who are sports or rehab experienced (not just relaxation massage), osteopathic manipulation, and targeted interventions for particular acute issues at times (like knee warmers, the knee bands that put pressure on specific spots, even acupuncture at one point.

I'll pretty much try anything that doesn't sound like it will hurt me, to see if it helps. Sometimes surprising things do. 🤷‍♀️

Iwannabeapunkrockmom

I have RA... I test when I need to rest and move when I can.

scarlett_k

Yes, I have arthritis in my hands. To manage it I do the exercises the occupational therapist prescribed, take painkillers, use painkilling gels, and try not to stress my joints (a bit hard when I use my hands for everything I do!) To be honest the pain doesn't bother me so much as the weakness and fatigue so I just try to keep up with the exercises to keep strength up.

33gail33

I have arthritis in my knee. I had to give up running despite a year of physio (not much improvement).
For exercise I have a brace that I wear to walk, about 2 km per day with my dogs. I switched from running to a spin bike which I can do, and I have been told is beneficial to knee arthritis because it keeps the joint moving. Yoga I love but yeah some poses are a no go my knee isn't flexible enough for certain things.
I did find that an anti-inflammatory diet (no sugar, alcohol, low carb) helped with my inflammation - but it is tough to stick to. Also hoping that dropping some weight will help, but that is a work in progress.

cowsanddogsarecute

I have osteoarthritis in both knees and in my back, as well as gout in my right foot. Cycling hurts my knees (maybe because they are at the severe stage?) but walking usually helps me. I walk a lot. Usually over 10,000 steps a day. I find that if I don't walk Auckland end up more stiff and in more pain. I try not to take painkillers if I can avoid it. I honestly just put up with the pain most of the time as long as it's not too bad. As Ann said it does seem to be quite individual.

Machka9

I have arthritis in my feet and lower back.

I've seen a podiatrist who has recommended footwear and I still walk, run and cycle.

My feet ache sometimes and my back can be quite painful, but I know what it is and that exercise won't hurt it.

rosebarnalice

Hip and knee on opposite legs.

I do some very mild regular yoga stretching poses first thing in the morning just to keep some flexibility, and them my go-to cardio is swimming. I've always been a strong swimmer, and the increased range of motion and decreased fluid accumulation before and after swimming is like night and day.

I'm not big on medications, and don't respond well to them anyway-- but will occasionally pop an orthopedist-recommended dose of ibuprofen if I feel particularly sore or gimpy after working in the yard or doing other strenuous activity

robbsj902

A doctor told me 5,000IU of Vitamin D per day would help arthritis. I just started it so I can’t verify.

girlwithcurls2

I have it in one knee. Pre-COVID, I was swimming a lot and lifting, which was great while I was doing it. However, my knee still buckled under me, and was sometimes quite painful. My pool and gym have been closed for over a year. I tried subbing walking and found that my knee could not tolerate the fitness level I was used to. I had to back way off, taking short walks. It's been a year, and I am walking more now than I ever have in my life (60-90 min/day), and my knee bothers me so much LESS than I did when all I did was swim. Go figure. As Ann said, it's individual. When pools reopen, I'll probably still swim, but not 6 days/week. I want to keep up the walking to keep the knee pain down. We bought a rower, so that's been nice for some non impact cardio. Oh, and I do the PT stuff pretty faithfully.

corinasue1143

My Dr. has been telling me for 10 years I have arthritis. This winter, no one had to tell me. I knew! I’m still figuring it out. Glad you asked. I can use the tips, too.

LisaGetsMoving

Because it hurts worse if I don't move!

concordancia

Chair aerobics and water aerobics.

I am also a fan of the elimination diet to see if it helps with chronic pain. As long as you do the reintroduction phase. I know someone who has been on the strictest phase for a year - not recommended!

oharras

Have osteoarthritis in knee, wrists, hands; also have CPPD (pseudo-grout) which is also an arthritic condition. Take no meds due to CKD, take acetaminophen, checked via labs. Weight loss big help for hip and knee joints; off cholesterol and BP meds with diet changes (kidney & anti-inflammatory) which is mostly plant-based. Walking, walking treadmill, Cubii, yoga chair, stretching, whatever exercise I can accomplish helps joints; use LightStim for joint pain. Just told to increase Vitamin D to 5000IU/day.

wmweeza

zaknjakesmum wrote: »

wmweeza - love your BT! I have 2 myself!
Anyway, I have arthritis. I have had MS for 22 years and I have fallen and broken many bones, which has given me a lot of arthritis hands, shoulders, toes. I was taking Tylenol arthritis but now use diflucan 10% cream. I really don't exercise beside taking the doggies on slow walks lol

Jennifer
234 / 192 / 140?

Aww, ty, he's my baby. His name is Benny.
I feel you on the ailments front; I have cerebral palsy and have had several surgeries over the years so things just don't work quite the way they should. I am too stubborn to give up though! I take I think 4000 iui of D, hadn't heard of Vit D having an effect on arthritis

Jennliftsandspins

I have in my lower back and bursitis in my hip. Both the result of 4 fractured vertebrae processes in a skiing accident 34 years ago.

Over the years I’ve done physio, massage, yoga. Strength training at the suggestion of my most recent physiotherapist has helped the most. In the past year I have increased my strength training and I have fewer issues with pain.

My PT said she sees my issue a lot with yogis. They think they can stretch away the pain but it’s really strengthening supporting muscles that is more beneficial. But yoga is also good to do together with the strengthening.

When it is bothering me I find biking is pain-free.

MamaMc3

I have arthritis in my neck and back, bursitis in one leg, and sciatica in the other. Doc told me to stay off the treadmill, so I have been doing more cycling. I need to start doing some stretches to get the sciatica under control, though. I have a lot of pain when I am on my feet for long.

lorrpb

Swimming, aqua exercise, water walking etc will take the weight off the joints 🤗

neanderthin

Antidotally low carb reduces pain and the side effect of the keto diet seems to be fairly prominent at reducing oxidative stress and inflammation which then reduces pain. Works well for a few people I know. Not a lot of science out but quite a few in trials but I suspect there will me lots going forward.These studies are easy to do in a controlled studies. Here's one



https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30865775/

dmghatul

i have anthritis in my back and neck. i think swimming helps , helped me.
best exercise..
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