Exercise question

Shazla0866

Hi everyone. I was ‘diagnosed’ as having OA in my left hip by an NHS Physiotherapist and am awaiting a specialist appointment. In the meantime I need to get myself moving as I sit behind a desk. Walking is awkward as I walk like John Wayne just got off his horse. I’m told swimming helps but I’m not really very good at swimming so… I’ve also been told stationary cycling is helpful, but have also been told to avoid it. I know one size doesn’t fit all and I’ve not been seen by MSK yet but it seems the easiest for me to do, just don’t know if I should! Any advice gratefully received!

Naomi33

Morning @Shazla0866 and welcome to the online community.

Sorry to hear your concerns about exercise as you say one size does not fit all 😍

I went on pain management courses which introduces you to all exercises and then you see which suits you???

The following links maybe of interest to you....

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2020/january/moving-more-with-the-escape-pain-programme/

https://www.nuffieldhealth.com/about-us/our-impact/healthy-life/joint-pain-programme

Take care @Naomi33

Baloo

@Shazla0866 mental health may help decide. I find any exercise where I can do more than one repetition is good for my sense of wellbeing, particularly if it has a purpose of stronger muscles or better range of motion. I like the leg press, it helps me climb stairs. (Alas the leg press is broken at the moment so its more broken than I am perhaps). I like static cycling for maybe 5 or 10 minutes, I can get a better warm up from it which is good for the heart, but has been months finding a good setting and seeing if my knees will bend enough to take it.

Too much of these and I will regret it for a week or so. The amount really does have to be dialled down to the limits of what my system can take. My Physio says stop if it hurts, which seems to be about right. Sometimes I have to give it a miss and just do some physio. Even then, it is good for my sense of wellbeing to do something.

stickywicket

Hi @Shazla0866 . Good thinking. Exercise is essential for us though, as @Baloo explains, it's easy for us to overdo things and pay the penalty so we háve to listen to our bodies. I've always been told to 'push into the pain' but not attempt to push right through it! We get better at this. Try some of these exercises. Floor is bèst but, if you can't get down there, a bed will do.https://versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/exercises-for-healthy-joints/exercises-for-the-hips/

JenHB

I saw a private physio a few weeks ago and she said there were 3 things to bear in mind:

1. How are my joints feeling while doing the exercise
2. How are they feeling a couple of hours later
3. How are they feeling the next day

Hope this is useful!

swimmer60

@Shazla0866

Hi! Don't worry about "not being very good at swimming" many people aren't and they still go to my pool! People with a huge variety of different levels of ability. Try lots of stretches and gentle exercises, so gentle when the water is bearing your weight, tread water, gentle back kicks etc and you'll be fine!

Yes, I am a bit of an evangelist! Just off swimming now 🏊‍♀️

shazb

Hi, I’m also not a very good swimmer but found doing Aquafit helped me immensely. I could barely walk as all my cartilage in my hip had gone but it felt so much better being in the pool not only for the exercise and movement but also the company as it can be very isolating. I’m 7 weeks post total hip replacement and doing extremely well and I truly believe it helped in recovery. My local leisure centre runs classes through BetterUK @ only £1.20 a class not sure if they run nationwide 🤷‍♀️

Chris32

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/720145#Comment_720145

Thank you, that's useful to know. 1. is easy but for me, 3. is the problem. With OA in my knee I'd been advised to walk. However it's only the next day that I find that I had overdone it. I am now using the NHS app "Active-10" on my phone to quantify how much walking I had done in terms of minutes walking and minutes brisk walking to build a pattern.

Nexus7

If you have access to a gym and an elliptical machine I find those are quite easy to get started. They are no-impact machines which just get your arms and legs moving. You can start with a resistance/effort of zero and gradually increase to work your muscles more. I find 20-30 minutes of moving my joints feels good and gets things a bit more lubricated and some blood flowing…