MISSING TENNIS

MAV

Recent pain in both knees and diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Having played tennis and badminton all my life it has left a big gap in my daily activities. Trying every natural cure I can. Would like to hear about ways to cope with it.

Shell_H

Hi @MAV - welcome to the online community!

I see you have had a recent diagnosis of osteoarthritis in your knees and this has led to you giving up tennis and badminton. You're looking for advice on coping with your pain and how to live with this new diagnosis.

Partial good news is the exercise is generally good for people with arthritis, strengthening your knee joints can lead to you being able to take up your sport of choice again. However, most people with arthritis find low-impact sports and exercise easier and less painful, which might make tennis harder as it is not low impact. There are a number of exercises you can do which can help, however, so do give those a try:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/exercises-for-healthy-joints/exercises-for-the-knees/

As regards to living with your osteoarthritis, everyone does things slightly differently. I too have OA in my knees, and while I find exercise more difficult there are still quite a few I can do and enjoy. Swimming is a favourite of mine, but there are other sports you can enjoy as well - looks for ones with less running or bouncing, as that's the actions which hurt the most. However, if you can play tennis with minimal pain, you should feel allowed to. We are advised to reduce exercise which hurts too much - if it doesn't hurt you're probably OK.

Some of living with your OA is learning to adapt what you do around it, some of it is learning to ignore a small amount of pain. But some is enjoying something you wouldn't have thought of before, trying new things, making new friends. With OA, mostly it's looking after yourself, trying not to be too overweight (I'm also trying at this) and making sure if you need it to take painkillers. I'd especially advise taking painkillers before bed if pain is keeping you awake. Sleep is one of the most important things - if you don't get enough sleep you'll be in more pain, so do prioritise this! There are a number of ways you can look into managing your pain, so do have a look at our information here:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/what-are-complementary-and-alternative-treatments/

I'm sure the rest of the community will be on to give their advice too. Do have a look around and join in any other discussions you are interested in! We always welcome new voices.

Lovely to meet you,

Shell

MAV

I really appreciate your detailed reply, thank you. Just out of interest I have read about PRP Injections or NStride, but do not see anyone talking about them. Just wondered why not?