My Journey With Weight Loss – Arthritis

I started out on my run today and was pleased that there was no rain forecasted. I had planned on doing an 8k but sadly that went south on me. As I began my run down the hill I thought it is a little breezy today. As I headed west towards the promenade the wind picked up. Then when I got to the beach I realized this was a really strong wind. I literally struggled to keep going fighting that wind but by time I hit the pier I gave up. Really, I felt like I was barely moving forward. It was much easier with the wind at my back and I still got in a good 6k run. I think I need to do a better job checking the weather so I know when it is best to run on the dreaded treadmill.

14 years ago when I was 41 years old my doctor sent me to a specialty joint replacement clinic (note other than the medical staff I was the youngest person there by decades). They did full leg x-rays of both my legs and the results were pretty astonishing. If you looked at my left leg my knee appeared normal. My right knee however looked like it had trees going in it. The specialist told me that knee was already full of arthritis and that I would need a knee replacement. The problem is the protocol for the replacement is unless the pain is absolutely debilitating then it couldn’t be done until I was at least 55. A few years ago I was again referred to an ortho specialist who brilliantly told me I had very bad arthritis in my knee and I should plan on getting it replaced as soon as I qualify.

So how did I get here? Well, I fell through a ceiling nearly 30 years ago and did major ligament damage. Because after the first surgery my knee capitulated (meaning it was frozen) I went through 3 more surgeries for a total of 4 surgeries in 2 years. I’ve never regained full range of motion in that knee which in itself has caused all sorts of issues.

What causes osteoarthritis? There is a list of things including age, sex (women are more likely to develop it), obesity (ok, I’ve gotten rid of that problem at least), stress on the joint, genetics and for me the obvious reason, injury.

The reason I am talking about this today is ever since my 16k run my arthritis has been bothering me. I don’t think it is from the run, I think it has more to do with the changes we are going through in our barometric pressure due to these intense storms coming through. I long ago realized that while I can’t predict rain, my knee reacts when there is a significant change in the weather (extreme heat changes has the same impact). When I was running today there was no additional pain, just a tightness that always tells me I am having an arthritis attack (yes there is pain but nothing too bad). I just follow the usual treatment, anti-inflammatory cream 3 times a day until it feels like it is back to normal.

Tomorrow is my hill interval training and Coach reminded me that downhill is far harder on your knees than uphill. I learned this many years ago along with going down a staircase puts more pressure on your knees than going up. I’ll take it careful and if my knee feels bad then I’ll just change things up because the mantra is listen to your body which I do every time.

Finally, if I have bad arthritis in my knee is running really good for me? According to my physio therapist it absolutely is. Keeping that joint moving is what will stave off that knee replacement for as long a possible (ok, the weight loss probably also helps). Having gone through rehab after each of my 4 surgeries I would rather deal with the pain and stiffness than do that again. As long as this knee holds up I will just keep moving one step at a time.