High impact and arthritis

[NinjaMom]

Hi everyone,

I sprained my foot while sparring 9 days ago and thought I broke my foot. I couldn't put any weight on it and the pain was unbearable. I ended up going to urgent care for an xray and thankfully it wasn't fractured but just badly sprained. I had a follow up with my doctor who xrayed my foot again because I was still having pain & swelling. No fracture but he noticed mild arthritis in my foot. He explained that it was normal for someone my age (43) to show signs of arthritis especially with all the high impact I do (Cathe, running, karate etc..). Now once my foot heals, I am concerned about continuing high impact activities because I don't want the arthritis to get worse. I always believed that exercising regularily would keep me healthy and free of problems like arthritis. Has anyone else here had to reduce impact due to aging and/or arthritis and is this just the way it must be as we grow older? Thanks for your input.

JJ

 

[macska]

Oh boy, do I hear you....
Here is my story. After being a long distance runner for years having run many marathons and two ultras I was told I have arthritis of the right hip. It was in 2002 November -- after running my fastest marathon.
Last year I kept running with less intensity and less mileage, but I alway had some discomfort. I was really scared that I damage my cartliage even more.
So after taking a deep breath I decided to stop running altogether and do only low or no impact stuff and do a lot more weight training. It works great!
I have zero pain and I can get the same intensity than running with other excersizes. I use the stairmaster, bike, nordictrack, rower all the time. Occasionally I still run a mile or so or do some steps, but not very often. When I do Cathe cardio, say for example the Terminator I sub some of the step stuff on my machines. It works great.
I truly believe that by doing only low or no impact will save your cartliage.

Best of luck to you!

 

[NinjaMom]

Thank you for sharing your story. I love to run too but I usually do no more than 6-7 miles per workout. It must have been a difficult decision to stop altogether but it is great to hear that you have found low impact alternatives that are as intense. I guess it just rubbed me the wrong way that I have arthritis forming in my foot as a result of my age x( and high impact workouts . It made me wonder how many more of us have it and don't even know it. More strength training and lower impact sounds like a good plan for me too. Take care.

JJ

 

[Debra L]

JJ, I have some osteoarthritis in my hips and knee. I wouldn't know about it if not for x rays for injuries. I don't think it's inevitable but doctors have told me that it's not unexpected at my age, 46.

While I've been given the green light for impact activities, I've also been told to mix in lower impact cardio like aqua fitness, hiking & cycling. And marathon training is discouraged. And keep up the strength training.

There's a wealth of information available but it's aimed at those dealing with debilitating arthritis. I'm trying to be proactive and limit its future impact on my health. Two books have been helpful, "Arthritis for Dummies" and "Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis". The "Strong" book by Miriam Nelson includes a lot of nutritional information. Exercise and diet are both key factors in keeping joints happy. The exercise discussions in both books are aimed at people who are sedentary or beginners, but there is still some useful information even if the suggested exercises are too basic.

Hope this helps.

Debra