Arthritis

fcumok

I've just come out of hospital after suffering from a case of acute arthritis in my hip. At the moment the doctor has advised against riding until the swelling goes down. I've had steroid injections into my hip and since it has spread to other joints i'm now taking steroid tablets.

As it's something that is likely to reoccur throughout my life I was wondering if there were any other riders here that suffer from it and how it affects their riding? I do find it worse on a morning which is when I used to go out before work. Does riding with it make it worse or help as the joints get movement in them?

At the moment I just want to get back out on the bike but I guess I'm just being a bit impatient.

Dilker

What kind of arthritis did they mention... dependent on which form you have will depend on riding outcomes.

The are numerous inflammatory conditions... some are less worse than others.

Look at somewhere like ARC That might give you a little more of a heads up.

Andy B

It will depend on which arthritis you have as to what you can do

I have Ankylosing Spondylitis, which I manage with rather strong painkillers & anti inflammatories, I still ride as much as possible (usually on a full susser).

You get good days & bad days, luckily I can manage my condition quite well, but if I forget to take a set of tablets I know about it for t he next day or two.

Let your body recover from the latest flare up, you will only make it worse & lengthen the time off the bike.

fcumok

The annoying thing is that they're not sure what type it is. Initially they thought that it was reactive but now that it has flared up in other joints they're not so sure. Guess I can't do much until somebody diagnoses me

thighsofsteel

I'm awaiting an MRI scan for suspected Ankylosing Spondylitis which affects my right hip, lower back and between my shoulder blades... I find riding actually helps a lot as it's low impact. I used to run but can't do that anymore so have switched to cycling as it seems to hurt a lot less. I guess you have to just figure out what your body can cope with and drug up accordingly... no miracle cure i'm afraid

gcwebbyuk

I have minor osteo-arthritis on some of the vertebrae in my neck. Doc isnt sure if it's heredetary (my Auntie has it, and it developed like mine in her late 20s early 30s), or if it has been caused by the disc injury I have, which has caused the bones to wear away.

I take Diclofenic, a strong anti-imflamatory which kinda keeps it under control, but as has been said, sometimes you have good days, sometimes bad.

Take it slowly, and dont rush into anything to cause it to flare up

Andy B

thighsofsteel wrote:

I'm awaiting an MRI scan for suspected Ankylosing Spondylitis which affects my right hip, lower back and between my shoulder blades

Exactly where I have it, lower back, thoracic area & it all started with Sciatic like symptoms in my right hip.

I didn't have a MRI scan though, just blood tests for HLA-B27 & X rays, would like a MRI just to see it properly though, the X rays just show a fuzzyness around the edges of the bones in the affected areas

I take Tramodol Hydrochloride & Aceclofenac twice daily, as you say no cure for it, just gotta get on with life.

marklocke

i have arthritis in my knees (although I don't know what type), discovered after an MRI scan.

I simply increased my cadence and don't put too much pressure on my knees.

however, i have just bought a giant XTC4, and so far, after 3 trips out, haven't had a single problem with knee pain, as opposed to experiencing pain in each of my other 3 bikes (2 old alu road and one alu mtb)

supertwisted

thighsofsteel wrote:

I'm awaiting an MRI scan for suspected Ankylosing Spondylitis which affects my right hip, lower back and between my shoulder blades... I find riding actually helps a lot as it's low impact. I used to run but can't do that anymore so have switched to cycling as it seems to hurt a lot less. I guess you have to just figure out what your body can cope with and drug up accordingly... no miracle cure i'm afraid

I'm also awaiting a diagnosis of whether or not I have Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Had to go to the hospital eye clinic with a case of iritis earlier this week, which in turn is often caused by underlying AS. I seem to have a lot of the symtoms (lower back pain, some joint pain etc) in addition to the iritis so I've been referred for further investigation.

Had x-ray today and will go to GP next week to be tested for HLA-B27 antibodies.

Trajically my first concern was "how will this affect my riding!?" Hopefully if you lot are any example I should still be saddle worthy for a while yet.

With luck I'll get the all clear and the coexistance of my symtoms is happenstance, guess we'll see.
If not then the long term doesn't sound too bad. Far worse things to be diagnosed with. Plus it means I can have a special chair at work, so there's a win.

fcumok

GP wants me to go for a blood test this morning as my last one has come back showing that I may have an infection. Although it's still flared up I do feel a lot better than I was. If I'm still showing signs of infection they want to re-admit me to hospital :shock:

supertwisted

fcumok wrote:

GP wants me to go for a blood test this morning as my last one has come back showing that I may have an infection. Although it's still flared up I do feel a lot better than I was. If I'm still showing signs of infection they want to re-admit me to hospital :shock:

Good luck with that mate.

Have you suffered with arthiritis for long? If it's an infection causing the inflamation then in some ways I guess it could be good news as once that's treated you could be home free so to speak, compared to chronic arthirits which as you say will stay with you for life.

fcumok

supertwisted wrote:

fcumok wrote:

GP wants me to go for a blood test this morning as my last one has come back showing that I may have an infection. Although it's still flared up I do feel a lot better than I was. If I'm still showing signs of infection they want to re-admit me to hospital :shock:

Good luck with that mate.

Have you suffered with arthiritis for long? If it's an infection causing the inflamation then in some ways I guess it could be good news as once that's treated you could be home free so to speak, compared to chronic arthirits which as you say will stay with you for life.

Cheers

Came out of the blue about 4 weeks ago. They did think that it was most likely to be some form of reactive arthritis but it hasn't quite followed the way that they thought it would. Although I don't really want to go back to hospital it could be good news in way at least.

fcumok

been for the blood test. Now just sitting at home and waiting for the phone to ring with results.

supertwisted

Can't be fun. Hate sitting round waiting for the phone to ring at the best of times.

fcumok

Got results back and all is ok. I think i'm pleased as I am beginning to feel better but still no definitive answer as to what the problem is.

fcumok

Been to see the rheumatologist today and he's diagnosed me with psoriatic arthritis.

Although it's not as aggressive as rheumatoid arthritis it looks as though it isn't going to go away as I initially thought.

On the plus side he's told me that when the inflammation isn't too bad like today I can go riding again so i'm gonna try some short evening rides this week to see how it goes 8)

Seamus 128

Hi I was diagnosed with Psoriatic arthritis 2 years ago after suffering in agony the two previous years while the various docs bumbled around trying various drugs thinking it was some form of allergy!
It started in my hip then moved on to other joints, then started making my tendons inflammed, leaving me bedbound at times!
Started cycling on a cheepy halfords full sus just along my local towpath in between flare ups and quickly noticed how my general health improved.
Got totally hooked, bought a hard tail and now can be found exploring the local moors and trails every other evening, now average 80 to 100 miles per week xc,
Think you know your own body best, forget the no pain no gain, if it hurts don't do it!
Been on a drug called methotrexatefor the past 18 mths and nearly all symtoms have ceased apart fro when i forget to take the meds!
PA flare ups can also by triggered by diet and stress! So i'm sure now you know what it is hopefully should be a bit of a weight off your mind.
I hit a real low with it at first, I'm a self employed plumber heating engineer so no workys no wages! was a one stage just managing to work 2.5 days per week But since i had a good look at my diet and cut down on the devil juice! and of course the cycling,things are greatly improved
Also no longer taking any painkillers or anti inflamatorys.
Best of luck with it! you'll find a lot of helpfull information here!
http://psoriasis-help.org.uk/