Working Out With Arthritis

[CandyGram4Mongo]

I'm asking this for my wife (37 years old).  She was recently diagnosed with arthritis in her neck.  While it's good that we now know what's been causing her such discomfort, it's been a lot for her to wrap her head around.  She works out regularly (boot camps, cross-fit, etc.), and we're fairly active.  But she's now very apprehensive about injuring herself.  

 

Does anyone have any experience with this?  What to avoid?  Supplements, rubs, treatments that work?  We know that exercise will obviously help to manage the symptoms, but this is a fresh diagnosis, so some voices of experience would really be helpful to figure out what to do / what not to do.

 

Thanks everyone!

[girljen]

I wish I could help.  I have arthritis in my knee, and the pain has gone down significantly since I've started lifting...but I'm doing leg exercises and actively strengthening those muscles.  O.o  Is a physical therapist in your budget?  Or maybe, if she has to see an orthopedist, would it be possible to find one with a sports medicine background?

[Vintage]

Osteoarthritis?

 

I have rheumatoid arthritis, which is a little different, but there are similarities in how to manage symptoms and exercise with it. You're right, staying active is incredible important. Strengthening muscles and joints and maintaining range of motion are vital. Here's how I handle it:

 

1. I take fish oil, and quite a bit of it. I take 3g of DHA/EPA per day, and I notice a big difference. Be warned, fish oil is contraindicated in certain people, so double check that.

2. I keep my diet pretty clean. No gluten, severely limit processed foods, limit alcohol and drink a ton of water. I track food so that if I have an upswing in symptoms I can look back and see if anything changed.

3. I make sure I'm varying my exercise so I'm not hammering one joint over and over. Repetitive use plays an even bigger role in OA than RA, so this will be big for your wife. Running 20  miles/week just isn't an option for me. I do crossfit 3-5 times per week, but I occasionally sub out certain things if a joint is feeling overused. Having a good instructor and communicating clearly is important. 

4. I listen to my body and I don't have anything to prove to anyone. If there's a lot of running in the workout but my feet are killing me, I row instead. If I get part way through a workout full of kettlebell swings and toes to bar and my hands are in such bad shape I'm having trouble hanging on, I switch the toes to bar to v-ups and lower the weight on the kettlebell. You get the idea. She'll quickly learn the difference between "I'm a little stiff but it'll loosen up" and "It's uncomfortable but I'm not making anything worse" and "I should stop this right f***ing now." The upside is, unlike with a typical injury where you can make it worse in an immediate and severe way (ex, working out on a pulled muscle can become serious very very quickly), she should have a little bit of wiggle room to experiment and get some feedback from her body.

5. I pay careful attention to form and ask my trainers to help me with this.

6. I record my workouts and how things felt. This helps me to see the patterns so I know what makes things better/worse, I can see what times of day are optimal for me to work out, etc. Plus, this will help at doctor's appointments.

 

 

Overall, talk with the doctor, and maybe get a referral to a physiotherapist to get some information about specific exercises she might do to strengthen her neck and spine and maintain mobility. 

[CandyGram4Mongo]

Thank you for the feedback.  I think this will help to get her on the right track out of the gate.  She's a little freaked out that she won't even be able to work out.  But I think that if she knows that it's ok to focus some strength training on the problem area, but it's also ok to back off when she needs to, that'll help a lot.  Diet's clean, but the addition of Fish Oil and other Omega 3 foods should get her feeling better soon.  Physical therapy is already scheduled to start next week, so we'll see.

 

Thanks to both of you.  I appreciate it.