Dealing With What Ails Us

[beaglebuddy]

Techno900 you say the xray shows little if any cartilage in the hip joints, this indicates osteoarthritis (degeneration of the hip joint) and there is no cure for this, it cannot regrow or heal so using ice will not harm anything. You need to find out what degree exactly of degeneration you have, they rate it 0-4 https://radiopaedia.org/articles/osteoarthritis-of-the-hip-grading-1
If it is as bad as you say total hip replacement should be considered immediately but you don't seem in such terrific pain so perhaps it's not all that bad. I don't know your age but they don't like to give new hips to people under 60 especially if you are very active because it will wear out and need a revision which ruins the Doctors success rates.
You can certainly windsurf and do most activities with new hips just not high impact. The recovery from the surgery is very rapid.
Now about my right hip, I'm 53, about 4 years ago it became impossible to sleep on my right side, at first they said hip bursitis then a Dr. injected my hip with cortisone and I was nearly crippled for 6 months. MRI here on Kauai showed nothing really. Finally they sent me to Oahu to a special MRI clinic with new machines and the results showed grade 1 osteoarthritis which is considered normal for my age but more importantly a torn hip labrum. After consulting with several Doctors I was finally diagnosed with FAI which is an especially thick and misshapen femur at the ball and socket which eventually caused the labrum tear. Unfortunately surgery to repair this is complicated with a long recovery and has poor results for someone my age so... I have learned to live with it. I take Meloxicam and walk the beagles twice a day about 1 mile each time. I have found walking the same distance every day I'm mostly ok but if I walk a much longer distance I will have a lot of pain. SO steady consistent exercise is key, don't overdo it. Build up to it. Bicycle riding is very good. Find a routine and stick to it. If you take NSAIDS get regular blood panels to make sure your liver and kidneys are not being harmed. I like Meloxicam, I tolerate it very well. Once I tried to get off it and I was in a lot of pain. If I do a long hike I have some Oxycodone which removes all pain but of course is very addictive and I cannot sleep if I take it in the evening so I seldom use it.

[techno900]

Thanks for the input guys. Not surprisingly, guys our age (I'm 71) routinely deal with some sort of ailment/discomfort just because our bodies are wearing out.

I received the MRI report and as before, the Dr. said arthritis. I recall when I visited him a couple of weeks ago, he said I was a level 8 out of 10 when it comes to lack of cartridge in the hip.

Since I have always been somewhat skeptical of chiropractors, I have never visited one. I am sure that some provide a viable service and benefit many, I just haven't crossed that bridge. Basically because I have never been out of service because of a structural issue. One exception is a frozen shoulder that resulted from a rotator cuff injury, but it was fixed through physical therapy, regaining a full range of motion. I don't take any prescriptions except when something surfaces that requires intervention, and that is a rare occurrence.

Back to my original issue - NSAIDS or Tylenol (as long as the pain can be treated with these)? If I have moderate pain in the hip, is inflammation the cause or is the cartilage just getting chewed up with bone on bone friction causing the pain? Let the inflammation (If it's there) do its job or reduce it with NSAIDS? The consensus says that inflammation is bad, but that may depend on where it is and why it's there.

I know that seeking answers from any group including windsurfers, Dr's Chiropractors or Physical Therapist may lead to conflicting recommendations, but it's somewhat comforting to me to learn more, and at least explore the options.

[wynsurfer]

I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease 25 years ago, otherwise known as osteo arthritis in my neck and spine. I was told that there was no cure and there was nothing I could do and that it will progressively get worse. Yet here I am 25 years later with a great deal of improvement in my neck and spine!

Cartilage can re grow, the body can heal itself!

Several years ago I came across this book by Dr Stephen Sinatra and it has helped me a great deal. I still have some discomfort at times but have not needed to take anything for pain an several years.

http://www.drsinatra.com/dr-sinatra-book-arthritis-interrupted/

[nw30]

[beaglebuddy]

There seems to be some confusion here about the types of arthritis, there are two basic types, degenerative and inflammatory. http://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/understanding-arthritis/what-is-arthritis.php
Osteoarthritis is where the joint degenerates and the cartilage disappears.
Inflammatory arthritis is Rheumatoid arthritis like where old people's hands and fingers become twisted.
Techno900 it seems you have osteoarthritis. You can control the pain with medicine, ice and heat. Strength the muscles around the joint for added support and modify your activities but nothing will regrow the cartilage.
It WILL degenerate further and you will either learn to live with the pain and become less active or get new hips. I don't believe there is much a Chiropractor can do for you.

[techno900]

Beaglebuddy

Yes, osteoarthritis. The Dr. said that he was very surprised that I could do what I do given the amount of deterioration. I have always kept my legs strong through lots of different things, so maybe I am lucky so far. It's just that I don't know what's ahead, plus the awareness/sensitivity that something is wrong in my hip is increasing rapidly.

Bummer!

[coachg]

Techno,
You are on the correct path of exploring all options. I'm with U2 on the studies issue. I too am not a big fan of drugs because every drug has a side effect & there is no telling how your body will react to that side effect no matter how many "studies" are performed. Yes, there is a time and place when you will have to take a drug, but for me less is always better.

My aunt is 87 and hurt her back pretty bad. She was in a walker so they sent her to a physical therapist first and then a chiropractor with no results. We then tried talking her into acupuncture which was no easy task because she hates needles. With great reluctance she went, found it wasn't that bad and is now fully recovered. Acupuncture won't cure your cartridge degeneration, but it may alleviate your pain without drugs.

Coachg

[fxop]

My approach to dealing with the -itis problem is to try to avoid overuse.

When we were young to get an overuse injury you had to overuse the body part for a period of time. Now you can get an overuse injury in 5 mins that may lead to some kind of -itis.

So, in a nutshell, I'm a big baby. I never try to power through an injury. If there is even a twinge I stop doing what I was doing, maybe for weeks.

If an -itis sets in I hit it with everything -- NSAIDS, massage, abstention, acupuncture, ice, heat, and if that doesn't work, a Medrol dose pack, basically a 1 week tapered course of Prednisone. I try and limit the Medrol to a couple times a year.

Last year I let a low level backache go untreated and pretty soon ended up with sacroilliitis, which then interfered with everything. It's 90% better now, but it's always out there, waiting . . . In that case the biggest improvement coincided with acupuncture. Prednisone didn't touch it.

I try not to wavesail two days in a row here in Norcal. Too hard on the knees. In general I try not to do the same activity two days in a row, except biking. On Maui trips that rule gets violated and I usually come back with some kind of problem. I quit tennis to save my hip -- voila, my neck, back, wrist, knees and feet all got better.

Want to get more swimming in for cardio and so far have spent two months just trying to build up to a platform where I can actually swim laps. 1000 yards 3x per week. The 10 year old age groupers blow by me. But what's the hurry, and some days I can almost swim again.

Been lucky so far and trying to keep it that way.

fxop

[windoggi]

Pain is just God's way of hurting us.

[GURGLETROUSERS]

There are different issues, but for those who do not have a degenerative medical problem, fsop's approach of 'trying to avoid overuse' is a sound one. But what IS overuse?

To me, overuse is NOT to be continually doing windsurfing, but to be continually putting too much effort into it. i.e. always going at it flat out. It shouldn't be necessary to stop for longish periods of time, but just to regulate your effort with sensible chunks of time in the comfort zone at something like 5, 6, or 7 tenths effort with shorter bursts full on, but quickly backing off if entering into strain or pain twinge territory.

I've found this approach works in dealing with a long standing chronic lower back issue (seat harness not waist) which at times need very careful handling. Gentle starts, gradually 'working it in' and freeing it up. I find this preferable to resting it and avoiding the activity because re-starting can actually exacerbate the strain being put on it.

But in Techno's case, there is an issue which is harder to regulate, and neither use nor rest is likely to alter things. But I wonder if the condition is being aggravated by using big sails on fast formula and slalom boards, which do put a big strain on the body. Wouldn't settling for smaller freeride gear perhaps relieve some of the overwork strain?