Ranty Moan Part 2...

fcumok

I've now been unable to ride for a month.

I've had a pain in several joints which according to the docs is arthritis but they're unsure of what is causing it. The worst of it does seem to be over after a week in hospital but I'm still a while off recovery. Just been back to the docs this morning and he's signed me off work for another week and told me not to go near my bikes.

Before I got ill I ordered some new wheels and brakes for one bike. I've still not used them! It doesn't help that my mate has just purchased a shiny new steed and after all the time of having to drag him out for a ride he's now always out.

Until I get a diagnosis I'm stuck. Just getting more and more fed up...

and breathe...

Anonymous

My friend's 17 year old daughter has been told she might have rheumatoid arthritis too :shock:
She's only just started coming out on the mountain bikes with us, but she's been in agony. poor thing

She still won;t know for sure until she'd had some test results, but I'm hoping that it's something easier to deal with.

knave

I realise you don’t have a diagnosis so everything I’m saying might be redundant but arthritis might not be the death sentence to you MTBing that it initially may seem: I’ve got osteoarthritis in my right knee (I also had it in my left ankle but it inexplicably left that joint completely) - most people would think this would preclude me from any sporting activity, especially something like mountain biking but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Cycling is one of the recommended forms of exercise for arthritic legs because it develops muscle which supports the joints and the low impact nature of peddling is excellent for loosening and strengthening a stiffening joint. I used to ride bikes a lot when I was younger but completely stopped in school, I started riding again in March and my knee has never felt better (I’ve suffered muscle wastage due to incorrect medical advice about resting the joint but regular riding is correcting this as much as possible) – I’ve even bought a 09 Stumpy Elite and justified the cost because I “needed” it on “medical grounds” (they come in surgical white after all)! If your diagnosis comes back as arthritis, you may even find that your consultant actually recommends that you ride bikes.

I really feel for your situation, I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be but if you have to have something wrong with you, then arthritis doesn’t need to be the end for your riding, in fact, it could mean the opposite is true. Good luck, I hope it all works out ok.

fcumok

At the moment I'm optimistic about being able to ride again. It just seems to be taking an age to get a diagnosis and until then I've been advised not to ride in case I irritate it more. Thanks for the encouragement though. It's nice to see that riding could be beneficial!

Yeehaamcgee, sorry to hear about your friends 17 year old daughter. I thought that I was young to have arthritis at 27 but 17 is something else. I was reading about rheumatoid arthritis whilst in the doctors this afternoon. It looks as though there's a lot of developments recently in treatments. Hopefully this will help her in the not too distant future.

delcol

i was diagnosed with arthritis at the age of 11 i would get real bad pains in my left ankle i had to go through everthing all kinds of tests various specialists docs ect, i went through intense physio and was unable to do any strenuous excercise for months,..

i was tols it would probably get worse as i got older but following the physios advice and sticking to the excercises, i still was able to bmx skateboard rollerskate then snowboard, then mtb. sure i still get pains in my ankle especially when it cold and damp,.. with time and patience follow the docs and physio advice and you should hopefully be on your bike in next to no time...

by the way i'm now the wrong side of 30