Does any one here have Osteoarthritis in knees & or hips??

[Rachel*Jacobs]

I have been having pains in my left knee & left hip. I went to the doc. & he took ex-rays of my knees & hip. It showed that I have Osteoarthritis in the knee & hip. He said that it was "bone on bone" & that I would be a good candidate for knee & hip replacement. I just don't know if I want to go that route just yet as Aleeve or Aspirin helps me with the pain.

I was wondering if any one here has Osteoarthritis also? What kind of exercise do you do? what kinds do you stay away from? I have a Urban rebounder but I am afraid that it hurts my hip. I don't do any high jumps on it just a health bounce or walk or jog with a Leslie video on it. I wonder if a Bellicon would give a gentler bounce - but then that is a LOT of money & then find out that it kills my hip or knees. But you keep reading how a rebounder is so good for you! I had been using it for 10-15 min. a day, it seemed to be firming up my skin from losing weight.
I have lost a LOT of weight (85pds.) this yr. because of the arthritis but I guess that it was too late & I had already damaged my joints. I want to keep exercising so that I don't gain back any weight but I also don't want to hurt myself. All the doc. said was "if it hurts, then don't do it".

[marya]

Condolences, Rachel! I have osteoarthritis also--knees, hips, shoulders. But my great goal in life is to avoid joint replacement!

I don't have a rebounder, but so far kundalini and hatha yoga (substantially modified) have kept the surgeon at bay. My knees also respond well to a T-Tapp workout called More.

I rehabbed a seriously compromised shoulder (which imaging showed to be in danger of collapse) with the exercises in J.B. Bernes' Rehab Your Body at Home--to the point it now feels better, stronger, and more mobile than the other one. J.B. also has regimens for the knees and hips.

A wonderful workout for the joints in general is Lee Holden's Qigong for Bones and Joints. It's 35 minutes long. I usually alternate it with a beginning belly dance workout, Dancing the Sacred Shapes. Those workouts are the best generators of sinovial fluid I've come across--absolute bliss for the joints!

Chantal Donnelly's Strong Knees has also been effective for me when muscle weakness is a contributing factor in knee pain.

[sheepla]

See the linked thread that I started back in July which made me feel a lot more hopeful about exercising with arthritis.

http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...knee+arthritis

[TinierTina]

The side of my knee pains me in cold/damp weather; and the leg is given to hyperextension and too-easy torquing towards the left.

The pains are acute, and China Gel has to be applied; cannot bend (squat at all deeply, torque or hyperextend [lock]) the knee in any funny way.

The knee pain had stabilized, but I found while exploring several cardio dance forms (my medical condition mandates seriously intense cardio most days of the week!), that any amount of depth in plies causes this pain, and nearly any pivoting in a lunge position threatens to torque that knee.

I have to slacken and get rid of much of impact; doing Jessica at half-pace, etc., pausing during Paul Eugene; leaving out quite a number of yoga poses, etc. with my Yee and even my own creations ...

If my feet (arch pain) also were not a problem (and my boredom threshold a lot higher) I'd have probably been all over Leslie by now.

[psupam]

I have knee arthritis (probably hands and shoulders too) and had to give up running due to it. I make sure I weight train twice a week--usually the FIRM--to keep my muscles strong. I also do step aerobics twice a week but no impact and step at 4-6 inches. I am working on adding walking too. A recent study showed that 6000 steps per day helps with knee arthritis. I would recommend the book "Strong Women beat arthritis" by Miriam Nelson PhD; evidence based exercise and information. Hope this helps.

[MsThistlebottom]

My OA isn't severe, but 10 years ago, I remember wincing every time I got out of the car because my knees hurt so much. Rebounding, DDP yoga, weight loss (still have more to go), walking, strength training, and major dietary changes (the critical factor, IMO) have improved my arthritis immeasurably.

Oh, and I want to second the recommendation for Qi Gong for Healthy Joints and Bones. It's heavenly!

[kitty12]

I dislocated my knee cap when I was 13 (I'm 51 now), and in 2009 it came back to haunt me. Initially it was just noisy going up stairs but progressed to barely being able to walk. I had a slow recovery through physical therapy, only able to go every 2 - 3 weeks since I could not take on any new work faster than that. I left therapy at the point I could manage some small jumps. I discovered this group around the same time which means I also discovered exercise DVDs. I found barre really helpful initially, but now do a wide variety of DVDs. My knee is still noisy but does not really impact me much. I am aware of it, and know that certain things taken in large quantity might be dangerous, but I do not feel it is very limiting. I can do full squats and some other moves that would have been really bad at the time.

In 1997 I learned I have hip dysplasia in my right hip, eventually leading to now severe arthritis. I did complete some PT in 1997 but only thing I recall about it is that I also had SI joint issues - a "posterior innominates rotation". What this means is if I don't maintain strong core and hip strength my SI joint goes out of alignment, leading to one leg being longer than the other. I know how to adjust for this at home and determine if I am out of alignment, but rarely have to do this now. When I am out of alignment, it is also painful, and not adjusted for puts additional pressure on the knee.

During my 2009 PT for my knee, we also worked on my hip as it was very painful at the time. Even following this PT I continued to do many of the strength exercises I learned as I found them important for pain management and focused strength.

I returned to PT again last year, this time for my left hip. At first we thought it might be a groin pull, but x-rays and eventual MRI Arthogram showed a labral tear and arthritis in my left hip.

One thing I learned from my consult with a hip replacement specialist is that x-rays do not equate to level of pain. Some patients can reflect mild arthritis and have severe pain, others can have bone on bone and much less pain. While I am positive that I will eventually require hip replacement, my goal is to delay it as long as possible.

My hips do have some level of pain. Very little to none on work days. I do take 2 ibuprofen at bed time to ensure pain-free sleep. On weekends I am pretty good - sometimes on Sunday I may take a couple at dinner time. On vacations or days where I am more active than usual, I will take OTC pain medications as needed. The doctor provided me a sheet of safe levels to take. I have also found Aspercream extremely helpful for my hips.

I do a wide variety of exercise - most recently Fe Fit, 21 Day Fix, and currently BBL. I think BBL is a good fit for my hip issues - anything that focuses on my hips is good. Up until my issues last year I considered myself to be high-intermediate/low advanced. I have not yet returned to some of my more challenging DVDs but not really missing them (except perhaps Dream Body - I hope to try it again). When doing a rotation, I may need to work an additional recovery day into a week, but sometimes will do this by combining two workouts onto one day.

I also do my PT exercises once a week although think I will be able to drop them during BBL. I mix in yoga and barre, and elliptical (although less often than previously as it can irritate my hips). Luckily I don't have any urge to pick up running so that hasn't presented any issues. I eliminated Step way back in my 30s due to hip pain and haven't missed it. While my right hip is pretty flexible given my age and arthritis, I have restricted rotation in my left hip. As such, while I love yoga I have to be careful too - Crescent pose is better than too much Warrior 1, and the alignment of my feet may be slightly off from normal. Some of the Jill Miller movements that helped my right hip are really bad for my left hip. Yin yoga is like torture.

I think some of it is a personal journey, learning what works and what doesn't work for you. Each version of arthritis is a little different. I feel that my hips are "well managed" and I am happy with the level of activity that I am able to do and I enjoy my workouts. They actually are very important to reducing pain and keeping my body balanced and strong. I focus on hips, lower body and strong core. Without exercise I think I would have had hip replacement years ago. Good luck and hope that helps!

You didn't mention what type of doctor you had seen - I would make sure it is a hip specialist and not a general practitioner. Also, would recommend PT.

[kitty12]

Oh, just to add - on the other post that was linked someone recommended the Strong Knees DVD. I would second that vote. I found it very helpful in gaining some initial strength as I waited through my diagnostics and the start of PT. Much of my PT was based on more advanced versions of what is in that DVD.

[Rachel*Jacobs]

Thank you everyone for your help.

I will check out the DVD recommendations. Sounds like some good ones listed.
Although I have trouble getting into some yoga positions & some are just not doable at all.
I do have the BBL workouts. I just got them during her sale. I need to pull them out & do them.

Thanks for the idea of taking 2 Ibuprofen at night time. I usually take 1 Aleeve at night but sometimes it is not enough & I wake up in the middle of the night with a dull hip pain. Don't know why but laying down makes my hip hurt worse then if I am up walking or standing on it. It is hard to get in a position at night that my left hip does not hurt, if I lay on my right side it is usually pain free. But I get tired of laying in one position!

Yes, that is what I went to was a general practitioner. I think that I need to also see a Hip specialist & a PT.

Thanks again for all of your help!

[TuesdayTaylor]

Hi Rachel, I have osteoarthritis in my toes - it's the severe end state - bone on bone as you say.

The issue I find is not just the pain - it's the fusion of the joints, the altered gait etc. that causes pain and issues in other areas. My hips and knees have issues due to the toes basically being fused together and not able to bend.

Unfortunately, at least here in Ontario, there's no joint replacement offered - just a fusion with very long recovery and questionable results (imo).

My advice - find exercise dvds you like and modify modify. I like yoga because it allows me to gauge my flexibility and pain levels - I can monitor things like tight hamstrings, hip pain, etc.

I recently bought Season 10 of Classical Stretch and really enjoying Miranda's focus on mobility. She "understands " the issues people have from arthritis. I find CS really opens up my body and stretches me and much of what she does mimic's my physiotherapist's exercises.

And re physiotherapy, if possible I'd recommend regular tune-ups with physios, acupuncturist and/or massage therapists - these professional can be invaluable in helping you reduce pain and increase mobility.