Anyone else got osteo arthritus in their knee?

[frascati]

Have been having problems with my knee and it mainly flares up after the gym.
Been to gp and had xray tuesday. Gp phoned yesterday to say I have OR in my knees.
I am so fed up. I am only 32. Trying to be healthy. Been going to the gym for a year and love it. Now it's like a slap in the face as I can hardly do anything that I like doing.
Anyone else had this and is there anything I should/can do to help?
Thanks

2 knackered knees here. Mine didn't show on x-rays though. I had an arthoscopy on my left knee last year which showed the OA and the right knee joined in a few months ago.

I take Piroxicam and Tramadol on bad days and also had injections of viscous fluid in my knee which really helped. That lasted 4 months and I'm having another lot done in a few weeks in both knees.

Pacing yourself and not trying to do too much on good days helps. If you overdo it on a good day you'll pay for it the next.

ww ~ sorry to hear you have it too Mine started in the right knee but just lately I have had same in left.
I have been caning it at the gym. 2000m on rower x 3, 3 high impact classes, running etc etc
I had xrays and bloodtests 3 years ago as my knees kept swelling with fluid and I couldn't walk but it showed nothing.
I have physio on Tuesday and seeing gp on Monday to see extent of damage to knee.
I hate the fact I am not going to be able to do all the cardio stuff I love but what can I do?

I was told swimming was good, but I can't swim and hate pools so was advised just to walk up and down the baby pool. I am trying to persuade a friend to do it with me so I don't look so daft .

This is what I had injected on the advice of the local hospital. My GP did it but wasn't willing to do another lot without me being seen at an orthopaedic hospital. I went last week and they wrote to the GP telling him to do it. Sadly some of these things come down to cost.

The physio will be able to tell you the best exercise for you.

Thanks ww. I am hopefully going to have some swimming lessons as I can't swim either
Thanks for the link

Feel for you both. I have OA but only in my big toes and sometimes in my thumbs. I was shocked to hear I had OA as I am only in my 30's as well. Apparently it's quite common and a lot of the time it is caused by sporting injuries and the like.

If you do a lot of high impact exercise the chances are that at some point in time something starts to give.

Definately try swimming if you can because it's great for keeping you in shape without the strain and affect on your body that high impact stuff has.

Also, how about Pilates/yoga? Don't know if this is any good for knees but I also have bad back and it has been great for me.

Good Luck.

cd ~ thanks for that. poor you in your toes
I was actually thinking today about yoga/pilates so good idea

or maybe your pool does aquarobics classes, you wouldn't have to be able to swim for that, wouldn't have thought. sorry to hear about the poorly knees.

was MTS

Thanks tc. Yeah was a bit of a shock I have to say

I have too

Rt Knee, both hips, lower back, several joints in left hand and 2 in rt hand, plus rt shoulder

It's a pain but it obv runs in families

My Bro has

Both ankles, knees & hips, Rt thumb & wrist, Lower back & neck, both shoulders and his jaw

He says his thumb is the worst

Fish oil does help as does exercise to support the joint (get help from your physio)

I'm taking daily Glucosamine tablets and also the fish oils which also contain Evening Primrose to help control my raging hormones!!!

Cycling might be another form of exercise that's OK, whether at the gym or out and about. I think low-impact exercises that don't bounce joints about are OK, so long as you pace yourself.

You could try contacting Arthritis Care for more information - their website is www.arthritiscare.org.uk. They also have a freephone helpline and lots of information booklets including one on exercise and arthritis - I worked for them before going on maternity leave :-)

Ahh... just looked through the Arthritis Care exercise booklet and see that cycling might not be so good for people with arthritis in their knees. But as TotalChaos suggests, aqua-aerobics might be worth a go...

Also ask your gym instructors, they might have suggestions re which equipment would suit you if you tell them about knee problem. I did that with mine, and they suggested cross-trainer as it's less impact than treadmill.

I need a good talking to. I went for my injections in my knees today and was told I can only have one done at a time. That's not a problem.

What was the problem was that the space under my knee cap has got smaller and the doctor had difficulty finding the space to put the needle in. He got there on the fourth attempt and after peeling me off the ceiling I have to get my head around going twice a week for the next 3 weeks to get them all done.

I know the benefits will be worth it but I'm feeling very cowardly