27 with.. arthritis?

I'd try to get a face to face with the doctor, rather than a phone call with someone who was instructed to deliver a message. You should have the opportunity to ask questions, get answers. And then a 2nd opinion.

Personally I had/have some arthritis like pangs in my knees and ankles from a car accident (2003) where I broke both legs. It used to bother me greatly, especially if it was cold AND rainy or if I did any significant amount of activity. (Back then I was very inactive.) Now that I am more active, walking and/or running daily, my knees and ankles rarely bother me. Sometimes still if it is cold AND rainy but rarely for being active. And I now run several times a week, get 12-15k steps most days, etc. So my personal experience: being active makes the body work better.

Hi. 22 with more-arthritis-than-average checking in. What your provider should have told you is that arthritis is normal and almost everyone has some degree of it, especially in the back. I would call back and ask what degree / how bad are we talking. If it's mild, just taking ibuprofen on days when it acts up is usually useful. I know I don't have to take it daily.

Well that was seriously unprofessional of them. I have arthritis in both hips (well, one now. The other one was replaced) and in my lower back. Strengthening the muscles is imperative. A strong core will really, really help with the back pain. I started weightlifting (I went very, very slow with the back) and my stronger core has eliminated all my back pain.

Per doctor's instructions I am not allowed to do anything high impact. The elliptical is good as well as walking and swimming, no running (these are what my doctor told me, yours might say something different)

I have progrsssive/chronic autoimmune arthritis...welcome to the club? Anyway that phone call was super unprofessional. I would get a second opinion and then to a rheumatologist for treatment. As my doctor told my mother today "it is best and always better to treat (the) arthritis than not due to the long term consequences on the body." I am so sorry you have to deal with this now If you have any questions or need support please don't hestiate to DM me. Gentle hugs!

llaurenmarie wrote: »

I've been having lumbar pain on and off for a year or so since I started doing yoga. (I've stopped the backbends, they always triggered it).

After lumbar x-rays I got a very strange call at 9pm last night from whoever the messenger is at the primary doctor I went to. She said "Yeah we looked at your x-rays, you have arthritis and there's nothing we can do for that" I was like "..What, can you elaborate a bit" and they said I can just take ibuprofen every day.

Does anyone know if exercise (specifically cycling) can make this worse? or even help?
I really don't want to take ibuprofen all the time and I may get a second opinion. It just seemed very unprofessional.

Holy crap! This sounds like the same exact call I got from the nurse at my doctors office. I had been completely crippled by severe back pain for several days. I couldn't walk it was that bad. Every move was agony. They took X-rays and found arthritis in my spine. When she called she basically just said I'm going to have occasional flare ups with it and other than taking pain killers there's nothing they can do. However, my doctor did write me a prescription for physical therapy and it has worked wonders for me. I highly recommend it. Who knows what my back will be like long term, but for now I feel great and have learned a lot of what causes my back pain and how simple stretches and exercises can help so much. The other crazy thing is, I had to see a different doctor about something completely unrelated and he could not believe that I would have arthritis at my age (35). He kept commenting on it like my other Doctor must have made a mistake. But then when I asked him, "why? Should it not be possible at my age?" He agreed it could be possible, but very unlikely. But obviously he also didn't have the X-rays to look at so I don't know why then he felt the need to comment.

agree with others that at the very least you should be given some information about the source of it. and not just 'oh, you probably [fill in the blank ]' type guesswork. a diagnosis.

as far as cycling: i am not giving you medical advice, please be clear. but fwiw, i think you'd want to be careful to keep good form and have a strong core just as a best-practices thing. and get a bike properly fitted to you.

reason i say this is in 15 years of cycling as a person with r.a. i have learned that the lumbar spine and/or the thoraco-lumbar junction are the areas that are likely to 'give' with every pedalstroke, if your bike isn't well-suited for you. if you have some erosion already i could definitely see that being an exacerbator.

canadianlbs wrote: »

agree with others that at the very least you should be given some information about the source of it. and not just 'oh, you probably [fill in the blank ]' type guesswork. a diagnosis. osteoarthritis ic caused by mechanical stresses afaik, but rheumatoid comes from your own immune system getting confused and trying to 'help' you by eating your joints. so the management and damage control needs can be different.

as far as cycling: i am not giving you medical advice, please be clear. but fwiw, i think you'd want to be careful to keep good form and have a strong core just as a best-practices thing. and get a bike properly fitted to you.

reason i say this is in 15 years of cycling as a person with r.a. i have learned that the lumbar spine and/or the thoraco-lumbar junction are the areas that are likely to 'give' with every pedalstroke, if your bike isn't well-suited for you. if you have some erosion already i could definitely see that being an exacerbator.

croftie4 wrote: »

I do kettlebells daily and nearly all my pain has gone say 99% I took myself off the drugs as they were making me so ill.

I stay away from high impact sports but do a bit of cardio, like the gym machines but I'm so much better stronger with the kettlebells.

I had a terrible doctors and changed to a new practice and they were very supportive with self help attitude rather than pumping me with drugs

I think most doctors nowadays are kinda terrible. I haven't been able to find a doctor that seems to truly care or take the time to follow up with your progress like they used to. Even when I start at a new doctors office I feel like I'm treated as if I'm a patient in a walk in clinic, who won't ever be seen again or something. And it used to be you saw the same Doctor each time you went, now the office doesn't care who you see and you get a different Doctor every time.