Exercise with shoulder arthritis
I was (finally) diagnosed with shoulder arthritis yesterday - after years of "it's rotator cuff" or "it's nerve impingement"
Caused by overuse of my shoulders (I also have bad knees and back - and cannot mobilise as a "normal" can do…..)
I was not told what exercise I could do
I am in a lot of pain, virtually constantly
https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/getting-started-with-exercise/
Is what I can find on line - but I cannot do any of them, because I cannot stand up and also the pain is too much, when I raise my arms above waist height.
What exercise is safe to do ?
Comments
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There are exercises one can do sitting or in bed on that site. I do several of them.
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If you can sit safely on a chair with no arms, or take the armrest of your wheelchair. try this:
Bend the arm of your unaffected side & rest it across your knees. Lean forward a little if you are safe doing so, then hang your affected arm down. Swing your arm gently backwards & forwards, & also try making small circles clockwise, then anticlockwise. Gravity thus aids movement & this is one of the easiest first exercises to do. Do this just for a few mins & repeat several times a day so long as it doesn't cause an increase in your pain. You can progress to gradually increasing the size of the circles, but it's always best to start slowly & build up gradually with any exercise.
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Thanks - tried that and am able to do it. Although it does click and grate a little.
The consultant told me that unfortunately, my shoulders will not recover / get any better - but that if I was lucky, I could put off any need for an op by a few years !
And if I needed a replacement - it would be a long drawn out recovery due to my over use of shoulders (I rely on them too much - but, obviously have no choice)
So I am trying to get my legs to work better as well as this shoulder exercise
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From my years and yaers of experience living with osteoarthritis, I can say that exercise does not help sore joints. Only lack of movement, but this is bad for other parts of the body. Difficult choice.
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Yes but exercise builds up muscles necessary to tie the bones together.
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As a retired physiotherapist, who incidentally has generalised osteoarthrosis, I think I'm qualified to say that exercise does indeed help. Exercise should however not increase pain, as this perpetuates the pain cycle; which is why you should start slowly & build up very gradually.
There's a difference between personal opinion & fact! The house rules also ask that we don't present opinions as fact….
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Thank you for confirming this
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Hi everyone,
Just a polite reminder that everyone has different experiences and they should be said/taken as opinions, not facts.
Rachel
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Is that the same with L1 L2 L3 L4 lumbar arthritis ?
Because that is extremely painful - when I move
It feels as if it is grinding against itself
It was only detected in a CT scan that was carried out for colorectal but they noted these changes !
I cannot even get physio for it - this year - unless I pay privately !!
Should I be resting or exercising my spine ?
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Hi @Wibbles - Ideally you should keep as active as possible, but only do exercises if they don't increase your pain. You might try a couple of very gentle exercises you can see given by a physio in a NHS video. The ones to try are 'pelvic tilting', where you put your hand underneath your lower back & gently push down. The other is squeezing your buttocks together which helps to increase stabiliity. Please see:
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Thank you very much for that advice
I will give it a try
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You're very welcome
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I have managed to get a GP appointment next Friday !
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That's great @Wibbles! Not too long to wait.
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I have been prescribed liquid morphine - for an unknown period
That should relieve the increasing pain from my spine and shoulders !I've been on codeine for 4 months and previous to that, I spent 3 years taking Naproxen - are there any problems taking Morphine long term ?
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It's not usually prescribed for chronic pain, i.e. that longer than 3 months as studies have shown that it's more effective for pain that's been for a shorter durartion. I hope it helps you for now. I was on morphine (Fentanyl patches) for years (before I'd studied chronic pain) then very gradually weaned myself off them, & found after a while that I didn't feel any different, which ties in with the studies I've read.
Also perhaps have a look here, which is something I put together with Cher's help (sorry the formatting has gone strange when I copied this link):
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Thanks - I will work my way through that ….
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Like I said, no exercise, so you were prescribed pain medication. In my opinion morphine may be unnecessary, ask your doctor about tramadol. And read about side effects, this is very important.
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On what do you base repeating 'no exercise' @egister - please do not present an opinion as fact.
I do however agree with egister, as I mentioned above, that morphine is more appropriate for short term use with acute pain, but not for chronic pain. Please see NICE's guidelines scrolling down to 'medicines that should not be offered':
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Chronic pain vs acute pain
Where is the boundary?
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