Arthritis Help 4 Friends: September 2021

Thursday, 30 September 2021

Upgrade your morning routine to ease arthritis joint pain

From timesofoman.com

The sun rises, you flutter your eyes open and take a deep breath. It's time to start the day, but before you even get out of bed, you know it's going to be a tough one. For millions with osteoarthritis, waking up with soreness or stiffness in the joints can make mornings particularly difficult.

"After a night of inactivity due to sleep, people with osteoarthritis may find that their joints tend to feel stiff when they wake up," explained rheumatologist Dr. Micah Yu. "While mornings can be difficult, they also can be an opportunity to start your morning routine, soothe aches and pains and set yourself up for a productive day." Here are his recommendations for a pain-relieving morning routine:

Wake up well

While still in bed, do a body scan and note any areas of pain. Start at the top of your head and mentally scan down for tension and stiffness. Doing gentle stretches in bed can help awaken the mind and body. For example, open and close your jaw, turn your head slowly from side to side and circle your wrists. For persistent arthritis pain, some people find using a heated blanket or heated mattress pad for 10 to 20 minutes in the morning to be soothing.

Take a warm shower

Heat and moisture work together to effectively soothe arthritis pain, so start your day with a shower. Keep the water warm to help loosen muscles and joints, but not too hot since it may irritate the skin. Personal trainer and fitness expert Pete McCall suggests doing stretches while the warm water soothes muscles, such as shoulder rolls and head tilts. Avoid any stretches that require balancing and use a shower chair or hand grips to steady yourself if necessary.

Apply topicals

An effective option for treating arthritis is Arthritis Pain Gel, the first prescription-strength, over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory gel. It targets arthritis pain directly at the source to provide powerful relief.

Fuel up

A good breakfast fuels the body with satisfying nutrients. Joints need to stay lubricated, so start with a glass of water or sip on some green tea. Opt for a breakfast that features foods that fight inflammation and boost the immune system, such as cherries, oranges, broccoli, low-fat dairy products and whole grains like oatmeal.

Get moving

Motion is like lotion for your muscles and joints, and light exercise in the morning can help reduce joint pain and kickstart the day. This could be taking a virtual yoga class or taking a walk through your neighbourhood. Exercising increases blood flow, strengthens muscles and helps you maintain a healthy weight - all things that help with arthritis pain. If you're not sure which exercises are appropriate for you, speak with your doctor. Even small amounts of movement matter, so start with just 5 or 10 minutes of exercise.

"Although there is no cure for arthritis, there are things you can do to help reduce pain in your joints," says Yu. "The morning is the optimal time to take steps that help you feel your best all day long."

https://timesofoman.com/article/107348-upgrade-your-morning-routine-to-ease-arthritis-joint-pain

Saturday, 25 September 2021

Arthritis: Five natural ways to help ease painful symptoms

From express.co.uk

ARTHRITIS is when the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones - where they form a joint - break down causing painful symptoms. These symptoms however can be reduced with these tips from the experts.

The word arthritis is used to describe pain, swelling and stiffness in a joint or joints. Around 10 million people in the UK are thought to have arthritis and it can affect people of all ages – even children and teenagers. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The experts at Forest Healthcare shared their general preventative tips for all types of arthritis to help reduce painful symptoms.

Maintain a healthy weight

Carrying excess weight on your body puts extra pressure on the hip and knee joints, making them weaker and more likely to become arthritic.

By keeping a healthy weight, doing regular exercise and cutting out refined sugar from the diet, as well as eating smaller portions you can successfully manage your symptoms.

Speak to your doctor to find out more about losing weight if you are concerned about your current weight and eating habits.

Practise hand exercises

Losing hand strength and flexibility in your fingers is a common complaint for people with arthritis.

Fortunately, practicing a few easy hand exercises can be hugely beneficial both for stopping pain and stiffness.

Regular hand exercises will strengthen muscles, relieve tension and stiffness, and help to keep tendons flexible.

(Image: Getty Images)

Experts recommend flexing your fingers, rotating the wrists, and finger touching are small simple exercises that can be done anywhere anytime.

Stop smoking

Smoking is linked to the development of rheumatoid arthritis, particularly for people who have smoked 20 years or longer.

Smokers also have an increased risk of more-severe arthritis.

Inhaling tobacco smoke has been linked to oxidative stress, which is an imbalance between toxic molecules inside our cells and the antioxidants we need to remove them.

Studies have also found that compared to light smokers, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease was higher among medium and heavy smokers.

Avoid repetitive activities

Many jobs require repetitive activities such as typing or lifting heavy objects.

Such activities can cause injury to the joints and increase the likelihood of developing arthritis.

If you spend a lot of time on the computer working from home, take precautions and invest in a special keyboard to support your wrists.

Supplements and vitamins

A person’s diet contributes significantly to the development of dementia, and some vitamins and supplements can help to relieve the symptoms as well as prevent the disease.

Fatty acids and omega 3 found in fish oils helps inflammatory arthritis.

Vitamin E can also help to repair cells around the joints, and can be gained from nuts, sunflower seeds, and avocado.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1496255/arthritis-symptoms-weight-hand-exercises-smoking-supplements

Thursday, 23 September 2021

Does it help to wear copper or magnets for arthritis?

From mainstreet-nashville.com

By Dr. Mark Kestner

People often ask me about how they can help themselves when their arthritis pain flares up. Many readers have likely heard that wearing copper braces or some type of product using magnets can relieve pain.

Do copper or magnetic products help? The answer depends on whom you ask.

Dr. Kestner

When I ask patients about the products they use, they often tell me that they can tell a difference when they wear a copper brace or use a device embedded with magnets. Recently a patient told me that when her hand pain increases due to weather changes or other reasons, if she wears her gloves made with copper she feels better. “I’ve tried other gloves without the copper and they don’t work as well.”

I have had other patients tell me they wear a copper bracelet on their wrist to reduce arthritis pain, even back pain. “I don’t know about the science, but I know I feel better and have less pain when I wear it,” they have told me.

What about the science? Does science address this question?

Well, it turns out there has been at least one random controlled study that attempted to determine the effectiveness of both copper and magnets for pain, swelling and inflammation related to arthritis. This one study is often cited as definitively debunking the claim that these devices can be helpful.

The study, carried out in Yorkshire, England, and published in 2009, determined that neither the copper nor magnetic strap had any more benefit than a placebo. This single study has been widely used to discredit claims by patients that their use of braces, bracelets, gloves, wraps or other garments incorporating either copper or magnets helps their joint pain.

As I have talked to patients over the years, many have been quite certain that products made with either copper or magnets have helped them.

Whom should I believe?

While it is true that there is such a thing as a placebo effect that can convince a patient that a pill, treatment or product is effective even though it isn’t, there may be more to the perceived benefit experienced by patients than that.

For example, the study, although carried out with good intentions and apparently free of errors, was quite limited. It consisted of a group of only 65 subjects, which is rather small. It also considered only a single device made of copper and a single device made of magnets. It would be impossible to rule out the effectiveness of all possible types of copper or magnetic products with a single study focused only on a single device type, even if thousands of subjects were used.

Whenever most studies are written up, the closing line is usually “More research is needed.” In other words, regarding anything related to health, one study is just a single study and is not considered conclusive.

Interestingly, numerous studies have shown acupuncture to be significantly helpful for osteoarthritis and other sources of joint pain. In most of the studies finding positive benefits of acupuncture for arthritis, the final comment does indicate more research is needed, as is appropriate.

In our office, for example, we have seen truly amazing results for some patients with arthritis pain using acupuncture, significant improvement for some, and occasionally a patient will have only a slight amount of benefit. In other words, acupuncture does work to help arthritis, but results vary from one patient to another.

Some articles trying to debunk the value of copper gloves and other medical devices include phrases such as “save your money to spend on things that are proven.” Considering that many of the products cost only around $20, the cost doesn’t seem to be too much to risk.

After talking to many patients over the years who have had positive experiences using gloves, braces, wraps and other products created with the inclusion of copper and magnets, my expectation would be that they benefit some but maybe not everyone.

https://www.mainstreet-nashville.com/life/health/does-it-help-to-wear-copper-or-magnets-for-arthritis/article_a1f4da36-1730-11ec-bf6e-07344b9f89b3.html

Wednesday, 22 September 2021

An Overview of Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment Injections

From verywellhealth.com

Psoriatic arthritis treatments can vary depending on the range and severity of symptoms that you may experience. When people with psoriatic arthritis begin to experience moderate or severe symptoms and do not respond well to other treatments, psoriatic arthritis injections are available.

In this article, we'll discuss psoriatic arthritis injections and symptoms of the condition.

What Are Biologic Psoriatic Arthritis Treatments?

Commonly prescribed medications for psoriatic arthritis include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) like methotrexate. They can help reduce inflammation and related symptoms. If these medications fail to improve symptoms, biologic medications are usually recommended next.

Biologics are a class of drugs that suppress targeted areas of your immune system to reduce inflammation in autoimmune diseases, where your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. Tumour necrosis factor and other cytokines like interleukin 12, 17, and 23, cell-signalling proteins produced by the immune system that cause inflammation, are abnormally elevated in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Biologic medications target these cytokines to reduce inflammation throughout the body.

Small molecules such as Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors and phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors, like Otezla (apremilast) are also used to treat psoriatic arthritis. They both inhibit certain enzymes associated with inflammation. Xeljanz (tofacitinib) is the only type of JAK inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment Injection Options

There are several different kinds of biologic injections used to treat psoriatic arthritis. These include:

There are additional forms of biologic injections available, but they are typically only used for the treatment of psoriasis and not psoriatic arthritis. These include:

Ilumya (tildrakizumab)
Tremfya (guselkumab)

The frequency of injections will depend on the specific type of medication that you are prescribed. Remicade is delivered intravenously (IV) at a hospital, infusion center, or another medical facility, and repeated every eight weeks.

All the other types of medication are injected subcutaneously, or under the skin, in your abdomen or thigh. Many of these injections can be done by yourself at home. Some medications require a frequent injection schedule, such as Enbrel, which has to be done every week, and Cimzia every other week.

Other medications require less frequent injections after initial doses, such as Cosentyx, Taltz, and Simponi and Skyrizi and Stelara every 12 weeks.

Risks of Biologic Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment

Because biologic medication weakens your immune system, it can also increase your risk of getting an infection or reactivating a prior infection such as hepatitis B or tuberculosis.

There is always a possibility of having an allergic reaction when taking medication. If you experience shortness of breath, fever, chills, numbness, tingling, rash, or redness, itchiness, or pain at the injection site, contact your doctor immediately since these are possible signs of an allergic reaction.

The most common adverse effects from biologic injections include pain, swelling, itching, rash, and redness at the injection site. If you have any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor about switching your medication.

Steps to Self-Inject Treatment

Remove your prefilled syringe from the refrigerator 30 minutes before the time you are going to administer your injection so the medication can reach room temperature.

Before administering your injection, you should have an alcohol pad and sterile bandage ready. Wash your hands with soap and water before using an alcohol pad to cleanse the area where you will administer the injection.

Twist off the cap to expose the needle. You should pinch the skin of your abdomen or thigh where you will deliver the injection and quickly insert the needle at a 90-degree angle. Once the needle is inserted, slightly pull back on the syringe, then push the plunger to inject the medication.

Once all the medication in the syringe is injected, remove the needle from your skin. Hold the alcohol pad over the injection site and apply a bandage to the area if it bleeds. Replace the cap onto the needle and dispose of it in the garbage.

Sometimes an auto-injector is used instead of a prefilled syringe. Follow the same storage and preparation instructions above. Then twist off the needle cap and place the base of the auto-injector against the skin on your abdomen or thigh. Turn the lock ring to unlock the device and press the injection button. A needle will automatically lower into your skin to deliver the injection.

Used sharps should be immediately placed in a sharps disposal container. FDA-cleared sharps containers are generally available through pharmacies, medical supply companies, healthcare providers and online. These containers are made of puncture-resistant plastic with leak-resistant sides and bottom.

Managing Psoriatic Arthritis

Management of psoriatic arthritis is crucial to slowing disease progression and preventing flare-ups, which can significantly affect your joint mobility and your ability to complete day-to-day activities. Because psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune disease, taking your medication as prescribed by your doctor is key to reducing inflammation.

Other treatment options to help manage symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include:

Rest: Limiting activity and avoiding repetitive movements can help ease pain and inflammation.
Ice: Applying ice to your joints can help relieve pain and inflammation, especially if swelling is present.
Exercise: Certain stretches and exercises can help ease pain, improve range of motion and joint mobility, and increase the strength of the muscles surrounding your joints.
Rehabilitation: Your doctor may refer you to physical or occupational therapy to improve your joint mobility, and increase the strength and flexibility of surrounding muscles. These healthcare professionals will also apply therapeutic modalities to alleviate joint pain, stiffness, and swelling.
Lifestyle habits: Healthy habits performed daily such as eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and effectively managing stress can help decrease inflammation throughout the body.

Summary

Psoriatic arthritis is treated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to help with pain and inflammation and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs like methotrexate to slow disease progression. If you don't respond well to DMARDs, biologics are usually prescribed to help with the condition. There are different types of biologic injections to treat psoriatic arthritis. Several of these medications can be self-injected safely at home and require storage in the refrigerator before use. When administering self-injections, it's important to keep your hands and the injection site clean to prevent infections.

A Word From Verywell

Biologic injections are a treatment option to help manage psoriatic arthritis that has been unresponsive to other treatment methods. If you have not seen any improvement in symptoms with other types of medications or lifestyle changes, talk to your doctor about the possibility of trying a biologic injection. Psoriatic arthritis is a progressive condition without a cure that can cause permanent joint damage and disability if left untreated. Most people will experience some improvement in symptoms of psoriatic arthritis after starting biologic injections.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/psoriatic-arthritis-treatment-injections-5198679

Thursday, 16 September 2021

CBD for arthritis: What the research shows

From openaccessgovernment.org

CBD has shown benefits for many health conditions, including arthritis. Here’s what the research shows

CBD shows promise in reducing the side effects of arthritis, but more long-term studies are needed to examine whether it can prevent and fully treat the condition.

CBD is short for cannabidiol (CBD), a popular cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant. Cannabis is an incredibly unique and complex plant, full of compounds that give it its characteristic effects, taste, and smell. Compounds include cannabinoids like CBD and THC, terpenes, flavonoids, lipids, and other plant compounds. CBD is popular and widely appreciated for its well-tolerated nature and its vast range of therapeutic effects that can benefit our physical and mental wellbeing.

Arthritis is a common condition that affects individuals of all ages and causes inflammation and joint pain. The individual symptoms experienced will depend on the type of arthritis. Still, they generally include joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, high inflammation levels, weakness, and restricted movement around the joint (1). Two of the most common types of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. While there is currently no cure for arthritis, treatments including surgery, physiotherapy, and medication have been successful in slowing down arthritis for many patients.

Arthritis and CBD

CBD has already been utilised to ease and assist many health conditions, including insomnia, anxiety and depression, nausea and chronic pain. Under the umbrella of chronic pain conditions is arthritis. While studies are still in their infancy, the results are promising.

Traditional medication for arthritis varies, but usually includes a mix of different options (2):

Painkillers to reduce pain.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce inflammation.
Counterirritants to interfere with the transmission of pain signals.
Corticosteroids to reduce inflammation and suppress the immune system.
Biologic response modifiers to target various proteins involved in immune response.
Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to restrict your immune system from attacking the joint.

While these medications are effective, safety from long-term use is often questioned. Repeated use of these drugs has been shown to damage the arthritis patient’s heart, liver, stomach and kidneys. When doses are too high or taken for a prolonged period, this can also cause liver damage in some instances (3).

More patients are becoming aware of alternative treatment methods like lifestyle changes or physical therapy. In addition, natural medication alternatives like CBD have risen in popularity as an option with fewer adverse side effects.

The Endocannabinoid system CBD can lower inflammation and pain by its interaction with the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is a complex cell-signalling system responsible for regulating body processes, including our mood, metabolism, energy levels and pain output. The ECS consists of endocannabinoids, cannabinoid receptors and receptor proteins. Cannabinoids like CBD can interact with receptors in our brain and nervous system and cause an uptake of certain compounds and hormones (4).

CBD can influence how our brain perceives pain and increases the level of serotonin by interacting with serotonin receptors (5). This creates feelings of relaxation in our brain and body, which can help reduce the intensity of arthritis side effects.

Cannabinoids can also block specific receptors that influence inflammation and pain within the body. In particular, CBD can block receptors that allow for levels of anandamide, an endocannabinoid, to increase in the body (6). This affects the way receptors respond to signals that they receive, reducing both inflammation and pain.

Studies on arthritis and CBD

The relationship between CBD and common health conditions like chronic pain has long been a topic of interest. Researchers have begun to branch out to similar conditions like arthritis, in particular, rheumatoid arthritis. This autoimmune and inflammatory disease causes the immune system to attack healthy cells, usually resulting in one of several joints being attacked.

One of the first trials that investigated the effectiveness of cannabis-based medication to treat rheumatoid arthritis involved patients who used Sativex, a spray containing cannabis extract, over five weeks. Participants found the drug was effective in reducing inflammation and pain while also contributing to improved sleep quality. Any reported side effects were mild and did not affect the patient’s quality of life (7).

Another study involving rats looked at the topical application of CBD gels for joint pain and inflammation. Researchers found that the transdermal absorption from the CBD was sufficient enough to reduce joint swelling and reduce pro-inflammatory biomarkers. They concluded that topical CBD application has strong therapeutic potential for relief from arthritis and inflammation-related conditions without extreme adverse side effects (8).

While preliminary research is highly promising, more long-term and large-scale studies involving human participants are still required for researchers to comprehend the effects of CBD on arthritis symptoms fully.

CBD as a preventative treatment

Arthritis is incredibly common and affects individuals from all walks of life. With the rise in the prevalence of different types of arthritis, significant attention has been given to preventing this disease.

The causes of arthritis are complex and can result from several risk factors that create a compounding effect (9). These include:

Your family history and genes. This makes you more susceptible to environmental factors, and because of this, you may be more likely to develop arthritis if an immediate family member has the disorder.
Your age. Risk factors generally increase with age.
Your gender will affect what type of arthritis you develop. For example, women are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis.
A previous joint injury can increase the probability of that joint developing arthritis.
Being obese and carrying extra weight can stress joints, mainly your knees, hips and spine.

While patients cannot control most of these risk factors, one that can be monitored is obesity. It is well acknowledged that obesity is highly influenced by lifestyle choices like diet, exercise, sleep and even stress levels (10). This means incorporating a healthy and well-balanced diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, increasing the frequency of exercise, practising mindfulness, and getting good quality sleep.

CBD can help reduce stress and improve your quality of sleep by its interaction with the ECS. When it interacts with cannabinoid and serotonin receptors in your brain and nervous system, it can improve your mood, promote relaxation, and reduce feelings of anxiety (11).

CBD as a treatment for arthritis side effects

Arthritis is a complex autoimmune disease that can cause your body to attack joints, and over time, it destroys bone and cartilage that leads to the loss of joint function and stability. While symptoms of arthritis can vary, depending on the individual and how severe the disease progression is, some common side effects are often experienced across the board.

Chronic pain

Chronic pain can result from an injury or illness like arthritis and is classified as high levels of pain that last over a few months and remain persistent even after full recovery. While the level of chronic pain can vary, depending on the individual, it can be severe and drastically affect the arthritis patient’s quality of life (12).

Pain is one of the most reported side effects of arthritis, and while painkillers can manage it, the side effects of these medications on top of what is already taken to treat arthritis can be detrimental to the patient’s health long-term. Because of this, more individuals are seeking natural and more gentle pain-relief options, like CBD. CBD oil remains a popular choice for many patients as studies have shown its effectiveness in reducing the severity of chronic pain output.

A 2017 review investigated CBD use for general chronic pain and summarised the key findings from various studies. After analysing the results of dozens of trials and reviews, researchers concluded that substantial evidence pointed at cannabis being a suitable treatment option for adults who experience chronic pain (13).

Another study supported these findings, with researchers noting that CBD and other cannabinoids could offer a new and effective treatment option for chronic pain patients by reducing inflammation and pain. They also concluded that patients were unlikely to build up a tolerance to the potent effects of CBD, which was beneficial, as this meant the dosage did not need to be increased over time (14).

CBD is a popular cannabinoid, but it doesn’t create euphoric “high” and psychoactive effects like THC, another cannabinoid found in cannabis. Researchers in a 2015 study suggested that when CBD worked in conjunction with other cannabinoids, it can influence receptor systems within our body and the ECS. Anandamide is a compound that has been associated with reducing pain perception and improving mood in individuals, and CBD can increase the levels of anandamide in our body (15).

Swelling and inflammation

Another commonly expressed side effect of arthritis is joint swelling and widespread inflammation. Most but not all types of arthritis are the results of inflammation from the immune system. In a healthy individual, the body produces white blood cells and compounds to protect from infection (16). However, in inflammatory conditions like arthritis, the immune system will trigger a response that causes damage to its own tissues.

Cannabinoids like CBD have been seen to suppress inflammatory responses, which can reduce arthritis symptoms. Cannabinoids have potent properties that regulate pathways involving the suppression of cytokines in inflammatory sites and activating apoptosis within immune cells. Due to this, researchers believe CBD could be a beneficial preventative treatment for diseases that involve chronic inflammation within the body, like arthritis. However, more research is still required (17).

Joint pain experienced by the arthritis patient can also exacerbate inflammation levels as pain and inflammation have a close relationship and often walk hand-in-hand in many diseases. Inflammation can be chronic or acute. Arthritis patients have chronic inflammation due to a prolonged inflammatory response which can increase oxidative stress, directly affecting healthy organs and tissues (18).

Reduced appetite

Another common side effect of arthritis is reduced appetite or weight loss due to the extreme pain and stiffness that can directly affect the patient’s quality of life, mood, metabolism, and affinity for food or eating. Some arthritis medications can also affect appetite, resulting in unintentional weight loss.

A 2016 study found that the medication leflunomide, commonly prescribed to patients with rheumatoid arthritis, was associated with weight loss. This is because leflunomide can cause nausea, diarrhoea, and changes in bowel habits, all of which can influence weight management (19).

Long-term appetite loss can adversely affect the patient, as this could lead to insufficient nutrient intake and fatigue due to extreme muscle loss. Most studies that research the relationship between CBD and appetite have shown variable data, with some showing weight gain and others showing distinct weight loss (20). Despite the inconclusive research, researchers conclude CBD has a potent effect on hunger and appetite.

Another study investigated the relationship between CBD and nausea and found noticeable results. Research from 2011 suggests CBD and its interaction with the endocannabinoid system lead to the regulation and reduction of vomiting and nausea in both animals and humans (21).

As a common cause of arthritis can be excess weight or obesity, a reduced appetite or weight loss can prove beneficial in improving their health and reducing their symptoms. However, for patients at a healthy weight or who are already underweight, unintended weight loss and a decreased appetite can be harmful to their health.

The bottom line

CBD shows promise in reducing the common side effects and symptoms of arthritis by interacting with the ECS to lower inflammation and reduce the perception of pain.

Because of this, many arthritis patients are beginning to use CBD in conjunction with traditional medication. While current research is promising, more studies are required to increase the global therapeutic use of CBD.

References

Please note: This is a commercial profile

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/cbd-for-arthritis-what-the-research-shows/120022/

Tuesday, 14 September 2021

How Swimming Helped Me Feel Like Myself Again After an RA Diagnosis

From healthline.com

By Shuntel Hines

When I thought I’d lost the ability to exercise, the pool gave me hope.

My living room looks a lot like an in-progress home gym project.

I have just about every piece of fitness equipment that will conveniently fit in a small apartment, from the bicycle mounted on the wall to the suspension training straps tossed over the front door. Yoga blocks and mats lie at the base of my mountain of medicine balls, resistance bands, and other generic fitness paraphernalia.

Sometimes I gawk at it in all its towering glory and am reminded of the peaks and valleys I’ve hiked over the years in the old hiking shoes by my front door. Most days, however, I wince at the sight of it, partially because it’s a cluttered mess that’ll inevitably destabilize, but mostly for how much dust it’s collected.

These items sit largely unbothered, serving as constant reminders of how much my body has changed.

At one time, the fitness paraphernalia in my living room wasn’t just for show. They were as much part of my day and self-care routine as my toothbrush.

I was happiest after a good sweat. I felt most liberated after leaving a Vinyasa yoga class. But when I started having unusual aches and pains and began tiring after a walk through the park, I was flabbergasted but deduced that the only explanation for this was overtraining. I must have been overworking my body.

As time went on, It was evident that this was more than a case of overtraining.

I’d eventually learn that these symptoms were consistent with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). After some lab work and several trips back and forth to the doctor, I received an official diagnosis.

I was terrified, but initially, the symptoms and diagnosis were just a minor inconvenience. I was able to maintain an active lifestyle despite the discomfort I was experiencing.

My primary forms of exercise were running and hiking. However, as time went by, I went from being super active to almost sedentary.

The brakes on my bike gathered dust. My favourite pair of minimalist running shoes were now buried in the depths of my closet after a podiatrist suggested I switch up my footwear. The nature trails that I frequented — that were my respite from the concrete jungle and the confines of pandemic quarantine — angered me as I drove past them.

I tried telling myself that I could muster up the mental grit to push through it all. But my ankles weren’t having hours on the trail, traversing rocks and snake holes. The uneven ground only aggravated my subtalar joint, a joint in the foot commonly impacted by RA, rendering the trek unbearable.

I knew that with RA, exercise is especially important for combating the most aggravating symptoms at bay. But eventually, I just about convinced myself that I would never be active again, that my athletic days were over, and I may as well toss out my activewear along with any plans to run races, climb mountains, and cycle a century.

So when the realization hit — almost out of thin air — that there was still at least one option I hadn’t considered, I almost chuckled out loud at the grocery store. I, a self-proclaimed fitness buff, had failed to recognize that I had not exhausted all of my options.

It finally occurred to me that I had yet to chart the waters (pun intended) of the chlorinated deep blue depths at my local swimming pool.

Why I decided to overcome my fear of pools

I did not have much experience in the pool. Intense aquaphobia kept me far from the pool deck, despite learning of the many benefits of swimming throughout the years.

I’d heard numerous accounts of people turning to pools to alleviate pain and discomfort from injuries or degenerative arthritis. In RA specifically, a 2017 study found that participating in a 16-week aquatic exercise program led to improved disease activity and functional ability in women with RA.

I’d heard of the successes that athletes had in recovering from injuries using aquatic physical therapy. Older adults in my circle spoke about doing water aerobics.

When I stopped running, maintaining my cardiovascular fitness was a primary concern. Luckily, swimming is an aerobic exercise much like running, and you don’t have to spend all of your time swimming freestyle to reap the benefits.

Aquatic exercise, like deep water running, is used as a rehab exercise for athletes due to its low impact and cardio benefits. Maybe running wasn’t completely off the table. I knew that once I mastered the skill, I could trade in pavement pounding for aquatic exercises like deep water running and still work toward increasing my aerobic capacity and endurance.

The evidence was all around. It was a no-brainer that it was time for me to dive in (again, pun intended).

Diving in

My journey started with a good ol’ internet search. Before I could reserve a lap at the swim stadium, I’d have to figure out how not to drown.

I never learned to swim in my youth, so finding an affordable swim instructor willing to contend with an adult beginner with intense water anxiety was the first challenge. Fortunately, after only a few phone calls and emails, I sifted through overpriced swim schools and poorly reviewed instructors and found the right fit.

I watched instructional videos on what to expect to help quell my fears. I searched for how to put on a swim cap and consulted webpage after webpage about swim goggles. After I bought a pair of swim goggles, I searched up whether they were supposed to feel like barnacles stuck to the orbits of my eyes. I didn’t find a definitive answer, so I purchased and swapped out a few until I found a comfortable pair.

I scheduled my lessons, found my swimsuit, and thought to myself, “Um. How am I going to do this?”

Eventually, the day arrived. As I gathered my things to head for the pool, the mountain of gear in my living room began to resemble an iceberg. All the things that might go wrong in the water started to fill my head.

Maybe it had something to do with growing up in the ’90s and watching one too many movies about boats and icebergs, but the mere thought of the water made me want to reconsider this whole swimming thing. Still, I made my way toward the pool.

Those first steps into the water were enough to make my heart rate skyrocket. Although the pool was heated, the water felt ridiculously cold. The frigid temperatures paired with arthritic joints made me question whether I should proceed.

Before I could give it too much thought, my instructor told me to take a deep breath and put my face in the water. This took some getting used to and was manageable.

We did a few more water confidence exercises and the whole ordeal seemed a bit more approachable. We did some jogging in the water, and wow, this was it! I hadn’t run in over a year. This was going great!

Then, we broached the subject of floating. Was I really supposed to float in the pool during the first lesson? I had come here to increase my health and quality of life, but all of a sudden, I was on the fast track to certain death.

We started with holding onto the wall. This is when I began to realize that this wouldn’t be so simple. I held onto the side of the pool for dear life. I noticed the weakness and pain in my hands. I didn’t have much confidence in my body’s ability to collaborate with the water and regain my footing after floating.

I realized that these lessons would really be an exercise in trust and letting go, embracing this new environment, and adapting to a body that was going through some changes.

When I finally entered a back float without any assistance, I could only stare at the open sky above. How humorous. I was given a preview of what would come next (my ascent into the heavens) because learning how to swim would surely only end in my untimely demise.

After about a week of consistently going to the pool daily, however, I noticed a huge difference. There were major ups and downs and some days fear got the best of me, but the water had done my body good.

I felt more limber. I felt my quads turning on for the first time in what felt like forever. My arms were the “good kind” of sore. I felt like myself again.

I recognized that familiar post-workout hunger pang. Best of all, I hadn’t drowned!

What I’ve learned about swimming and RA

I’d love to paint a picture of swimming as an easy exercise alternative for RA. Truthfully, it comes with its difficulties that are unique to both the sport and the athlete with RA.

Swimming gear and equipment isn’t inherently RA-friendly

RA affects my grip strength and causes swelling and pain in the joints of my hand. From the start to the finish of a swim session, these joints are taxed.

Putting on a swim cap, tugging at the tight Lycra as I put on a swimsuit, and putting on swim goggles present challenges before I’ve even approached the pool. Then, entering a pool via ladder (versus steps that allow you to get into the pool as if you’re using stairs) meant grabbing and holding onto the rail as I went into the pool.

Grabbing onto a kickboard was yet another stressor for my hands, which were already over gripping the board and edge of the pool wall from anxiety.

Be mindful of your pain management regimen and consider the modifications it may require.

Gear aside, it’s still not 100-percent pain-free

Countless articles insist that aquatic exercise is a heavenly experience that even those with the worst kind of pain can enjoy. In my experience, that’s just not the case. It’s not as simple as it’s been marketed.

Like all exercise, it requires effort and energy, the latter of which must be rationed for most individuals with autoimmune diseases (see “Spoon Theory”).

A lot of us must manage fatigue and malaise. Thirty minutes of exercise can mean being bedridden the next day.

The water does an excellent job of reducing gravity and taking much of the strain off of one’s joints, but I still left most sessions needing to slather on the menthol creams.

Moving through the resistance and “pulling” the water works muscles and joints. Albeit significantly less than weight training at a gym, I still experienced some pain during movement and swelling post-swim. In fact, my swim journey took a minor blow when my doctor told me my recent shoulder issues were due to biceps tendonitis.

Be kind to yourself, pace yourself, and understand your limits.

You need to be mindful of swimming-related illness

DMARDs (disease modifying antirheumatic drugs) are part of the treatment plan for a lot of people with RA. These medications can lower one’s ability to fight infection.

Recreational water illnesses can be a real concern when your immune system is suppressed. Contaminants such as faecal matter, sweat, skin, bacteria, and fungus could be a threat when your immune system may be functioning at lower than normal levels due to medications.

Swimmers should be mindful of the potential for contracting a swimming-related illness and look out for symptoms, such as diarrhoea or vomiting, skin rashes, and cough or congestion.

Accessibility is an issue

The topics of swimming and disabilities have at least one important issue in common: accessibility. Having access to a pool is not a reality for a lot of individuals, especially once the weather changes in certain parts of the country. Gym memberships for gyms with pools can be expensive.

People with disabilities often experience socioeconomic barriers, and swimming can be an expensive hobby. The high cost of lessons and procuring the items necessary to partake in them (suits, goggles, chlorine-neutralizing soaps and shampoos) can put a serious dent in one’s budget.

These costs that can seem minuscule for some can be considered luxuries when you’re in a community that experiences high rates of poverty.

If swimming lessons in your area are not in your budget, there may still be some options. After finishing my first set of lessons, I looked into getting additional swim instruction and found that my city offers free lessons in the summer to those from low-income households.

Also, check with your doctor or insurance plan to see if aquatic therapy is covered by your insurance. Your copay may potentially be less than the cost of swim lessons and lane rentals.

If you are able to find a pool, check with your pool staff to ensure they have a working water lift to allow for easy access in and out of the pool if descending stairs is difficult.

Movement is a celebration of my body

As my lessons came to a close, I had made significant progress. I need more lessons, though, before I can claim that I know how to swim.

I look forward to improving my swimming skills because I believe this will be the key to me integrating physical activity with RA.

I spend time in the shallow end of the pool, work on my water confidence, and plan on taking more lessons because movement is so important for taking care of ourselves.

It runs deeper than exercise and fitness. Having RA means your body may show signs of damage from disease activity or prevent you from living the life you desire. It means some days you go to the pool, and some days you drown yourself in a pool of menthol cream.

I still believe our bodies are worth being celebrated. My pool time has become a celebration of a body that isn’t diseased or disabled, but always changing and adapting.

https://www.healthline.com/health/rheumatoid-arthritis/how-swimming-helped-me-feel-like-myself-again-after-an-ra-diagnosis