Manchester newbie

Nicnac1974

Hi I’m called Nicky I am 48. I was recently diagnosed with osteoarthritis of lower back. I also have it mildly in knees and hands.

GP prescribed co-codamol and basically said thats all he can do. Today my pain is awful. I have always been active walking and running having completed a half marathon.

Any tips would be appreciated 😊

CarylW

Hello @Nicnac1974

Welcome to our online community. We are a friendly group of people and will always share information and try and help if we can.

I understand you have osteoarthritis in your lower back and your GP has said all he can do is prescribe cocodamol. I can imagine how difficult you are finding it if you are used to being active.

I am posting some information below which I hope will help to start with:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-oa-of-the-spine/

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

It's really important to try and keep moving if you can, and you will find a range of exercises on our website.

Please do keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on. Hopefully you will also get some advice from our members.

Best wishes

Caryl

jonr

HI @Nicnac1974 and welcome to the community, I hope you get the support and advice you're looking for.

I too am a former Runner, Swimmer and Badminton player now suffering with severe OsteoArthritis in both knees, I'm on the waiting list for a double replacement, aged 56 so I can empathise with your fears, particularly in this early stage of diagnosis.

So what to do now? OK - if you want to restore your quality of life, get back into Running, etc then this is what I did:

1: I read up on what drugs for pain and inflammation I could get and requested those from my GP (lots of info about those in the link Caryl provided)

2: I made an appointment with the Physio attached to my health centre to be assessed. He devised a tailor-made plan of daily exercises and stretches I've been following religiously for over a year now

3: I changed my diet to include lots of leafy green veg, Omega-3 rich food and upped my Olive intake (unbelievably, Olives contain a substance very much like Ibupfrofen). I cut back on foods with refined sugar

4: I swapped trail-running for the treadmill as it's a sprung surface so low impact and less jarring

5: I bought ice packs to wrap in a tea towel and apply to whichever one of my knees was playing me up - almost instant relief for throbbing, hot, itchy pain and swelling. I bought a TENS machine, for longer-lasting relief into the next day. I swear by FlexiSeq, an over the counter gel which reduces crunching and grinding and apply it daily

Now here's the theory - get the pain management right and you should be able to maintain an active lifestyle and that will also help with managing your condition so a win-win. I eventually gave up Running, Swimming and Badminton which were a big part of my life but I've substituted Cycling, Spin Classes, Hiking, Walking and Gymwork instead. I thought I'd never cope without the things I used to love but I've learned to adapt and get my Endorphin rush in different ways and I'm actually having a lot more fun than I used to. If you find it too painful to run and walk then finding something else is the way forward, or simply doing less distance but more often if you get my drift?

Hope these help in some way and good luck!

Jon