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Like so many medical conditions, we tend to not take much interest in them until they happen to us. I hadn’t thought about arthritis until in 2015 I went to see a specialist about my very painful feet. When he showed me my X-rays, the results were a real shock.
I had always been pretty active but probably not worn the most appropriate footwear when I started teaching aerobics in the late ‘70s. Plus, I had worn high heels constantly since my teenage years because, at barely 5’ 2”, I needed those extra three-inch heels! Now it was all catching up with me – with bells on!
Over the following few years, my arthritis became more and more painful and the high heels had to go, with cushioned trainers becoming my everyday mode of footwear. Thankfully, they came into high fashion – particularly after the pandemic!
Osteoarthritis can occur at any age, even in children, but it is most likely to raise its ugly head as we age, with it most often developing in folks in their mid-40s or older, and it can occur in our knees, hips, hands and spine as well as in our feet and ankles.
There is not a cure for osteoarthritis but we can take painkillers which help, and in severe cases, we can have very painful joints fused which can dramatically reduce pain but it will, of course, inevitably reduce the flexibility of that joint.
When we launched our website in 2021, I was keen to bring in experts in various fields who could help us to grow older healthily and understand how we could manage some of the inevitable consequences of ageing. So, we filmed videos on the painful condition of Arthritis with a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr Maneesh Bhatia and neuro-physiotherapist JD Hylton, to learn how best to avoid and manage this condition if we fall victim to it.
The one message that comes across loud and clear from our experts is to keep our weight down and to keep moving! We must learn not to be put off from activity because our feet hurt. Of course, it hurts when I first step out of bed in the morning. My feet hurt at various times of the day – especially when I have been sitting for a while – but the only solution to keeping on top of it is to get moving again otherwise my joints will become even stiffer. But there is a balance.
Personally, I could not go on a five-mile hike because I would be in agony, however, I can do 10,000 steps in a day without any issue (which amounts to five miles) except it has been achieved in smaller distances over a period of 24 hours. I recognise what I can and what I can’t do.
At weekends Mike and I often sit and ‘binge-watch’ a series on TV but after every episode I need to move about and get my joints moving. If I don't, I suffer more pain.
So, what about pain relief? My GP prescribes me two x 500mg paracetamol four times a day, every day. It works wonders but I have learned that I must take it regularly and consistently for it to truly work. It needs to get into my system and then it is remarkably effective for a condition like arthritis. I also take supplements including green-lipped mussel, turmeric and rosehip to help me cope and mostly, I carry on a pretty normal life.
There are times, though, when despite regularly taking my paracetamol, my feet are really painful so I thought I would take just one 200mg Ibuprofen just to help, but when I mentioned it to my GP he said that I definitely should not take Ibuprofen at all and said ‘for someone of your years it could put you at risk of stroke, heart attack and blood clots’! Well, that was a shock but I must stress that this was personal advice for me from my doctor and you should consult your own GP if you have any concerns about this.
I had already heard that Ibuprofen could give you ulcers and other nasties and how important it was to take it with food as a protection to the stomach, but I hadn’t realised it carried so many other potential risks for some people.
This left me with a bit of a conundrum. What action could I take to minimise my pain? Then I remembered Mary’s revelation a few months ago that we don’t have to do 10,000 steps a day to see health benefits. In fact, we can see equivalent benefits from just 7,000 steps or 49,000 steps a week. Now I balance my activity from day to day, so on Mondays when I teach my classes (when I used to go well over 10,000 steps), I cut back on the distance of my early morning walk and I don’t go shopping! Thankfully, no longer are my feet ‘killing me’ on Tuesdays!
In addition, when I want to cut down the distance of my walk, I make sure that I choose a more challenging route that includes at least one uphill section so I still benefit from a good workout.
As we age there will be things that happen to us that we don’t like very much… memory loss, hearing loss, lack of flexibility and maybe a painful back. But we shouldn’t give in. Let’s try to find the best solution possible to enable us to live as independent a life as we can, for as long as we can.
Learn more about Arthritis, and Rosemary's experiences with the condition in the Health Section of our website.
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With Rosemary and Mary talking about the health benefits of stair climbing in recent weeks, did you know that since the refurbishment and restoration of the famous clock at the Palace of Westminster you can now climb the 334 stairs to stand next to the enormous Big Ben bell as it strikes the hour? (Ear plugs are provided!)
