Trying to exercise with ARTHRITIS
 

Good Morning ladies
I have arthrtitis in both my knees and a problem with my feet. Last week I wanted to get out and do some walking. I was only able to do about 20 minutes or so before my knees would just kill me. Well I don't know why I didn't think of it before but I realized I should see my orthopedic Dr and get a shot. Well that's exactly what I did. He gave me shots in both of my knees and I CAN'T BELIEVE THE DIFFERENCE. I'm like a whole new person. I'm not in pain all day. I'm going to get out and try and do some walking while the weather is still nice. Then later in the season hit the treadmill.

I don't know how long the shot is going to last it's like a false sense of hope. Like the rug could be pulled out from under my feet at any time.

You really can't know what I'm talking about unless you have arthritis but here's an idea. Before the shots I could not get up off the sofa, chair, or get out of the car,or stand up from the table (that's really embarassing when out with friends) without holding onto something braceing myself then wait for my knees to settle in place then walk.

I've had arthritis for years but yet the Dr says I'm too young for knee replacement. I'm 53


So I'm going to do all that I can while I feel good.:cool::p

My husband and I both have severe joint pain issues (I'm 43, he's 39). Hubby has a degenerative joint condition that runs in his family. Doctors predicted he's be on full disability by age 30 - he made it to 35, probably only because he had an incredibly strenuous job - his bones, muscles and tendons were probably compensating for the weakness in the joints).

Many exercises help strengthen the damaged joints, but exercise hurts so bad, it's really hard to do.

For me, the steroid injections help, but because I also need periodic steroid treatment for autoimmune disease, my doctors and I have to be very conservative regarding how often and how much steroid I can get. Corticosteroids are a double-edged sword. Steroids do damage of their own, and often the effects are cumulative, but for the disorders they treat - there really aren't great alternatives.

For me, a steroid injection in my knees helps for about 6 months. My doctor is willing to give me about one shot a year. So for the other 6 months I'm on my own (often that isn't exactly true, because I also end up with one or two flares of the autoimmune disease every year, and am on an oral steroid for a while - which aren't quite as effective for the joint pain as the shots, but still a marked improvement).

I have quite a bit of arthritis in my hands, and while it can be quite painful for me to knit and crochet - I find that if I DON'T I'm in even more pain. Just as with hand joints, my knee and hip joints work better with less pain when I do move regularly, but it's so hard to get motivated to do anything you know is going to hurt (even when you know that not doing so is going to be even worse).

For me, it helps to walk with a purpose. Walking just to walk, I get demotivated as soon as I start to hurt. But, if I'm shopping or walking a dog, I have a purpose. Last year, I walked dogs at the humane society. I haven't gone back since they gave me a dog far too strong for me. I've been a bit hesitant every since, but I'm thinking of starting up again next week. I see from their web page, that they're getting in a lot of small dogs (I'd get a dog myself, except we have an elderly cat who is very antisocial to other critters).

Warm water exercise is great too. Even when I'm hurting badly, I can do quite a bit in the water. The Arthritis Foundation in your area (often partnering with YMCAs, so you could also call there) could tell you if there's a warm water exercise program in your area. That's wonderful, especially during the months that walking is really hard for me (the winter - I'm so afraid of falling on ice, that I find it very difficult to even leave the house).

Kaplods beat me to it about the warm water exercise! It's great! I've had the injections in the knees also. I haven't had any in almost 2 years, and I'm just now starting to hurt more each day, so I guess it is about time again. The first time that I had one, it lasted about 6 months.

My doctor said he would only give me 3. That's it so I'm hoping this last awhile.

I have the YMCA arthritis classes about 10 minutes from my house. The problem is the times they give the classes. They seem to have them geared for (and I guess rightfully so ) seniors that are home during the day.

The easy class is at 9am then there is an intermediate one at 1pm then the hard one aqua jogging is at 7 pm.

I work PT so the only one I really could make on a regular basis is the 7pm one and I'll be the first to tell you I'm lazy. Once I get in this house that's pretty much it. Mind you I'm home by 3:30.

I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago and I printed out the YMCA brochure for the @ 8th time in 2 years. I keep wanting to join and just never do. They even have a punch card system where you can get 10 punches for $90. But it seems like a waste. I should just join. It's $399 for the year.

I'm trying to motivate myself and exercise at home. That's not working to well. If you have TIME WARNER CABLE TV. They have exercise on Demand and there are quite a lot of shows to pick. I recently did Back to BOLLYWOOD which is indian aerobics and guess what........SHE WAS ON THE DR. OZ SHOW YESTERDAY. I couldn't believe it. It's a fun video even though I haven't gotten thru the whole thing yet. I have a great treadmill. Yesterday I did it for about 15 minutes. I was better when I went outside and walked ........ I waled longer outside.

Before the shots I tried walking a couple of times and could do about 15 minutes before my knees and feet would kill me. With the shot the other day I walked 1 1/4 mile . That was good. I still haven't been able to do a full 30 minutes of anything......... oh well just have to keep on pushing.

Arthritis and Exercise
 

SUGGESTION ~ for those like myself whose knees are too bad to kneel on: I do some of my exercises on my bed and my sofa (couch). I do a bunch on my bed upon awaking for about 20-30 minutes before getting up. In the afternoon and/or the evening, I do some different ones my sofa; then I do some chair aerobics as well: I even do some while waiting for things to come up on my pc ... hope this may help someone, as I can do much more now than I used to. :hug:

Justwant2Bhealthy Hi I just looked on youtube and typed in hatha yoga
all of the ones I saw had people on the floor doing bending like a pretzel.

Do you have a tape that just concentrates on the breathing and is it called something different. Thanks.

Hey There
 

Doing exercise in bed sounds good. I have arthritis and can't do many exercise,but, I can walk. I have lost a lot of weight walking..
Joanne

2feelbetter - I also have arthritis all over (knees, hips, spine, hands...). When I first started my journey to health I could only walk about 15 minutes without pain. Every day I would try to go just a little bit longer than was comfortable, not enough to overdo just enough to push a bit. Over time with continued exercise and as the weight came off it got easier and easier. I'm sure your doctor has told you what a difference even 10 lbs will make to your knees. That's what got me started :) What they don't tell you is that as you continue exercising all the supporting muscles strengthen and take some of the stress off. It was awhile before I could walk an hour straight, but it happened. Hopefully by the time the shots wear off you will have lost a few lbs and those muscles will be coming along.

CyndiM Yes my doctors keep telling me that. I'm trying to gradually change things on my own. I know I'm not going to do the caorie counting so I'm trying to modify things bit by bit.

I'm kind of proud of the fact that for the past week I' measured and eaten 1 cup of cereal with 2% milk as opposed to lets say a croissant with butter and cheese or a sausage egg cheese biscuit .

I've also been trying these dance videos that I like. So I'm making small steps.

I also have PTT in my feet which is adult flat feet and that right now is a bigger problem then my knees. I can't even describe the pain after standing for 5 hours. I can hardly walk. My ft dr said I need to loose some weight. So I'm going to give it a good try. Unfortunately Red Lobster did not help last night LOL

Another really good winter resource are the Walk Away the Pounds videos. She has some that are just one mile - slightly less than 20 minutes and very easy on your joints. I'm actually getting ready to dig mine out now that it is getting colder. You can do it!

Uhmmm ... I think that was MORTSCIGIRL that was talking about the Hatha Yoga ... I was mentioning the exercises on the bed, sofa, and chairs -- you can even get videos/dvds for the chair aerobics (just google that).

I have the Leslie Sansone WOTP dvds; and can do them when my legs and feet feel well. I also prefer walking, but you can just do 10 minutes at a time for now; if you can do the tapes at home, you can takes resting breaks as you need to (I do) ...

I heard a doctor on the net say that we don't have to run a marathon to be physically fit; walking for any amount of time for 3-4 days a week is fine. He said to start with 5-10 minutes and work your way up; OR just do 10 minutes 3 x times over the day. :hug:

Be careful w/ the Leslie Sansone tapes if you have arthritis in your knees. My PT said not to do any marching/jogging in place exercises, so no more WATP for me. :(

I have rheumatoid arthritis. Swimming is the best for arthritis but we only have one public indoor here in town and its only open during the day :( My feet are giving me problems these days so I can only walk about 15 minutes at a time. That is better than nothing. Diet is a large part of this process too!

I have a big problem with my feet also. It's called PTT I've been to 4 Doctors. Nothing is working. Basically I work PT sales so I'm on my feet. When I come home I can hardly walk so add that to Arthur in my knees and it's a double whammy.

We do have a YWCA here that has the aqua arthritis program but like the other person said they are basically in the day. The night class is advanced.