Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A few years ago, I complained about back pain. After x-rays, my doctor told me I had arthritis in my thoracic spine area. He didn't give much advice, except to take over the counter pain meds when needed and strengthen my abdominal muscles, which didn't make sense since my thoracic spine is in my rib cage area, but whatever. I never took the over the counter pain meds, but somehow managed to keep the pain down by not overdoing it when it hurt.
Now I'm getting to the point where my arthritis is worse. My back is killing me. I think I have it in other joints. Pain in my shoulders and hips wake me up at night, making it difficult to get restful sleep. I'm a bit discouraged that over the counter pain meds is all that's advised for early arthritis.
Isn't there something I can be doing to help slow the progression? I'm not even 50, and I'm feeling like I'm 70 lately.
Will buying a new bed help? My bed provides good back support, but I feel I could benefit from more padding for my shoulders and hips.
I realize that exercise is important because strong muscles and tendons support the arthritic joints, but this is wear aging arthritis and doesn't exercise just add more wear to the joints? Am I making it worse by exercising?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm too young at heart to be feeling so painfully old these days.
Osteoarthritis? Nothing slows the progression of arthritis, and some people start to experience it in their 40's. OTC pain medications are the first choice meds, narcotics are rarely prescribed and usually a poor choice. There are steroid and lubricant injections that may help short-term, but they can cause damage or be ineffectual over time. Only your ortho doc can tell you if you are a candidate for surgery, such as joint replacement or spinal fusion, but sometimes those have a very limited lifespan (ex. 10 years for some knee joints) Or potential complications. Exercise is highly recommended as you know, but you do need to avoid high impact exercises (ex. running on arthritic knees). Swimming, biking, yoga, and tai chi are great, as are lifting some weights. Abdominal exercises can definitely improve upper back support. If you are overweight, lose weight so that your BMI is healthy.
See your primary care doc and make sure you have the right diagnosis (ie. osteoarthritis rather than other forms). They can tell by exploring your symptoms and doing lab work, and will order imaging only if needed. If you take NSAIDs, ask if there is something to protect your stomach from potential bleeding down the road. Definitely ask your primary care doc for a PT referral in oder to find the best exercise regimen for your body. Finally, see your ortho doc again after the primary care visit to discuss your options at this point.
I have arthritis in my hands and just got a shooting pain which is more frequent lately. The Doctor offered me an injection, but I refused. I do take supplements which I thought was helping somewhat but I don't know now if they are or not since this lately is a daily occurrence at times. I do exercise and it does help my other body parts that have arthritis. I don't seem to be in pain as much just my hands and wrists at times.
See a physical therapist. While any exercise is usually good for health, there are specific exercises for specific arthritic areas, and not all exercises may not be appropriate or helpful. And it may not be intuitively obvious what they are. For example core exercises support healthy knees, which is not very intuitive. The core isn't anywhere near the knee. Likewise your abdominal muscles may be important to support your thoracic spine. But most GPs don't know squat about these things, and most surgical orthos don't care because they do surgery.
See a Physical Therapist. A good one can work wonders, if you are willing to put in the work.
Do nothing, since you clearly know more than your doctor.
As for me, when I was diagnosed, I started lifting light weights (2-6 pounds), squats, wall sits, planks, pushups. I worked on my abdominal muscles.
Why? Because - the only thing OTHER than your spine that's keeping you upright - is your abdominal muscles. Guarantee a good posture, and you'll minimize the stress to your bones.
I have a thick padding of fat over my stomach now that I'm older and sometimes overeat. But under that fat is rock solid muscle. The doctor thought I'd be in a wheelchair by the time I turned 40, because of an accident that broke bones and arthritis runs in the family. I'm 62. I still ride a bicycle, still walk without a cane, still sit cross-legged on the floor, still get back up without assistance. I have nearly bone-on-bone arthritis in my hip, arthritis in my other hip, spine, and knees, and osteoporosis. I'll need a hip replacement probably next year. But for now - I walk, and am unencumbered by pain (most of the time).
But don't listen to what I say, or what anyone else here says. You wouldn't do what your own doctor said, so why do you care about the opinion of strangers on the internet? Do what you want. You know you will anyway.
A few years ago, I complained about back pain. After x-rays, my doctor told me I had arthritis in my thoracic spine area. He didn't give much advice, except to take over the counter pain meds when needed and strengthen my abdominal muscles, which didn't make sense since my thoracic spine is in my rib cage area, but whatever. I never took the over the counter pain meds, but somehow managed to keep the pain down by not overdoing it when it hurt.
Now I'm getting to the point where my arthritis is worse. My back is killing me. I think I have it in other joints. Pain in my shoulders and hips wake me up at night, making it difficult to get restful sleep. I'm a bit discouraged that over the counter pain meds is all that's advised for early arthritis.
Isn't there something I can be doing to help slow the progression? I'm not even 50, and I'm feeling like I'm 70 lately.
Will buying a new bed help? My bed provides good back support, but I feel I could benefit from more padding for my shoulders and hips.
I realize that exercise is important because strong muscles and tendons support the arthritic joints, but this is wear aging arthritis and doesn't exercise just add more wear to the joints? Am I making it worse by exercising?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm too young at heart to be feeling so painfully old these days.
First thing is to check who in your family had arthritis, as in my case it was totally genetics that's caused me to have 50 operations, all due to arthritis. My journey started when I was just 55, 23 years ago when I had to have my first joint fusion because the cartilage disappeared between my joints. I've had 5 back surgeries, all successful and with no side effects other than the initial pain. If you do need surgery, find a great doctor and a good hospital. Good luck. It's a hard journey but it beats having pain all the time. I've been on opiods for almost 20 years, and I'm fortunate to have a good pain clinic that prescribes the meds as most doctors are afraid to order opiods.
Last edited by seethelight; 12-22-2023 at 12:08 PM..
A few years ago, I complained about back pain. After x-rays, my doctor told me I had arthritis in my thoracic spine area. He didn't give much advice, except to take over the counter pain meds when needed and strengthen my abdominal muscles, which didn't make sense since my thoracic spine is in my rib cage area, but whatever. I never took the over the counter pain meds, but somehow managed to keep the pain down by not overdoing it when it hurt.
Now I'm getting to the point where my arthritis is worse. My back is killing me. I think I have it in other joints. Pain in my shoulders and hips wake me up at night, making it difficult to get restful sleep. I'm a bit discouraged that over the counter pain meds is all that's advised for early arthritis.
Isn't there something I can be doing to help slow the progression? I'm not even 50, and I'm feeling like I'm 70 lately.
Will buying a new bed help? My bed provides good back support, but I feel I could benefit from more padding for my shoulders and hips.
I realize that exercise is important because strong muscles and tendons support the arthritic joints, but this is wear aging arthritis and doesn't exercise just add more wear to the joints? Am I making it worse by exercising?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm too young at heart to be feeling so painfully old these days.
Osteo or rheumatoid? For RA there are tons of prescriptions you can get to stop the progression. Also, you may have to push for some pain killers. Tell them that this is impacting your quality of life and that you are getting depressed from being in pain, not getting enough sleep, and not being able to do things.
Also, if it is RA exercise is super important, it can be painful but will help in the long run.
A new bed can also help a lot (we are currently looking for one right now).
__________________ ____________________________________________
My posts as a Mod will always be in red.
Be sure to review Terms of Service: TOS
And check this out: FAQ
Moderator: Relationships Forum / Hawaii Forum / Dogs / Pets / Current Events
A few years ago, I complained about back pain. After x-rays, my doctor told me I had arthritis in my thoracic spine area. He didn't give much advice, except to take over the counter pain meds when needed and strengthen my abdominal muscles, which didn't make sense since my thoracic spine is in my rib cage area, but whatever. I never took the over the counter pain meds, but somehow managed to keep the pain down by not overdoing it when it hurt.
Now I'm getting to the point where my arthritis is worse. My back is killing me. I think I have it in other joints. Pain in my shoulders and hips wake me up at night, making it difficult to get restful sleep. I'm a bit discouraged that over the counter pain meds is all that's advised for early arthritis.
Isn't there something I can be doing to help slow the progression? I'm not even 50, and I'm feeling like I'm 70 lately.
Will buying a new bed help? My bed provides good back support, but I feel I could benefit from more padding for my shoulders and hips.
I realize that exercise is important because strong muscles and tendons support the arthritic joints, but this is wear aging arthritis and doesn't exercise just add more wear to the joints? Am I making it worse by exercising?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm too young at heart to be feeling so painfully old these days.
The most important things you can do to treat osteoarthritis of the spine (and yes, this would be osteoarthritis for the person who asked) is to:
1. Exercise, be less sedentary in general
2. Strength and resistance training, especially put a load on your back (like barbell squats), I know this sounds counterintuitive
3. Maintain a normal BMI
4. Avoid alcohol and smoking
5. Eat nutritious meals with plenty of protein, phosphorus, calcium, boron, magnesium, vitamin D, potassium.
For starting an exercise regimen, I'd start by talking to a physical therapist on working your way up to a normal strength training regimen where you can load a barbell on your back and do squats. It will take some time depending on your pain and progression.
If I were you, I'd avoid the pain meds. They don't fix anything, just mask the pain and give you unnecessary side effects. Over the long term, they will make you more pain intolerant.
The most important things you can do to treat osteoarthritis of the spine (and yes, this would be osteoarthritis for the person who asked) is to:
1. Exercise, be less sedentary in general
2. Strength and resistance training, especially put a load on your back (like barbell squats), I know this sounds counterintuitive
3. Maintain a normal BMI
4. Avoid alcohol and smoking
5. Eat nutritious meals with plenty of protein, phosphorus, calcium, boron, magnesium, vitamin D, potassium.
For starting an exercise regimen, I'd start by talking to a physical therapist on working your way up to a normal strength training regimen where you can load a barbell on your back and do squats. It will take some time depending on your pain and progression.
If I were you, I'd avoid the pain meds. They don't fix anything, just mask the pain and give you unnecessary side effects. Over the long term, they will make you more pain intolerant.
You sound like someone who has never had an/or many operations. Pain meds HELP when you are in pain. The key is to treat the issue causing the pain and move on. In my case(s), I found the head of the orthopedic dept. at Johns Hopkins and never looked back. I just found out yesterday that I will need hip replacement. Oh well. Acceptance has been my go to word.
By the way I'm talking about osteo arthritis. My mother had very severe RA, but fortunately (?) I only have severe degenerative arthritis.
You sound like someone who has never had an/or many operations. Pain meds HELP when you are in pain. The key is to treat the issue causing the pain and move on. In my case(s), I found the head of the orthopedic dept. at Johns Hopkins and never looked back. I just found out yesterday that I will need hip replacement. Oh well. Acceptance has been my go to word.
By the way I'm talking about osteo arthritis. My mother had very severe RA, but fortunately (?) I only have severe degenerative arthritis.
I've had a few operations, mostly sports related. Many broken bones. Like I said, "If I were you". I would not take pain meds that merely masked the pain for a chronic condition. The OP seems to have concerns with her doc advising her to take OTC pain meds only.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
