The thing I wish I could convey to patients

[cornerofmadness]

when I had them and friends with arthritis is that moving is a form of medicine in its way. Yes it hurts but the more you move the less it will hurt after a time. There are reasons for this (provided you still have any cartilage left. If you don't or you're dealing with an autoimmune arthritis it's different).

Case in point, didn't do any exercise on the 4th other than walking a little and getting up and down. Yesterday I hurt so bad I could hardly walk and it was a swollen little bitch of a knee.

Today in PT not only did I have to do the bike and balance board again, I also had to leg press 60 pounds with just the bad leg and then stand on a balance pad and play catch. With all that work out you'd think I'd be dead. I iced it and it doesn't hardly hurt at all.

The reasons? When you exercise the fluid in your joint moves around. Consider the cartilage a sponge. When you compress it and let it go again (as you do when you flex and extend a joint) the cartilage picks up this joint fluid and squeezes out the toxin-filled fluid already in the cartilage. It will actually help you KEEP the cartilage you have left and keep it healthier. It also increases the fit of the cartilage in the joint. So yeah it hurts but as you keep going it hurts less.

Also I've lost 35 pounds now. YAY.

Comments

Nice!

[dauntless_heart]

And now your vast knowledge of the subject is working FOR you, not scaring the hell out of you! (hugs)

Re: Nice!

[cornerofmadness]

yes it's a good thing, thanks

[spikedluv]

Thanks for sharing that bit of information. Now, to pick your brain. I was diagnosed with hip bursitis and a tight IT band last summer. I did stretches (PT) that helped a lot, but only to a point. I kept doing the stretches at home, but the pain did not lessen any further. (Pain when I sleep, not generally during the day.) Would your advice be the same wrt this type of pain? Should I have kept up with the stretches even though I wasn't noticing a difference?

Congrats on the weight loss!

[cornerofmadness]

I would keep doing the stretches but also contact the doc. Often bursitis does need steroid injections as well.

and thanks

[spikedluv]

Thank you for your time!

It's been so long I'd have to start over from scratch with the stretches. o_O

I did have cortisone shots in both hips; I was pain-free for one blissful month. That said, I had an appointment (cancelled) where I was going to request a second shot(s). I should probably make that a priority so I can get some restful sleep.