Riding with Arthritis

R8JimBob88

Luckily not me with arthritis but my dad, i'm trying to get him into cycling.

He is 55 years old, unfit and overweight. His commute is only 11 miles each way. In the car he only averages 13mph at best, and that includes a stretch on the motorway.

He likes the idea of cycling and I'm sure he would enjoy it, and it would obviously improve his health. He keeps dismissing the idea as he has slight arthritis in his knees. Personally I dont know much about arthritis, i'm only 22...

Does anyone on here have arthritis in the knees? Would this be a good enough reason to totally dismiss the idea of a short commute to and from work?

Does anyone have any views on this?

cornerblock

R8JimBob88 wrote:

Luckily not me with arthritis but my dad, i'm trying to get him into cycling.

He is 55 years old, unfit and overweight. His commute is only 11 miles each way. In the car he only averages 13mph at best, and that includes a stretch on the motorway.

He likes the idea of cycling and I'm sure he would enjoy it, and it would obviously improve his health. He keeps dismissing the idea as he has slight arthritis in his knees. Personally I dont know much about arthritis, i'm only 22...

Does anyone on here have arthritis in the knees? Would this be a good enough reason to totally dismiss the idea of a short commute to and from work?

Does anyone have any views on this?

13mph in the car? I would say better off going by bike, but arthritis in the knees sounds quite bad and maybe cycling is not the best thing for dodgy knees. I am no expert though (quack), so maybe cycling is good for an arthritic knee. :?: Glad to be of assistance.

brakelever

having had arthritis for several years in the hands and tried various drugs - from chemists and other sources got myself referred to good specialist at hospital and have it under control now .
As long as he feels ok it should do him no harm .

deptfordmarmoset

Again, I'm no expert at all, so I can't give advice. But with high-cadence/low knee-stress cycling an 11 mile cycle might do less damage to the knees than a 1 mile walk would. Could you hire/borrow/lend a bike with enough gears to keep pedalling without too much stress? And then gently lead him in to work and see how he feels? Or accompany him on a gentle weekend ride of something like 15+ mile to see how his knees react. A 22-mile daily ride will take some getting used to, of course, but you're not really going to find anything out until you know how his body is going to cope and he won't know until he's on a bike....

Frank the tank

I have arthritis in both HIPS and cycling doesn't seem to have an adverse effect on the condition. I'm no expert but I would imagine the same would apply to knees as long as gearing was kept lowish.

wiffachip

I'm 51 and have awful knees. walking 3 mile does them in, but cycling over 50 miles is no bother

speaking purely from my own experience, I think cycling is brilliant for dodgy knees

the knees don't like the ss bike though

brucey72

I'm not a doctor so can only speak from experience. I'm 39 and have suffered from arthritis of my hips and knees since I was 22 leading to both hips being replaced when I was 25 but cycling has been extremely beneficial. Very much like Wiffachip above I struggle to walk distances and can't kneel down but I can cycle well.

Cycling hashelped keep my weight down which leads to less stress on my joints and it has also strengthened the muscles in my legs, prticuarly my quads, which my specialist has told me also relieves stress on the knee joints. I would say to your Dad to give it a go as he hasn't go although it might be worthwhile just chatting it over with his GP first.

Best of luck

Mettan

R8JimBob88 wrote:

Does anyone on here have arthritis in the knees? Would this be a good enough reason to totally dismiss the idea of a short commute to and from work?

Does anyone have any views on this?

You can certainly cycle with mild knee osteoarthritis without serious pain - using a low gear, cycling isn't going to rapidly increase the rate of joint-space narrowing/cartilage loss etc, etc - you might get synovitis though - your dad could try it and see how his knees respond - mayebe a mile or two round the block to start with? As others have said, weightloss, increased fitness are good bits - and similar with Wiffachip/Bruce, (I can't walk much now really), bike's are alot easier on the knees than walking.

( I've got medial osteoarthritis in my right knee (from a serious knee injury a few years back) - the inner (medial) part has worn away so much that my leg is now out of alignment (bowed). Personally I have alot of pain now with cycling - it was better 1-2 years ago and before etc. (1 gram of paracetemol and 200mg of Celebrex doen't do much....) I'm just hoping Stem Cells get a move on re. osteoarthritis ).

roryboy

Sounds like osteo rather than rheumatoid arthritis. He should really see a specialist preferably one that either cycles or runs, they're much more sympathetic. My wife has had rheumatoid arthritis for twenty years but has it under control (with drugs) She cycles and runs. i made a few adjustments to her bike, Brakes, gearshifters handlebars etc just to make it easy for her as she has little power in her wrists and fingers hence the running which she does more than cycling. I hoe your dad can do it as i know the joy of cycling and the pleasure we have both had from cycling also the health benefits.

jibi

left kneecap removed
right kneecap split in two
arthritis in wrists and shoulders
one more steroid injection and I will commit hari kiri....
cycling if fantastic for my health.....non impact aerobic exercise..I would be seriously overweight without it...and think of the problems I would get just walking and carrying all that extra weight...

tobermory

I have arthritis in my lower back and cycling helps to keep me moving where other activities give me grief.

raymondo60

Yep - another arthritis sufferer - my hands and wrists - but a healthy diiet, no alcohol and a regular intake of glucosomine do help, and riding just makes you feel so much better! Good luck to your dad - its worth a try.