# You Need To Exercise Even If It Hurts,



## Lon (Oct 8, 2017)

Those of us with Rheumatoid Arthritis will under stand the Title. We tend to spend many of our days and evenings in some form of pain & discomfort and different drugs will not cure it. Just hopefully diminish some of the symptoms.It actually hurt for me to make my bed and wash the linen this morning but it is a form of exercise that is necessary with this disease. Taking my Walker to check for mail is another form form. For a guy like me that ran 100 miles per week all during his 40's, played lot's of Raquet Ball, walked lots of golf courses and many scuba dives this can be a bitter pill to swallow, but then it hits me just how fortuante I really am compared to so many.


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## SeaBreeze (Oct 8, 2017)

I'm glad you're keeping moving and flexible Lon, I know it must be hard after being so active for so many years, I remember your photo when you were bungee jumping, I think you were in your 60s.   There are some natural supplements/spices that can help the pain of RA, of course with approval from your doctor if you have any interest.  Here's an old thread I posted about Turmeric (Curcumin) https://www.seniorforums.com/showthread.php/225-Curcumin-for-Rheumatoid-Arthritis?highlight=rheumatoid+arthritis  

You can click on CC in the videos for closed captioning.


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## Dobra (Oct 9, 2017)

Keep moving Lon, although you are suffering some pain. To stop is to seize up... Good luck with some natural pain relief


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## Happyflowerlady (Oct 10, 2017)

I think that exercise and diet have a lot more to do with arthritis and joint pain than we give it credit for.  Most of the food that we include in our diets that are sugars and starches are inflammatory foods, and inflammation is one of the things that accompanies/causes pain. 
I know that I can feel the difference right away when I have indulged in apple pie, or some other dessert, and my knees and ankles will swell up and not move very well. 
I had a pulmonary embolism a couple of years ago, and because of that, I can’t have a knee replacement; so my doctor said that exercises were the best thing that I could do to help my knee. He gave me one of those cortisone shots that helped with pain for a while, and then I started doing exercises to help my knees while the cortisone was helping to stop the pain. 
Since I was also having serious a-fib and heart failure back then, regular exercise was really hard for me, and I started swimming and doing the knee exercises at the fitness center pool.  
By the time that the cortisone shot wore off, my knees were much more mobile. I still do the exercises for my knees, and I can now bend the bad one a lot better than originally it would bend. 
As long as I stay on the low carb diet, and do my exercises, I do not have a lot of arthritis pain most days, although weather changes can also affect the arthritis, and it is worse in cold, damp weather.


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## Don M. (Oct 10, 2017)

I fully agree with the idea of exercise being helpful if a person has arthritis issues.  I have some in my left hip, and staying active is certainly a help.  I take a daily glucosamine/MSM pill, and that helps...but moving around, and going outdoors to do a bunch of chores helps keep me from having much pain.  If I lay around in the recliner for more than a couple of hours, I can feel the hip starting to talk to me, and sometimes it wakes me up in the middle of the night, and I have to get up and walk around for a couple of minutes.  This is just one of the joys of getting older, I guess, but exercise is certainly a better option than having to go through surgery, etc.....IMO.


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## HollySprings (Nov 9, 2017)

Staying active can be challenging with limited mobility or health problems. Glad to read you still perform exercises even with such pain. Luckily, there are many exercises/activities you can still do. Even walking for a few minutes can keep you healthy and fit. You can raise your arms or legs slowly or do “bed exercises”. Some simple Yoga poses can deliver benefits like balance, flexibility, and strength even if you are not able to do intense workouts. Meditation can also help you achieve calmness.


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## Timetrvlr (Nov 9, 2017)

Good post Lon! Keep up the good work. I'm only 79 and ride an exercise bike every night for a half hour while I watch the news, it helps my osteoarthritis and lowers my blood sugar. But my A1C  numbers are climbing again so I've decided to bite the bullet and buy a Nordic Track Elliptical machine and spend an hour a day on it. I think it's a more complete regime and I hope it will help.


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## Camper6 (Nov 10, 2017)

I'm not being facetious. How does alcohol fit into the picture? Does it help?

One doctor told me alcohol is the best medicine in the world if handled properly.

Im lucky. Still active and mobile in my 80's. Ride a bike every day. Two beer a day maximum.

Playing a lot of sports while young. I think you pay the price for it later.

I know a lot of hockey players who have joint problems especially in the knees and hips.

Contact sports? Not a good way to go .


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## AndrewLewis (Nov 26, 2017)

Camper6 said:


> I know a lot of hockey players who have joint problems especially in the knees and hips.



I can't speak to the alcohol, but hockey players and ice skaters are notorious for having bad knees and hips later in life due to the lateral pushing of the skates. 
Knees are not a big fan of doing anything except hinging.


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## rgp (Nov 26, 2017)

Keep in mind that Jack Lalanne the  one time fitness guru & health nut , juicer, etc. Lived to be 96. While George Burns  who stated he smoked something like eight cigars p/day, drank heavily , and lived a nightclub lifestyle...lived to be 100. Both from the same era. 

<caveat> I'm not promoting either lifestyle, just pointing out that there appears to be no absolute path. 

<opinion> I think it's largely a matter of genetics......we are our parents.


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## Camper6 (Nov 26, 2017)

Pain is natures way of telling us something is wrong.

I do not recommend exercise if it hurts.  You are doing damage to whatever is causing the pain.


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## rgp (Nov 26, 2017)

Camper6 said:


> Pain is natures way of telling us something is wrong.
> 
> I do not recommend exercise if it hurts.  You are doing damage to whatever is causing the pain.




 +1...

  IMO even when young athletes are taught to "work through" the pain....I truly believe that just sets them up for problems down the road. Perhaps serious problems.


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## SifuPhil (Nov 26, 2017)

Camper6 said:


> Pain is natures way of telling us something is wrong.
> 
> I do not recommend exercise if it hurts. You are doing damage to whatever is causing the pain.



I tend to agree with this ("If there's pain, there's no brain") but we also have to remember that there are many levels of pain, as well as a very large spectrum of people's ability to both feel and handle it. 

Some people will stop exercising at the slightest appearance of discomfort; others won't quit until irreversable damage is done. 

Our bodies are meant to be in motion, but that doesn't always mean running a marathon - sometimes just a little walk will do the trick.


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## AndrewLewis (Nov 26, 2017)

Camper6 said:


> Pain is natures way of telling us something is wrong.
> 
> I do not recommend exercise if it hurts. You are doing damage to whatever is causing the pain.



Pain is a really tricky indicator of what you should or shouldn't do. If you talk to nurses in the ICU, I guarantee you they will tell you awful stories of people who have fallen, broken something, and refuse to do rehab because it hurts. This frequently leads to muscle atrophy and these patients end up with chronic pain. On the other end, the people that go through rehab endure short-term discomfort and pain for a lack (or reduction) of pain after rehab is complete.

Now, that all said, there are of course many stories of people who choose to push through pain (especially athletes) only to end up injured even worse.


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## HiDesertHal (Nov 27, 2017)

I agree, Camper6.

Pain is a wall that nature warns you not to climb over.

HiDesertHal


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## tnthomas (Nov 27, 2017)

Timetrvlr said:


> Good post Lon! Keep up the good work. I'm only 79 and ride an exercise bike every night for a half hour while I watch the news, it helps my osteoarthritis and lowers my blood sugar. But my A1C  numbers are climbing again so I've decided to bite the bullet and buy a Nordic Track Elliptical machine and spend an hour a day on it. I think it's a more complete regime and I hope it will help.



The exercise bike at the gym makes my knees burn, not a good burn.     I use the Ellipticals at the gym, and also have an Elliptical at home.   Low impact on the joints...that's a good thing.  Good workout for cardio, weight loss, etc.

I do 50 minutes a day, seven days a week, plus a couple visits to the gym for weights or a class called SilverSneakers.


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## Camper6 (Nov 28, 2017)

AndrewLewis said:


> Pain is a really tricky indicator of what you should or shouldn't do. If you talk to nurses in the ICU, I guarantee you they will tell you awful stories of people who have fallen, broken something, and refuse to do rehab because it hurts. This frequently leads to muscle atrophy and these patients end up with chronic pain. On the other end, the people that go through rehab endure short-term discomfort and pain for a lack (or reduction) of pain after rehab is complete.
> 
> Now, that all said, there are of course many stories of people who choose to push through pain (especially athletes) only to end up injured even worse.



Rehab uses a lot of mechanical devices . Under supervision.


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## RiverUp (Mar 4, 2018)

Happyflowerlady said:


> I think that exercise and diet have a lot more to do with arthritis and joint pain than we give it credit for.  Most of the food that we include in our diets that are sugars and starches are inflammatory foods, and inflammation is one of the things that accompanies/causes pain.
> I know that I can feel the difference right away when I have indulged in apple pie, or some other dessert, and my knees and ankles will swell up and not move very well.
> QUOTE]
> HappyFlowerLady, I agree and have noticed a real correlation between eating refined flour-foods, sugar...and inflammation/pain in my body. I was surprised, years ago, when my doctor told me I have RA in my hands, because I had no pain at all.  As time went on, I took a prescription drug for around two years, then got off of it.  During that two years, inflammation increased in my body and now I notice some pain.  (I know some of you have to take prescription drugs.)  I suppose as older people, we process foods differently and have to be even more careful not to eat a "typical American" diet.  I take lots of turmeric, which SeaBreeze mentioned.  Right now, I am reading about MSM and that sounds promising.  I'll stop and take some now.  I am taking two teaspoons a day, once in the a.m. and once in the p.m.  I will work up to more.  Maybe some of you might want to experiment with MSM (and a diet with few refined flour and almost no sugar!)  I don't have much pain "yet," just stiffness and a little pain.


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## n_brown (Mar 4, 2018)

I think God that I don't (yet) have an RA factor level, but I do have aches and pains, but are lessened by exercise considerably.


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