Alternative pain management

Maryanneg

Hi

Firstly thank you for allowing me to join i have been struggling with osteoarthritis for about 2 years.

I have a wonderful loving and caring husband who has been my carer and i could not or do without him. No matter how great he is he I find it hard to explain what the pain is like and hownit makes me feel so having someware like this is amazing.

I am just getting over a knee replacement and was looking forward to getting some mobility back but now the atheritis in my hip is getting worse and i have now had to go back to using a walker to walk any distance.

I am on strong anti inflammatories and pain killers and they do help a bit.

My question is would gentle yoga help or hinder the pain

Any advice would be appreciated

Poppyjane

Welcome @Maryanneg to the online community

We do recommend some form of exercise to keep our muscles and joints flexible, so if you want to try yoga then go for it. You will find that your pain is likely to be a bit worse for a while ( I take a couple of paracetamol before exercising) As long as you start slowly with the intention of building up your strength and balance you will notice a difference after a while. Can you get your husband to try it alongside you? It is so much more fun to laugh with each other.

There are some really good stretching exercises on the VA website and if you cannot get out to a yoga class then as an alternative try them at home, many of us find them really helpful.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/types-of-complementary-treatments/meditation-t-ai-chi-and-yoga/

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

Do let us know how you get on, we are really glad you found us and look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Best wishes

Poppyjane