buggered!

[disgruntled]

so i have been nursing an injury lately, which i thought was another stress fracture in my foot because it felt exactly the same, but it wasn't.......

it turns out that my osteoarthritis has spread to my feet. the bone scan apparently showed significant bone deterioration. and i was told that this will always be a thing that will trouble me. i have never wished i broke my foot more than i do now. i would take short term pain over long term degenerate pain any day!

so................. two questions:

any suggestions as to what could help? (i am going on glycosimine, calcium + Vitamin D, and have good shoes... pain killers don't help much anymore)

how do you know when you should quit? does that moment exist?

[sirdarksol]

In my opinion, quitting just makes things worse. Adjust your routine, of course, but I think that quitting just convinces you that you've given up, and thus hastens degeneration (not just talking about Osteoarthritis, but all forms of illness).

The people I have talked to about Glucosamine say to go for Glucosamine chondroitin, that there's something about the combination that is necessary to function.

Calcium and D are good, but try to get natural sources, too. Milk, cheese, etc... for the calcium, and sunlight for vitamin D (Not saying to purposefully tan, but spend time outside every day that you can)

This final one is not a suggestion. It's a tidbit of information that you can research and make a decision on.
My mom recently read a study that seemed to show that moderate drinkers were significantly less likely to suffer osteoarthritis than non-drinkers or light drinkers.
I say that this isn't a suggestion because I am loathe to sacrifice part of the body for another, but I believe that everyone should make decisions for themselves. Because I do not suffer from this kind of pain, I can't say what I would do with this knowledge.

Sorry things are going worse. Hopefully some answer for this kind of problem will be found. A fellow karate-ka has pretty severe MS, and I can't help but empathize with his pain. It makes it really hard to complain about a minor ache or pain when you watch a guy who can barely walk struggle through an hour of pain in order to learn karate.

Edit: By the way, what does a stress fracture feel like? I have a small area in my foot that hurts with a sharp, burning pain when I move a certain way.

[disgruntled]

can you direct me towards that study that your mom read? i actually brew my own beer so drinking is unfortunately one of the things i am fairly passionate. when i enjoy something i go all the way i even want to look into the beer judging certificate program.

a stress fracture feel kinda weird.

you get a ache in the area (i will discuss foot stress fractures because that is what i know) that is affected.... but it is not unbearable at all. i assumed that i stepped on my foot odd and it was a little sore because of that. it did not hurt to the touch, but i had trouble bearing weight on it. the pain might go away, but when you run or do something that affects the area, you will feel pain. the recovery time to get over the pain will take longer and longer. finally, you will either stop exercising and it will heel, or you will fracture it right through..... which is really painful so you will notice something wrong by then (it feels like a broken foot)............

the weird thing that i found is i could not really tell where the pain was exactly. i thought something was wrong with the arch of my foot... but it turned out to be the 3rd metatarsal (sp???)

unfortunately, i don't think you usually figure it out by the time that it is too late. after all, we always have aches and pains, so it your foot hurts for a bit and then get better when not exercising, you don't worry about it.

if you are concerned, start training in proper shoes and you can stop the damage and hopefully give you foot time to heal.... better to error on the side of caution.

[Hatori]

You should not have to quit. I have been advised to quit for years due to my knee problems but I always work around my restriction, I work knowing my limits and just try to be careful. I also exercise to maintain my flexibility and strength in my knees which I found SWIMMING to be the best as it is low-impact and also great for cardio and toning my upper body. You need to realise you have a potential weakness and work WITH IT. This way you can continue to train in a productive BUT SAFE manner. Best of luck to ya!

[disgruntled]

yeah, i am definately not going to quit..... now that the shock and depression has lifted, it has totally motivated me (ironically)......... i have decided that (like everything in life that i am passionate about) i can accomplish my MA goals, i just have to do my way....

i am meeting with a grad student at the U of C that is doing her masters on osteoarthritis in the hips and knees so i am going to meet up with her and design a work out routine with her so that i can work out the muscles i need for MA in a safe mannor.

i have already started going back to the gym and i am feeling like i can work through this challenge and over come it

[sirdarksol]

I have sent a request to Mom to find the study again.

Glad you're making some headway (and helping a grad student at the same time )

[disgruntled]

us grad students gotta stick together! LOL

the pool near me also has some deep water conditioning drop in classes that i am going to check out. they are of varying intensity, but there is one called "H.E.A.T." which is High Energy Athletic Training, which sounds good. it would be idea if i could build my cardio in the pool and then just concentrate on weight training and technique on land!

[Hatori]

That's what I do! Cardio and resistance training in the pool and techniques etc out of the pool. The pool offers excellent low impact training which tones major muscle groups, abs, arms, legs etc so go for it!

[sirdarksol]

Alright, sorry. The drinking thing related to rhematoid arthritis.
Drinking Cuts Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk - US News and World Report
There's the link, for what it's worth.

[disgruntled]

Originally Posted by sirdarksol

Alright, sorry. The drinking thing related to rhematoid arthritis.
Drinking Cuts Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk - US News and World Report
There's the link, for what it's worth.

darn..... but maybe i should keep drinking just in case