Sue, thanks for compiling and presenting all of this useful information! My latest bone scan says I have osteoarthritis, but I don't have pain or swelling, and I walk about six miles a day between my daily activities and my planned hikes on the trails here. I do yoga, work in the garden, fix stuff around the house, climb on the roof occasionally, throw my western saddle on a horse about once a week and take a half-day ride, and so on. So I have to wonder if the bone scan was wrong or if my skeleton is just that far off the charts (I have always been slender with very small bones). Regardless, I'm going to take your suggestions to heart and continue living healthfully for as long as I can. :)
One of the things I was surprised to learn in my research is how the symptoms of osteoarthitis vary among people. Two people with similar damage of OA shown in an x-ray or scan can have very different responses. The research is clear that daily movement helps to allievate the pain often associated OA. Your genes and your daily movement appear to keep you pain-free!
Sue, thank you for much good information in this post. I do a few things to help my aging body. I live in a 2-story house and make the trip up and down the stairs many times a day, often carrying books or baskets of clothing or knitting, etc. I have also placed a few things that I use daily on upper shelfs that I have to stretch to reach. Things like my daily teas, and coffee mugs, bathroom towels and washcloths and the kitty food is in a cannister on a bottom shelf. This little bit of stretching daily is certainly worth the effort. I also mow a good-sized lawn and rake and haul the leaves in the fall. Like you I love to garden. Because getting up from the ground can be difficult, I keep a lightweight yard chair and/or a gardening fork nearby to lever myself up and down. And sometimes to perch on the chair while pruning bushes or tying plants to stakes, etc. Little things like this keep me out there!
I do benefit from an occasional cup of stinging nettle or ashwagandha tea. And I can recommend Topricin's Fibro Cream that includes arnica as a topical pain reliever. It is especially helpful to get a good night's sleep when pain flares up. As I avoid dairy, in addition to daily vitamins I make a special effort to add vegies like chard and kale to my diet for the calcium and other healthful benefits. Adding a small handful to soups or casseroles is easy to do and tastes good, too. And lastly, throughout the winter I make my own sprouts! Usually alfalfa sprouts, but sometimes mung or radish. These sprouts are good on salads and sandwiches and the mung sprouts are terrific for egg foo young!
You offer such good examples of functional movement - the daily ways we move is so important to maintain our independence. I have a future post planned on the latest research on the importance of functional movement, balance, and strength as we age. Thanks for your your tip on the topical pain reliever.
I will look forward to your post on functional movement, balance and strength. I do a few easy leg movements at the kitchen counter while I am waiting for the tea kettle to boil. I learned then from a home therapist that was helping my father after a partial hip replacement. The exercises help lubricate the tissues around your leg joints. I also found the Sit and Be Fit exercises on PBS to be very beneficial when practiced daily.
Quite thorough, Sue. Thanks.
Sue, thanks for compiling and presenting all of this useful information! My latest bone scan says I have osteoarthritis, but I don't have pain or swelling, and I walk about six miles a day between my daily activities and my planned hikes on the trails here. I do yoga, work in the garden, fix stuff around the house, climb on the roof occasionally, throw my western saddle on a horse about once a week and take a half-day ride, and so on. So I have to wonder if the bone scan was wrong or if my skeleton is just that far off the charts (I have always been slender with very small bones). Regardless, I'm going to take your suggestions to heart and continue living healthfully for as long as I can. :)
One of the things I was surprised to learn in my research is how the symptoms of osteoarthitis vary among people. Two people with similar damage of OA shown in an x-ray or scan can have very different responses. The research is clear that daily movement helps to allievate the pain often associated OA. Your genes and your daily movement appear to keep you pain-free!
Sue, thank you for much good information in this post. I do a few things to help my aging body. I live in a 2-story house and make the trip up and down the stairs many times a day, often carrying books or baskets of clothing or knitting, etc. I have also placed a few things that I use daily on upper shelfs that I have to stretch to reach. Things like my daily teas, and coffee mugs, bathroom towels and washcloths and the kitty food is in a cannister on a bottom shelf. This little bit of stretching daily is certainly worth the effort. I also mow a good-sized lawn and rake and haul the leaves in the fall. Like you I love to garden. Because getting up from the ground can be difficult, I keep a lightweight yard chair and/or a gardening fork nearby to lever myself up and down. And sometimes to perch on the chair while pruning bushes or tying plants to stakes, etc. Little things like this keep me out there!
I do benefit from an occasional cup of stinging nettle or ashwagandha tea. And I can recommend Topricin's Fibro Cream that includes arnica as a topical pain reliever. It is especially helpful to get a good night's sleep when pain flares up. As I avoid dairy, in addition to daily vitamins I make a special effort to add vegies like chard and kale to my diet for the calcium and other healthful benefits. Adding a small handful to soups or casseroles is easy to do and tastes good, too. And lastly, throughout the winter I make my own sprouts! Usually alfalfa sprouts, but sometimes mung or radish. These sprouts are good on salads and sandwiches and the mung sprouts are terrific for egg foo young!
You offer such good examples of functional movement - the daily ways we move is so important to maintain our independence. I have a future post planned on the latest research on the importance of functional movement, balance, and strength as we age. Thanks for your your tip on the topical pain reliever.
I will look forward to your post on functional movement, balance and strength. I do a few easy leg movements at the kitchen counter while I am waiting for the tea kettle to boil. I learned then from a home therapist that was helping my father after a partial hip replacement. The exercises help lubricate the tissues around your leg joints. I also found the Sit and Be Fit exercises on PBS to be very beneficial when practiced daily.
A wonderful and very informative and necessary article! Thank you for sharing with us!
Thank you, Ann.