sports

bailey27

Hi
I havent been able to play sports or about 4 months now and although currently unable to alot most days, due to being too stiff / too painful / too tired and a general feeling on being unwell and fatigued.
I have a long term goal o get back into sports and was wondering whether it is reaslistic and whether i am likely to cause more damage or whether in fact if i feel well enough whether it would in fact benefit me.

I have been diagnosed with a type of spondyloarthropathy, my gp had mentioned AS several times. I have most of my problems with the sacroiliac joint, lower back which s since spread up to my thoracic area and sternum.
Last x ray / mri showed inflammation but no damage from what i can recall.

helpline_team

Hi

Thanks for getting in touch. It's really frustrating to have to stop doing the things that are an important part of our lives, so the answer is yes, it would benefit you to get back into sporting activity.
Continuing to do things you enjoy brings benefit both physically and mentally. But you do have to be a bit savvy about it. Only take it up again when you feel ready and then ease yourself in very gradually. If you overdo it, you'll soon know all about it. You'll probably find that you need much longer to recover from physical exertion and don't be surprised if you have aching muscles a day or two later.
It might be an idea in the meantime to think about exercise like swimming. If it turns out that you do have AS, then swimming and hydrotherapy are highly recommended treatment for this condition.

Best wishes
Paul

bailey27

Hi
The only problem I have is that my main sport is kickboxing and running. I use to run half marathons regularly and kickboxing at a high level including full contact in the ring. Do I need to get it in my head i'll never be able to do this again. My orthopaedic dr told me shouldnt run because of my knees.
If i did carry on what are the risks?

helpline_team

Hi
It could be that you will not be able to do sports which can cause jarring to the joints such as running or contact sports as they may strain & cause inflammation in your joints.
A physiotherapist would be a good person to talk to about this.
Best wishes
Val

martina

bailey27 wrote:

Hi
The only problem I have is that my main sport is kickboxing and running. I use to run half marathons regularly and kickboxing at a high level including full contact in the ring. Do I need to get it in my head i'll never be able to do this again. My orthopaedic dr told me shouldnt run because of my knees.
If i did carry on what are the risks?

Hi i was diagnosed with oa last year and i too love my sport ie sqaush badmington cycling.Dr told me to keep going but no sqaush,pysio told oh my god! do nothing just what she gave me which was hardly anything.yOU have to keep going i ceased up and caused me more problems but impact ie sqaush cycling (because of bad knees ) made them worse,now i do whats good for me.Just take things slow and have fun know what its like to not do nothing sending my best martina

greeneyedlady

helpline_team wrote:

Hi

Thanks for getting in touch. It's really frustrating to have to stop doing the things that are an important part of our lives, so the answer is yes, it would benefit you to get back into sporting activity.
Continuing to do things you enjoy brings benefit both physically and mentally. But you do have to be a bit savvy about it. Only take it up again when you feel ready and then ease yourself in very gradually. If you overdo it, you'll soon know all about it. You'll probably find that you need much longer to recover from physical exertion and don't be surprised if you have aching muscles a day or two later.
It might be an idea in the meantime to think about exercise like swimming. If it turns out that you do have AS, then swimming and hydrotherapy are highly recommended treatment for this condition.

Best wishes
Paul

I have AS , or possible JIA, and swimming is HELL> It makes my knees swell and my neck seize. Infact, on 2 occasions I've literally had to be fished out of the pool and couldn't dress myself, although I was relatively ok getting into the water. I have a real problem with people advising swimming for AS.

helpline_team

Hi Greeneyedlady
I am sorry that swimming works against you. As we all know we all react differently to different things including types of exercise. Just because something works for one person it may not work for another and vice versa. Here is a link to the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS) who have a very good booklet you can download: http://www.nass.co.uk/

AS information link to Arthritis Research UK website: http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis_information/arthritis_types__symptoms/ankylosing_spondylitis.aspx

An important thing to remember for people with any type of arthritis is that whilst swimming is good generally swimming strokes that push affected joints into abnormal angles should be avoided, such as breast stroke for problem kness, hips and neck.
Best wishes

Simona