Arthur ?

Looking for tips on osteoarthritis. I thought I've been dodging the carpal tunnel bullet for the past several years, decided to get it officially diagnosed, and come to find out I have absolutely no CT, but do have our friend Arthur (both wrists). When I expressed my concern re gardening, the rheumotologist told me to find another hobby. Yikes. That isn't going to work... Other than common sense defense (alternate tasks, ice after hard work, slow down), any thoughts or suggestions? Maybe just some commiseration...

Surely, that is one insensitive rheumatologist. Don't they know the leopard can't change its spots and the gardener will wither if not able to keep on planting things. I don't know the medical details of arthritis, so I can't contribute anything definitive, but I imagine being careful not to stress the joints too much, and giving yourself frequent breaks could help. Maybe you can go to a physical therapist for flexibility exercises.

BH
Sorry to hear about your hands. I too have been having pain but just in my finger joints. I will be interested to read what others do.

Having had CT surgery on both hands several years ago, I can understand your frustration with your Dr's suggestion. My Dr's advise for my hands and my back problems this past year was to keep active and do things in moderation. Your body (hands) will tell you when they have had enough. That is the time to stop and rest. No more marathon sessions in the garden for me, but it will get done ,just not as quick as I would like. I think diet & supplements may be an option to discuss with your Dr. or a new Dr. as the case may be. I take Glucosamine Chondroitin daily and I think it helps with joint pain etc... Here is a good article I found
http://www.arthritis-glucosamine.net/blog/osteoarthritis-diet.php

Hope you find relief and can continue gardening!

IMO, that's a typical physician response. They know what they know - but there is tons of other nutritional information out there that will help alleviate your symptoms and allow you to keep moveing.

Limiting inflammation in your body is important. There are tons of things with antiinflammatory properties out there. Estrogen is a natural anti-inflammatory, as is Vitamin D3 (a pre-hormone). Getting those, along with my thyroid under control was a great help in limiting joint pain for me.

I would also investigate eating raw foods. Many foods have anti-inflammatory properties that are killed/reduced when they are heated.

Also, strengthening muscles around joints protects them and allows for much more movement.

This is just a wake up call to adjust. I don't think it's a requirement to stop moving . . .

I have had osteoarthritis for years, along with my parents and sister. If you and get your hands on the White Paper on Arthritis from Johns Hopkins you will find out what is hype and what is fact. And what ever you do, don't stop gardening! I do find that mine worsens with barometric pressure changes. When ole' grandma said it's gonna rain because her bones hurt, she was in actuality feeling the weather pressure change that comes with rain. Just google Hopkins White Paper on Arthritis. There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding nutrition and arthritis! I think the best advice is to keep moving, and doing what you like to do. Running probably isn't the best but who wants to do that, anyway?

With all due respect to Johns Hopkins, I would also keep yourself open to new information. What JH might consider 'anecdotal' might work for you . . .

As I told the young whippersnap doc in tennis shoes, giving up gardening was not an option, I would simply work around whatever my hand problems are. I don't think he got it. Thanks for the links, I will definitely be researching self-help. My regular doc is a good resource as well, she is more interested in resolving the underlying problem than throwing meds at it, which I like. Having thought all these years it is carpal tunnel, I've already tried many of the supplements and alternative treatments. The best help I've found for just about anything is massage and stretching. And listening to the body.

The most recent studies about glucosamine/chondroitin have not demonstrated efficacy, though many people report that it helps their pain. I took it for 2 years until my ortho MD said he believes it is ineffective, and we don't yet know the long term side effects. At the time I was doing a project at Hopkins and asked the ortho docs there and they all had the same answer. Other reliable resources are the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. Unfortunately, there is little to do for osteoarthritis, other than making sure that is the type of arthritis you have, and to keep moving to prevent stiffness and limited range of movement. There are lots of NSAIDS but they can have some nasty side effects. I have it in my hands as well, but although my hands look like those of the evil witch in Hansel & Gretel, they don't hurt. It's amazing that given the number of people with osteoarthritis, cure/control is still elusive. Some days you just ache, and you have to be kind to yourself and listen to your body, as you said.

I concur with the suggestions made by Katie59 as that has worked for me. I used to have knee pain predominantly and I also did take Glucosamine for years which did seem to help. I no longer take it, however, as the dietary changes, to a less inflammatory diet, seem to have actually improved things.

I also have aches in my hands and wrists from time to time, spend a lot of time typing! but even so, I also have to say, exercise, gardening, massage, listening to the body's signals of what it wants and does not want, warm water soaks with essential oils and salt -- all of this is helpful.

I remember my mom, who had terrible arthur, becoming very saddened to see my initial twinge of pain in the joints, as she was of the conventional medical belief that once you have it there is no return to healthy full functioning, but instead the sufferer is doomed to deteriorate.

I am living proof that that is not so. I recommend checking out Dr. Andrew Weil's information about non inflammatory diet, for starters.

Good luck!

As an RN I tend to go with the science and evidence-based research.......

I'm equally at home with woo-woo and western medicine/science. I tend to try them all with an open mind and see what works for me. That said, I do shy away from pills (both meds and supplements) mainly because I'm horrible at taking them regularly. I also have found many of them just give me colorful urine... I'm all for healthier eating - good oils, more fish, dark berries, veggies/fruit. If only those pesky salty snacks would quit jumping into my mouth. And my evening wine.

At some point, nothing was "evidence-based". It would be a shame to rule out something that might work just because nobody had "proven" it yet.

My mom refused to take some very popular arthritis pain meds because they completely messed with her digestive system. She chose one pain over the other, despite what the medical community recommended to her.

More stuff for consideration here:

http://bastyrcenter.org/content/category/19/159/189/

LOL, I hear ya about the mouth-jumping junk foods and beverages of choice, that is indeed a problem.

Dr Andrew Weil is a medical doctor, by the way, and has a lot of scientific credibility compared to some of the stuff I believe in. I was playin it REAL safe.

*grin*

I'm a believer of using bone broth, the gel formed by boiling bones, to prevent joint problems. I don't know how it is for an existing problem but it can't hurt. Another MD Dr David Williams published an article about this years ago and I have been using it ever since. Apparently the hyaluronic acid from the bones supports the synovial fluid of the joints. I liked the fact that he wasn't pointing the way to some supplement I had to purchase but rather something for me to prepare in my own kitchen. Those "medical" words I used are just the highlights of the article that I can remember, not me really knowing what I'm talking about LOL. There was much more to it.

That was the principle I worked from, Patti, when I first started investigating self care for my joints: What actually nourishes the tissues that are at risk? Which is why I used glucosamine because it seemed to be providing food for the relevant body parts...... but bone broth sounds like it would do the same.

though I don't know if I could get it down. taking a pill does have some advantages. :)

Klya, you have to think "soup stock" not "bone broth". Around here there is never a bone or a bunch of bones that don't get boiled up for a while in anticipation of a good soup. That with a bunch of added veggies has GOT to be very healthy.

I've always been a bone knawer, so perhaps that will pay off. My fav is the upcoming turkey wing tips, crunch, crunch.

Oh bonehead, you sound just like my now deceased beloved aunt. The whole family knew her and laughed with her about being a bone cruncher! And, hm, she never had any arthhur.

And, Patti, I've strangely enough never connected that particular trait to my screen name. Adds another dimension.

adjust
work around it
listen to your body

It sounds like you already have a plan! Really listening, and giving it what it needs most, pays dividends. Be creative, even wacky, about finding other ways to do things.

I think that you can get a lot of milage from being conscious about exactly what causes the most stress. It might take a lot of attention to discover the main sources. But once you know the biggest non-random culprits, you know where to focus your attention.

And if it is largely random, work on accepting that some days are better than others, and really enjoy those good days!

What does the most harm?

Impacts?
Forcefull use of strength?
Repetitive motions?
Certain angles?
Being too tired?
working too long?
Stress and getting tight?
Just some bad days?
Weather?

Once you know where you can get the most bang for your buck (more desirable activity with less pain and minimal interence with what you wnat most) you can make smart tradeoffs.

If two things both do a lot of harm, do less of the one you care least about.

Sometimes you don't even need to give something up, just find a different way to do it. I hate "having to" change, but if I think of it as "HAH! Fooled YOU! Now that doesn't even HURT!!" I feel better about it. And every tactic I use makes me feel more in control. Even if it doesn't really do much good.

Use a different tool, alternate hands even if that feels clumsy at first, stand differently while you do that task, stand closer, use your whole arm instead of the wrist, use two hands, do it in the morning instead of afternoon. Do it for only a few minutes at a time, but come back to it three times per hour. Be disciplined until it becomes habit, then it takes no discipline.

I know that we all hate to give away garden taks to someone else, but figure out what you are most willing to give away, that spares you the most pain (and that you CAN get someone else to do for you).

The trick is to get a maximum of what you most want to do. The stress that you can prevent by not shoveling for 20 minutes may gain you two hours of (whatever you like best).

If you can't do it all, do what you like best.

Don't think of it as "my darn condition made me go to all this darn trouble".
Think of it as "I'm so clever to do it this clever way, I can even outwit my alleged limitations!"

Find ways to somewhat enjoy things you have to do. Like, frequent task switches might annoying - but less so if you put something to sit on where you walk back and forth, and give yourself a reflective moment sitting, each time, to ENJOY the garden.

You might also look for specific tricks in the "Accessible Gardening" forum. There's people there with ALL kinds of problems. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/disabled/all/

Corey