Is there anything special you do for arthritis pain?

Is it osteo? Is it in your other joints? Did you start to develop it at an unusually young age? Does it run in your family?

I have gotten the best results by going to a Physical Therapist for several months and gradually doing a series of stretches, weight-bearing exercises and treadmill work.

I start each session at home now by lying on a heating pad (on the floor) for ten minutes.

I also take Omega-3, vitamin D3 and daily freshly ground flax seed plus lots of walnuts, almonds and pecans.

I’m to the point of naproxen, tramadol, and neurontin for osteoarthritis. It’s been 20 years for me, I guess. I’m also going to have some nerves deadened in June. I think I’ve spent enough money on remedies to sail around the world! I had surgery on my foot that fused the great toe, that helped. The generic Robaxecet helps, too. I do the fish oil, vit D, magnesium et al.

I have my aches and pains, and the hot tub does wonders!
Moist heat is very ‘penetrating.’
May not be the cure all, but, I know I feel much better after a long, thereputic soak in the bubbling hot water of my hot tub.

I was told a few years ago I had some arthrirtis showing up in my neck and right hip.
The hot tub and Ibuprofin helps a lot in my middle aged quirkiness.

I developed it starting at age 9 as a part of tarsal coalition issues. My latest MRI report says that I have “a paucity of the normal fat in the subtalar joint.” Osteoarthritis. I also have some in my right index finger that prevents full range of motion, but I can lay off using my finger. Laying off walking isn’t so easy. My mother has some arthritis (so she claims, but she likes to complain so who knows), but has had less trauma than I have so its not as bad.

@klutzaroo: Oh dear. My aches and pains and the solutions are small potatoes compared to what you have had to endure.

They’ve been wanting to fuse my foot together for a while, but I told them that they can’t do that til I’m 40. Lol. I’ll have to look into the vitamins, I try to avoid pills when possible since I tend to forget to take them but if they help then I’ll probably remember.

Are you able to walk very far now?

@faye I walk all the time. I have a job that requires me to stand and walk a lot, I only get to sit on my own time. I hurt a lot, but I’ve been dealing with it for many years so its nothing new. I tend to ignore it, but when the weather changes like its doing now it hurts worse.

I used to work in a nursing home, and as a perk to the employees they gave us a free meal. It all went well for a few months, but then I began to notice my joints ached. I realized that the main difference between the food I had been eating and the new food at the nursing home was the inexpensive oils they used.

I stopped eating there and went back to my old diet with the high quality oils (extra virgin olive and coconut), and my joints stopped hurting.

It was a very real wake-up call for me, and I felt very sad for all those old folks who must hurt all the time, and be on tons of meds.

If you do end up taking some meds, here’s a little thing that will help you to remember to take them. I did this for my Dad who has some minor memory loss. I made a chart on my computer that has a series of boxes for the date, name of the med, dosage and what time it is supposed to be taken (morning, noon, evening, bedtime) Then I printed this chart out and put it right on the front of the fridge (where it’s sure to be seen). Then every time Dad sees it, he checks to see if he needs a pill and then he takes the pill and makes a little check mark in the box for today’s date. That way, he and I both know that he took the pill for that day, and that time. I make the chart have 30 days on it and I write the dates in (instead of typing them in on the computer and I write the date and the day such as Saturday so it’s easier for him) since the days change for each month. I have a blank chart that I can just xerox when he needs a new one.

Have you looked into accupuncture? My friend takes his poor little dog, who suffers from arthritis to a holistic vet and every time he’s finished with the session you can visibly tell that he feels better (and it can’t be pyschological, because a dog has no expectations about treatments).

Have you talked to your doctor and insurance company about getting referred to a pain clinic? My dad is in that process right now for nueropathy pain. They start with one thing and just keep going down the line until they find something that works for you.

A gentle massage with warm olive oil is very effective to relieve arthritis pain.
And all general cold-water treatments, such as cold baths and cold sprays, should be avoided. Hope this helps. =D

Its not constantly as bad as it is right now. If it gets to that point, I’ll look into a more structured pain management. Some days I can ignore it, some days it only really hurts if I twitch it a certain way. Then there are days like today when I get up and its so stiff that it feels like I’ve got a peg leg.

I should have said that I am going to a pain clinic, too.

From what I remember a Doctor telling my mom, there are certain foods you should avoid eating such as rice. I’d like to list a few more than I remember but I’m not a 100% sure about the rest and I don’t want to relay any wrong information. But not eating rice atleast made a pretty big difference. Ask your doctor what foods you should stay away from.

@sarahhhhh You are right, there are a lot of foods that cause inflammation and there are other foods that help you avoid inflammation.

I’m so tired right now that I don’t have the strength to google them. But maybe one of you could be so kind. Also, @klutzaroo should talk to her doctor and see if she can get a consult with a nutritionist who could help her out with a list of helpful and hurtful foods.

I recall that tomatoes and citrus foods were particularly ouchy, for lack of a better word.

I have a lot of problems with my left foot that started with breaking it and having surgery. I have had subtalar joint issues and now have an ankle issue (lesions on top of the talus with subchondral cysts). It was suggested that I try a rub that includes capzacin (derived from hot peppers), but due to the nerve damage in my foot I hated it. It might work for you though.

The other thing my physical therapist turned me on to was kinesiotape (this is the pink and blue stuff you saw on the shoulders of Olympic volleyball players). There is a website here that sells and explains the different brands of kinesiology tape and its history. I have tried the kinesio brand and the Rock tape brand and by far prefer the kinesio brand (something about the pattern of the glue on the back being more supportive and the tape being less stretchy).

If you go to youtube, you can find physical therapists explaining how to tape for your specific concern. The website above also sells a book that shows how to tape for different conditions. This tape has truly changed my life as I have chronic pain. You can tape without restricting your movement—it simply gives you excellent support. My pain level (normally about a 7–8 on a scale of 1–10) drops to about a 4 when I tape my foot and ankle according to the specific directions for what is wrong with my foot (ligament and tendon support is the big thing for me).

My aunt has osteoarthritis and I taped her foot when I was visiting and she was very pleased with the pain relief that resulted!

@Kayak8

Do you know if this tape is also helpful for knees with no cartilage left, or is that just a bridge too far ?

@Buttonstc Absolutely—this stuff is amazing. The web link above describes the thinking behind it. Here is a link for taping knees with Spider (brand) tape and here is a version using Kinesio (brand) tape. You are probably going to have to play around with a configuration that works well for you. Keep in mind this tape stays on for 3 days or so. After bath or shower DO NOT dry with hair dryer as this sets the glue on the tape and makes it a real challenge to remove! But the wet tape will get your attention (feels like you are wearing damp underwear) unless you blot it dry before getting dressed!

Thanks. I guess it does no harm to give it a try.

Synvisc isn’t exactly doing wonders for me :)

@Buttonstc You can purchase sampler packs to let you try the tape and see what you think of it. Get enough to be able to play around with taping your knee in different ways until you find one that affords you relief.

Apply mahanarayan oil on painful, affected joints like the wrist or ankles, rubbing it into the skin and then; apply moist heat. This is done by soaking the affected joint in warm water with a teabag of brown mustard seeds. For the ‘teabag’, you need 2 tablespoons of mustard seeds wrapped in cheesecloth or handkerchief.

My aunt was just here and swears glucosamine makes a big difference. I think hyaluronic acid has made a difference for me.

I didn’t get sore joints until I started working in a nursing home and they gave free lunch to all the employees. It turns out they were using the cheapest, worst possible oils in their food, and it was affecting my ability to do my job. I stopped eating their food and went back to only olive oil and coconut oil, and within a week I felt much better.

I felt so bad for all those residents. I’m certain their lives were shortened and their quality of life lessened by the quality of the nasty food.