Biking-Severe Arthritis-Vitamins-Supplements
By the time my mother and grandmother were 50 neither of them could walk across the walk the room without debilitating pain from osteoarthritis. Mom had it the worst and needed a walker shortly after that and was on high levels of addictive pain killers until her death. Genetically I seem to be taking after them but have decided to find alternative treatments that don't involve opiate or similar drugs which I'm allergic to physically and against philosophically.
It's no joke that I can't walk fifty feet without severe pain but I can bike for miles without exacerbating the pain. Even though the arthritis is in my spine, hips and now starting in my knees, since biking isn't weight bearing, the weightless but constant movement of biking has helped considerably in taking the terrible edge off the pain. In other words, I'm much better off physically and mentally since taking up commuting every day to work.
However, the winters are hard on arthritis sufferers and I'm upping the supplements that I've found helpful. I don't suggest that anyone take what I'm taking but I'm interested in what others have found helpful with arthritis pain.
Both prescription and OTC NSAIDs are currently under fire for recent studies linking them to everything from sudden fatal GI bleeds, to strokes, and heart attacks - especially in "senior" citizens. Consequently I stay away from all of them although when things get too unbearable to breathe, I will take a short course of Celebrex to take the edge off the pain.
Meanwhile, the vitamins and supplements I've found helpful are:
Boswellin
Celadrin
S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe)
Salmon Oil
Vitamin E
Vitamin C
Geriatric Multi-Vitamin
I can bike for 10-15 miles a day without major adverse effects the following days but that is the hairy edge. If I go over the 15 mile limit, I'm toast for a few days moaning and groaning and creaking around looking 93 instead of 63.
How about the rest of you "seniors:" Have you found anything else that is helpful to extending your biking abilities?
Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving
Keep movin' that's all I do.
My arth philosophy somewhere below. I don't eat or take anything special. There are foods that have anecdotal evidence that they help. But just keep moving.
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=17179
this is the pill: Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sundial
Pardes, I found staying away from processed foods, and things that are white in color helped me more than anything. Sugar, flour, white potatoes, pasta, milk products, etc causes my arthritis to flare up big time. Also, shade plants such as tomatoes and eggplant don't do me any favors.
If you can stay limber and cycle frequently, that will help more than any supplement in my opinion.
+1,000,000 :D best tip yet!
Keep moving, ditch the junk. :D Paint with your food, lots of colorful fruits and veggies.
The processed food is more of a weight issue to me. There are foods with anecdotal evidence of help for arth and I eat those but no need to discuss that. You have to move the joint.
But if you do eat processed foods stop. Not that any of us are overweight or that it's any issue ;) :rolleyes: :cool:
When it comes to arth it's pure simple engineering. Every pound you drop is like hundreds of pounds less pressure on the knee. Every ounce of muscle you gain is like a replacement for the joints.
I was told alternatively or in addition to weight loss to strengthen the large surrounding muscles on the knee. Climb stairs, climb a hill, strengthen the hamstrings and quads, ciimb, climb, climb.
My knee joints are heading to bone on bone with no surgical option out. I was told take weight off them and/or strengthen the surrounding muscles so they do the work of my decrepit joints.
It was explained to me thus by my orthopedic surgeon:
"you have a sedentary body but an active lifestyle. You have two choices. Either change your lifestyle to fit your knee that is go sedentary, or change your knee to fit your lifestyle. If you want to go sedentary fine. Then we don't have to talk. Go home, the knees will continue to hurt and hurt more, soon you'll have all the effects of a sedentary lifestyle but you really don't need the joint to sit at a desk and drive to and from home so why bother? If you want to change the knee here's a Rx for PT, but really just go ... ride .... your .... bike"
I picked the latter :p and that was 3 AIDS rides ago. 4 if you count leading training rides :D
Pills may help. All they can hurt is your wallet.
But movement especially cycling is the best pill of all. :) My knees anyway "like circles". My knees don't like impact, they really don't like lateral movement, but they like doing circles. And cycling has circles!
What does it say on your Roadid?
On the back of mine it says "don't tell me what I can't do" :cool:
So now that you have a diagnosis, or even if you intuit it such as having an elderly relative who struggled with and suffered from _______ and you feel you will have the same it's so important to find a way to keep moving.
If it's worse in the morning, work out in the afternoon
If it's better when you stretch, stretch in the morning
If it's worse when you are cold buy more wool! :p
If the bike hurts fit it and or make adjustments (you can't suffer through poor fit with arth)
If you're knees hurt get those fabulous Sheila Moon knee warmers or knit some ...
Keep moving. :)
Some may snicker at the middle aged gal with a steel bike, tights or knickers and arm warmers in even the hottest weather and wonder why is she drinking green tea etc. I don't care. At the end of the day and at the end of the ride I'm 52 severely arthritic and climbing. Slowly, badly but climbing.
So take that arth ;-) I'll twack you with my cane ;)
Keep moving, keep moving, you can beat this. :cool: