Beat up body parts

I have arthritis in my knees, which sucks. At this point, it's not too bad, and I'm aiming to keep it together as long as possible.

I realize many of you also have parts that are just never going to get better. Unlike an injury, that you rest so it can heal, how hard do you push the uncooperative bits? As hard as you can stand? Do you worry at all about injuring something that's choss anyway?

And, outside of sucking down ibuprofen type stuff, which I am trying to minimize for as long as possible, what's helped you keep going?

Thanks in advance for your help and encouragement! Best to all, Helen

Avoid NSAIDS which interfere with healing and are hard on your kidneys.

What SinRopa said, and also Bromelain, which if taken on an empty stomach is an effective anti-inflammatory.

CMO works better than Glucosamine. I like Jarrow's 'True CMO'. Take it on an empty stomach with a Vit C capsule (use whole food C, instead of synthetic, such as Garden of Living brand). CMO lubricates and rebuilds cartilage.

For ligaments and tendons, use Collagen Type 1 & 3. Mix 1 scoop with water, vit c, 2 bromelain capsules (opened), and 1T Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Take on an empty stomach and wait 1-2 hours before eating. Collagen 1 & 3 is the building blocks for ligaments and tendons and will make bones stronger.

Go gluten and dairy free to heal leaky gut which can cause your immune system to attack your joints. Avoid corn and cut way down on refined carbs and sugar which are very pro-inflammatory.

Bicycling with good form and a properly fitted bike is awesome for knee rehab.

Maintain your Vit D levels at the upper range. Take K2 with D3 supplements.

A lot of aging can be a choice!

Hot tub or heating pad speeds recovery too. Yoga and strength training work wonders.

I make an anti-inflammatory smoothie every day when I get back from running or climbing:
Banana
Frozen blueberries
Almond milk
Raw kale
Beet powder (or cooked beets)
Turmeric
Ginger
Cinnamon
Sometimes matcha powder
Chlorella

I gave up sugar, flour, and dairy because they're inflammatory (it's personal what's inflammatory to your system)

I do a lot of yoga in general, and yin specifically because it lubricates and strengthens the connective tissue in my joints.

Every night I roll out my legs, back, and shoulders with foam a roller or 2 tennis balls in a sock, then I massages my thighs and calves when I get in bed because relieving muscle tension helps keep tension off my knees and ankles.

Hot epsom salt baths

I also get acupuncture at least twice a month, even when I'm not injured just to keep things working. If you can afford it, professional massage is amazing for your joints (a lot of people don't realize tight muscles exacerbate any CT problems in their joints).

Just some ideas that work for me!

The exercises in Treat Your Own Knee Arthritis seem to be helping me quite a bit.

Old lady H wrote: what's helped you keep going? Thanks in advance for your help and encouragement! Best to all, Helen

Whats helped me is to keep going, never stop moving. Sore from climbing? Go for a hike/bike or walk. No rest days allowed after 40. Stay loose any way possible and keep moving. This post should be asking people over the age of 40 to be more specific.

T Roper wrote: Whats helped me is to keep going, never stop moving. Sore from climbing? Go for a hike/bike or walk. No rest days allowed after 40. Stay loose any way possible and keep moving. This post should be asking people over the age of 40 to be more specific.

Working on 43 here. I eat well and sleep well. No taking anything other than Ibuprofen here and there.

Trivia answer: There is nothing in your body, other than your teeth, that is older than ten years. That said...

Back aches some days from a dirt bike wreck when younger. Threw out my right arm playing my last year of baseball in high school - still bothers me. Fell on a perfect finger/knuckle jam and my left bird will forever be crooked. There are too many stitches and things that have been broken to remember.

I agree with Roper, keep moving and going. Time is running out much quicker than when I was 20.

I plan on sliding into the grave with whiskey in one hand, a smoke in the other while begging if I can take another ride.

chronic ailments just get more chronic. psycho cures eventually become frivolous, least they did for me. made me feel stupid for buying in.
something hurts all the time. old injuries come back to visit, seemingly from nowhere. then they go away and some other old injury stops by. i figure if various elastic wraps, tape and advil will fix me i'm not really hurt. on that occasional golden day i still bang out a pitch of 5.11, then spend a week recovering. what are you going to do? gravity doesn't play from senior tees. quit? hell no.

My mother had the same problem. She loves to walk and bike, but her knee arthritis finally made it too painful. She got a partial knee replacement just a month ago, and it has gone unbelievably well. Minimal pain (she never even took her pain meds), she walked out of the hospital the day after the surgery, in a week she was climbing stairs, and now she's up to 45 minute walks with no problems. She and her doctors expect that soon she'll be as good on her new knee as she ever was on her original one.

Obviously you don't do this until you have to, but if your knee stops you from doing stuff you like, consider it.

Hey babe, if the Shoe fits. . . . .

jeep gaskin wrote:chronic ailments just get more chronic. psycho cures eventually become frivolous, least they did for me. made me feel stupid for buying in. something hurts all the time. old injuries come back to visit, seemingly from nowhere. then they go away and some other old injury stops by. i figure if various elastic wraps, tape and advil will fix me i'm not really hurt. on that occasional golden day i still bang out a pitch of 5.11, then spend a week recovering. what are you going to do? gravity doesn't play from senior tees. quit? hell no.

As this shoe fits me to a tee I'll only add my toes are blown my ankles more so
Then knees hips and back go weakly forward into the coming gloom.
After fifty years of climbing and looking down almost the same age as the
Hottie who now professes honesty but real for reals is a player .
I'm not able to move much after a four day climbing trip .
I've only been at this since 5- or 6 so I'm not complaining
Or climbing without hanging on much harder than ...
Who knows I only climb on routes that I've cleaned

ah! I am so thankful to have had the freedom to have followed my bliss!

Edit,
You can always tell when I've been climbing by the way I use up my posting limit.
Fully addicted to all things well almost all things
Climbing related,
Kinda a boring mono- demensional personality though
YMMV...

Kirby!
Bill! Ding ding ding!,
Hehahah! Spring chicken,
broke down, and put back together,
that list of injuries you once shared was impressive!
but good on you for Gettin' after it!
V V V V V

I turned 40 in September. A little after my last birthday I realized that it's going to get harder to do fun stuff outdoors if I don't stay in shape in drop weight. I can't just get off the couch and go on a week climbing or biking trip. I figure my pains won't be as bad if I'm not carrying extra weight around and every muscle in my body is strong. I would recommend that for beat up body parts.

I disagree with no rest days. Not saying it's wrong just doesn't work for me. If I go too strong for too long I injure myself. It's hard to take a day to recover when I see results. I got pumped since I lost eight pounds in two weeks. I went to a spin class last night with some friends. This morning I got knee pain. It feels like a inflamed Pateller tendon but comes and goes. My foot has pins and needles so I think it's to do with my back. Any ways sometimes you gotta rest.

63 and still at it. CMO, Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM, and stay moving.

I second biking for the knees; great for range of motion with very little stress. Although I mountain bike a lot, which is rougher but still keeps things functioning well.

When you stop moving at my age, you just seize up. Can't have that.

If a warmup makes it feel better, keep going. If a warmup makes it feel worse, stop.

Knee wraps (the kind weightlifters use) can provide some light compression and heat retention, both of which help a creaky knee. You will probably have to experiment with how tight you wear them.

Seth Jones wrote: You old fucker... haha

I'm a 140 in gangbanger years :)

Another great exercise for sore knees is swimming. Stretching in a pool is good...body has nice support from all that water. Little stress on the knees when in the pool.

Tumeric
Ice Packs
Training- especially light weight, low impact exercises to strengthen connective tissue

Tradster wrote:I second biking for the knees; great for range of motion with very little stress.

Oddly a recent idea is that bicycling does not provide enough stress on knees and ankles.
Theory is that joint tissue needs the unique stimulation of impact stress (at the right level) for best maintenance.

. (and the "wear and tear" theory of osteoarthritis has been pretty well debunked).

Ken

kenr wrote: Oddly a recent idea is that bicycling does not provide enough stress on knees and ankles. Theory is that joint tissue needs the unique stimulation of impact stress (at the right level) for best maintenance. . (and the "wear and tear" theory of osteoarthritis has been pretty well debunked). Ken

I have a torn meniscus, and coincidentally, on the very day I was going to schedule an MRI, I ran into a recently retired knee surgeon. He examined me (where I met him, not in an office setting) and he said don't bother getting an MRI. He guaranteed that I had a torn meniscus.

He said that when hiking, use hiking poles very vigorously, both up and down. And he said that bicycling is the best PT. I have found that to be the case in my situation. My knee has improved dramatically. I ride hard in intervals, so far short sprints and hills, and a few times a day (commuting).

Recently I read that a research study found that meniscus surgery was no more helpful, and could cause harm, compared to a good PT program in older patients.

KevinCO wrote: Recently I read that a research study found that meniscus surgery was no more helpful, and could cause harm, compared to a good PT program in older patients.

Trust the PTs, its good info. Of course trusting the PTs means doing what they say for more than a few days before giving up and opting for the knife.

I see some folks get talked into the knife before being referred to a PT frequently, that says a bit about our health care system to me.

At 51, pretty much everything has issues because I've got a lifetime of accumulated injuries. Shoulders that I once dislocated never really healed. Last year I ignored a tennis elbow until it popped out, so I wouldn't ignore pain and keep pushing. Rest injuries rather than making them acute.

I have chronic injuries to knees and ankles as well. Habitual use of NSAIDs can help you manage pain, but long term use can damage internal organs. A friend has damaged his kidneys.

Interestingly, climbing really helps my back and hands. My back muscles pretty much always ache, but if I climb, they're much better for a day or two. Finger joints have been stiff for decades with what I would guess is early arthritis, but after climbing they feel a little better.

So that is the bright spot - I try to climb at least once a week to loosen up the back. With a white collar desk job, climbing is the best workout I get all week and its wonderful to be outdoors. I plan to be climbing into old age.

Thanks so much for all the replies, online and pm both. You folks are really encouraging!

So far, I have done some research, and will do more, and I have been taking glucosamine 2x daily, turmeric capsules 1x daily (but with breaks now and then), and Ibu just as little as I can get away with.

Once I'm up and rolling, I do okay walking and biking (bike commuter, my "high risk" activity Lol!), but going down hill, down stairs, sitting for any length of time (driving sometimes), all get problematic. I also have to really be careful with any twisting, or pushing down while my leg is turned out, which screams like a demon if I forget. 4'11", and the high steps are mostly a no go, or at the risk of injury?? Major bummer. For the first time, in my admittedly short climbing career, climbing intimidates me, so that's gotta get gone from my head, pronto. At least I'm old enough to know when my head is being an ass, and can cuss it out appropriately.

Other major impact is laboriously rolling over, trying to find a way to sleep. Waking up multiple times, many nights. Yeah, that's how it was some nights pre-arthritis too, but too often now.

Friday, left sucker hurt enough I finally went to the doc in a box, just to make sure I hadn't actually injured it, since that's rest, and the arthritis is keep up and going. No injury, just crunchy old knees:

For those who don't know, the gap between the bones is where the cartilage is/is not. Where the gap narrows, or is missing entirely (not my case, yet), that is bone on bone. This is a phone photo taken off a computer screen, hence the moiré pattern.

old knees

So, from that Friday visit, I also have a PT appointment coming up in early December.

My crux move now is to change my habits to include time to take care of myself (lotsa years of everybody else first), get out to hike, get to the gym, bake the stuff that feeds my addictions in a more healthy way (coffee and sweets, drugs of choice), all that stuff I know I need to do. Feel free to throw that training thread I started back whenever, in my face. Coming back to bite me.

Oh, I did purchase a couple adjustable hiking poles, on a friend's recommendation (thanks, T.!). If you have a Winco around, ours in Boise has a tiny camping section, and these were only about ten bucks each. My friend says his lasted great until he trundled the 100 pound block on them. Oops.

Thanks so much to all of you. And, Jake? You are one of those I think of when I start leaning toward a pity party. Hands are soooo much tougher.

Best, Helen (I am off to shop for approach shoes to hike in, TODAY!!)