Hello

SUZEMNORTH

Hi. I was diagnosed a while back with psoriatic arthritis in my hands. I decided not to take any medication as the symptoms weren't life changing. I now have osteoarthritis in my hip and lower back, confirmed by an X-ray. I'm a runner and absolutely gutted that I haven't been able to run for 2 months. I'm hoping the pain in my hip is just inflammation and will go away. The pain came on suddenly so I'm hoping it will go away. Feeling down but know other people suffer more than me!

[Deleted User]

Hi Suze,

Welcome to the Versus Arthritis forum.

I'm sorry to hear that you've been diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis in your hands and that you have OA in you hip and back. I can relate to your condition as I to suffer with OA in my hands and lower back.
I have found that the condition in my back comes and goes allowing me to still participate in my sport (golf) a large proportion of the time. I hope that the inflammation in your hip is temporary thus enabling you to go running again.

Here's a link to Psoriatic arthritis on our website which may contain information that may be of use to you https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/psoriatic-arthritis/

I'm sure that there will be many users of the forum who will be able to share their experiences with you and I hope make you feel less down about your situation.

If you ever need to talk to someone for advice then there's our helpline on 0800 520 0520.

I hope you find the forum of benefit.

Regards
ChrisB (Moderator)

stickywicket

Hello and welcome from me too.

I'm wondering how much you know about (a)Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) and (b)Osteoarthritis (OA). The link that Mod ChrisB gave you is a good, comprehensive one on PsA.

I understand that your concern is to get back to running asap but I think you need some proper medical advice on this. Exercise is essential for any form of arthritis but it must be exercise that doesn't increase the stress on joints. Hence the recommendations for swimming and cycling.

Nothing is 'just inflammation'. Inflammation is how the body tries to protect a damaged part. It's there for a reason and shouldn't just be overruled. A physiotherapist specialising in musculo-skeletal problems is probably your best bet for advice on whether or not you should run with it though a GP could prescribe anti-inflammatory meds.

But another concern would be that you have opted not to take DMARDS. PsA isn't a disease which will obligingly confine itself to one bit of the body. Like Rheumatoid Arthritis (which I have) it arises because the body's immune system is faulty and so overactive. That's the whole body not just one bit of it. Way back in the '60s, when I was diagnosed, there were no modern DMARDS on offer. As a result I now have both RA and OA in virtually every joint (apart from the replaced ones) as, once the auto-immune arthritis has 'eaten up' the synovial fluid lubricating joints, it ushers in OA to do likewise with the cartilage.

That might not be why you have OA. It might have happened anyway but you really do need to see your rheumatologist again to sort this one out. DMARDS can only slow down damage. They can't 'mend' damage done.

I'm really sorry that arthritis is robbing you, even if only temporarily, of your running but the sooner all aspects of this are dealt with professionally, the better the outcome for you.

dreamdaisy

A friend of mine has PsA, just like me. There the similarity ends because he was diagnosed ten years after me and his body did the decent thing by presenting with the right symptoms in the right joints. He began sulphasalazine and, thirteen years on is still working full-time, still doing some age-appropriate sport, still carousing in the rugby club and still only on sulph. It began in his hands and it has stayed there.

My story is different and not relevant to you but, thanks to my not being taken seriously by my GP when it kicked off in 1997 and rheumatology initially refusing me in 2001, I did not begin any medication until 2002. It was far too little, far too late. Mine began in my left knee in '97, spread to the right knee in 2003 and is now in all twenty digits and my elbows. I also have OA in both ankles, both knees, both hips, both wrists and one shoulder.

Any form of arthritis is degenerative and progressive. Osteoarthritis is the most common form which works against it but the auto-immune stuff is far nastier, it's sly, underhand, sneaky. I far prefer my OA because I know where I am with it and can exercise some degree of control over how it affects me. The impact on one's lower joints with running is immense, some are able to get away with it but that is more to do with naturally looser ligaments and tendons (but not so loose they cause dislocation). Everyone on here has had to stop doing what they loved, or find alternatives; it's a pig but so is the disease. Over my 23 arthritic years I've lost playing tennis, dancing, cycling and walking unaided. As I said, too little meds too late. DD