My strange arthritic 'flare-ups'

Archery is good for upper body exercise

Hi Jingles - your bike rides sound wonderful. I loved cycling along the fife coast -miss the sea. Now i enjoy the valleys. Wonder how long i can keep on cycling-my father rode into his 90s !

My gym has seated exercise machines that can be used by wheelchair users [the seats come away and the wheelchair is put in it's place]. So those machines must exercise the top part of the body. When I look at what exercises I've done in a session it breaks it down into which parts of the body have been exercised the most.

My exercises were in a physio pool - not deep and only four people in it, all doing their own thing. No armbands, but some foam light-sabres about 4ft long that you sort of tucked under your arms, or floating square foam pads to hold onto, or you held the side rail. They were very careful of us.

You could wear arm bands, but you'd be limited as to what exercises you could do.

Shudder!!!

I went to aqua aerobics a couple of times with DD. I must admit that I wouldn't have felt safe if I'd been a non-swimmer, you can easily get swept off your feet just by the movement of the water when there's a class of you doing the exercises!

When I had physio for my disc I was sent for water exercises. The water was lovely and warm, just like bathwater (but still very wet) It was much easier with your weight supported, and there were some exercises which used the resistance of the water as a bonus.

I would still want my armbands

Even if you can't swim, you should be able to do aqua aerobics. This will exercise upper as well as lower body muscles.

'Water walking'. Should be in the Religion forum.

I would feel so daft.

And the water would still be cold. And wet.

sorry the links don't work but if you put water walking excercises into utube there are loads .

You ladies that can't swim did you know that walking in the pool is also very gentle on your 'hurty' bits but good for you.. we have several people who come to our pool who water walk up and down

There are lots of videos on utube.. like this one..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgxniVfKT4I

These days it's mostly shopping trips amarmai. We used to do local bike rides in the Oxfordshire countryside, and take our bikes on holiday to the New Forest, and disused railway line trails in the Peak District. Older and lazier now.

I think it's really hard to strengthen the upper body. You can find specific exercises on the net, but I never stick with it for long enough.

Sounds like we have a similar mindset , Jingles ! I can go farther and easier on my bike- but have decided to make myself walk for overall strength , when i'm not getting a load of groceries or library books. Do have favourite places to go on your bike?

I too seem to have Arthritic flares. Sometimes when I waken in the morning I can't move with severe pain all over my body my skeleton seems to have locked. I have to move very slowly but once I'm 'up and running' ha! ha! chance would be a fine thing! the pain eases. Over the years I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis and have been prescribed painkillers for during the day when required.

I have also been prescribes Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate/Plaquenil for Rheumatoid Arthritis but I'm reluctant to take this as it can effect the immune system. I have several Autoimmune conditions and I have a low white cell count and my Neutrophil level is below the normal range. But the Rheumatologist and my GP think I should be ok taking this.

I no longer have my dear late husband, we cared for each other. I now only have my constant companion my Border Terrier and she needs me to care for her.

Do any other Grans take this medication?

Advancing years don't seem to come alone! but I'm doing my best and trying to be bright eyed and bushy tailed.

amarmai, you are my cycling twin. I do that thing with letting the ouchy knee have a rest.

On the whole though I find cycling less hard on the knees than walking.

I too wish I could swim.

Galen, my drug costs about £1200 a year. It's changed my life and I'm so thankful for the NHS, without which, I'd be in a pickle (no offence to MrsPickle intended)

yes there have been times when 1 of my knees wasn't too happy-so i'd push hard down on the pedal with the other leg and let the sore knee have a rest !

Thank you Galen
I wonder if that is what I had with DD1, I had pain and had to wear one of those supportive girdles with bands.

I thought biking would be hard on the knees?

After a lifetime of cycling, i have found that my upper body strength is far less than my lower body. So i am now trying walking, as it uses all of my muscles. Swimming does all that and the water supports the body weight better than a bike. Wish i could swim!

I thought cycling was good for you because your body is supported. Second best only to swimming.

In the lecture on rheumatuod arthritis we were told about these marvellous new drugs which seem to give miraculous results. But as they cost £75000 per patient per year?------

Rosequartz
Ligaments do stretch in pregnancy and if you have hyper mobility it is even worse.
Both my darling daughter and myself suffered from pubic symphysis separation during pregnancy, making walking practically impossible.
It's an exaggeration of a normal response that nature designs to facilitate childbirth.
It normally reverts to normal after the birth.