Help me stop hurting!

[Catsarefatflumps]

I’m a nearly 50yr old woman and I am so unfit. I’ve not exercised in about 20 years.

But now I’m sick of always hurting.

My shoulders and neck hurt all the time. My hips and bum hurt if I walk a long time. My knees literally crunch when I walk.

I just want to feel good again and know I need to get fit. But where do I start when I feel so sluggish and achey all the time?

Plates worked for me. 65 at the time. Had a sore back for years gone in a couple of classes.

It depends on what you enjoy but pilates or yoga, regular walking or regular swimming, water will support you as you exercise. Do something every day, even if it's only walking briskly for half an hour.

Buy yourself a decent pair of supportive, comfortable trainers and wear them as much as possible.

When was the last time you changed your mattress? Does your current mattress support your spine and hips? Do you have comfortable pillows?

And does your bra fit properly? Is it supporting your posture?

Stand up and walk 100 steps around the sitting room every hour. Hold the kitchen side and do squats while you are waiting for the kettle to boil. Walk on the spot while watching your favourite TV programme. Walk the long way to the shops. Move, move, move. You’ll feel better very quickly, and then you’ll feel more able to tackle an exercise regime.

Phew! That was a puzzler...!

Start with walking a little more every day, and gentle yoga.

Last summer, I could barely walk and ached all over after being prescribed a drug for typè 2 diabetes that has osteoarthritis as a common side effect (Sitagliptin if anyone's interested ). Until I realised the cause, I thought this was going to mar the rest of my life. It took four weeks after stopping the drug for the effects to wear off. During that time, I started to fast from 8pm to 10am and to do 15 minutes of chair yoga every morning before walking my dog and coming home for breakfast. Since then I have lost almost 2 stones and dropped two dress sizes. I am 75 and wish someone had suggested these methods before I spent a lifetime fighting my weight. I still have a few aches and pains but the gentle exercise gets rid of them.
Try it OP, you have nothing to lose except the £7.99 investment in the book.

It might be peri menopause. I’m relatively fit but was aching in a way I imagined a 90 year old might ache. Started HRT and the aches have gone. That said, if you are unfit (are you overweight?) then that will also be contributing.

Sounds like your in menopause, my body and that of my colleagues hurt all the time. Have you considered HRT? Especially testosterone? I've been on a tiny dose of testosterone gel for 2-3 months and I feel so much better.

I used to be achey in my joints and overweight. Start really simple. Go for a walk every day. Choose how long you feel comfortable with at first and then gradually increase. Even if you don't lose weight, (I didn't from doing this) the movement will really help with the pain.

Once the pain is better, you may feel like doing more. I'm a few years on now, 4 stone down and I can run without getting any pain.

I see there are a lot of comments on here about peri, which could well be contributing to the pain. But equally I'd focus on the movement and fitness element first and go from there.

All the best 😊

Have a look at physio Will Harlow on YouTube he also has a book called Thriving Beyond Fifty.

Following eagerly as I am in a similar position. I am starting a one to one pilates class soon only half an hour weekly as its expensive!

@Catsarefatflumps maybe try the FitOn app. It has hundreds of videos you can access and your can search for things by discipline, time, what equipment you do or don't have. Maybe try chair pilates first for example as this might be good to get started with and go from there. I think the app has a trial thing first so you could see how you get on with it and then cancel if it's not for you. I am very restricted in what I can do and I've found this useful. Good luck 👍

Just a quick one from out of left field; I agree you shouldn't be hurting like that from doing nothing, which is exactly what I was like before I discovered this was pretty much my only symptom of a mild lactose intolerance that I had no idea I had. Last year I could barely walk 10 minutes to the bus stop, now I can walk miles. Might be worth checking out.

I was similar to you and have found hot yoga - try something slow and stretch-based like yin or vinyasa - has done wonders for my joints. It seems to have loosened and strengthened the muscles that help the joints to not hurt as much. My knees are pain free for the first time in years and my shoulders and neck are less creaky. And it's also lovely and relaxing.

I agree hot yoga is good for joints, but mostly it just made me feel faint and nauseous. So you need to find something which works for you.

Vitimins for joints are good. I ran out and noticed a big difference, never running out again

First thing: if you are overweight, or even obese, then that should be your first target. Exercise is good for you but doesn't help that much with weight loss - and many of the aches, inflammations etc we get are weight related. You can lose weight relatively quickly if willing to go to extremes to do it. The most effective ways are low carb diets or GLP-1 drugs. Or a combo of both will rip weight off you. For exercise aerobics, walking etc. are good for you but again, not that fast. At 50+ the biggest thing to target is strength. Get some weights and lift the heaviest you can until you can't lift further. Watch a video to learn the right technique so you don't hurt yourself! Few reps at heavier weight until you fail is better than many easy reps. It might feel like you aren't exercising that long - no problem! Long is not the goal, effective is. Good luck! If it makes you feel better I lost 1/3 of my body weight and massively improved my muscle mass at 54. All my aches and pains went away, I can climb hills all day, never get out of breath anymore... it can be done!

Which vitamins did you find helpful?

Op, how’s your weight, you shouldn’t hurt this much simply as your 50. Are you carrying extra weight?

Be honest about your diet. I've found, since getting older, it makes much more difference than I ever gave it credit for. Especially refined sugar, white bread and processed foods.

Then start, little and often, with walking, yoga and pilates.

Thanks all for your tips. This is the op. Don’t ask….

I am slightly overweight but have lost 4 stone on Mounjaro. I can walk - I did an hour the other week but by the end my hips and bum were really aching. It’s my muscles that hurt a lot of the time. I am on HRT.

I just don’t move enough. I hate moving! I hate all exercise. I wish I didn’t…

I eat badly too. Not a lot particularly but not very nutritiously. I just seem to have no motivation to look after myself these days.

Have you two accounts? Have you been banned?

if this is following weight loss it seems you’ve lost a lot of muscle hence why you are struggling. The advice is out there to do it healthy, strength training and gym.

You should be able to get your GP to refer you to the local physio service, they will check you out and possibly refer you to a class. After that many local authorities run schemes where you are referred to one of their gyms so that you can be given an exercise programme. I started like that last September and eventually took out a cheap membership to the gym and go two or three times a week. It isn't hard and I feel much better for it. Most gyms also run classes of various kinds, though I mainly use the machines as some of the classes are a bit too tough for me.
I think there are pilates videos on the NHS site, though I've found a local class that I like so I go there.

Join your local Parkrun - you can also walk the route - cost nothing and great to build up too