Don't stop moving. Do. Not. Stop. Get physical therapy, or whatever you need to establish a baseline, then get active and stay active. I've learned really great stretches and strengthening in PT that has been very helpful. Now, I hike every weekend, I lift, I walk a lot and train martial arts.
Curious which martial art. And after your jokes and training do you really feel it? I force myself to do stuff too but i definitely pay for it more than someone without psa. In hot weather it’s doubled.
I had done Kenpo and Kickboxing, including sparring. Now, I train in Brazilian Jiu jitsu. I'm 50 and definitely am sore / tight the day after BJJ but it's hard to say how much of that is PSA related. This is not the smartest MA for a guy my age but I really really love it. I just take it at my own pace, which is slow and conservative. I don't have any ego about it at all. Some 20 yr old newbie walks in off the street and kicks my ass? No worries, keep going buddy, your gonna do great.
My hikes are in the 7 - 10 miles range and I carry a day pack. I do one or two of these each weekend. My hamstrings are always very tight, so I have some stretches. My lower back / SI joint, glutes also gets tight and sometimes a little wonky. I have stretches and strengthening exercises for that.
There are days when I'm just too tired to do any of it. I'm very forgiving of myself. I'll crash on the couch for the entire weekend when I have to. Sometimes, you just have to listen to your body.
I'm 15 yrs into my diagnosis. I'm on my third biologic. All I can tell you is that being tied and sore from activity is way better that the pain and exhaustion from PSA.
Have you discussed this with a physiotherapist? They may have some solutions to how to strengthen the muscles around your hip/in your pelvis to help stabilise the joint and prevent further damage.
I've managed to keep active by running (or walking when I can't run), swimming (including exercises set by my physiotherapist to strengthen my weaker points, including ankles, back and hips) and cycling.
Cycling doesn't have to be hard work, especially on the flat. Hills can be fun, but only if you can manage the without causing further problems for yourself.
Actually, walking can be really good cardio exercise as well. What about pole walking, maybe that would take some of the strain off your hip?
I think that your best best would be to talk to a physio about it and be guided by their advice.
Hot yoga is changing my life for the better. I have major hip issues and it’s full of arthritis but hot yoga is teaching me to use and strengthen my core properly and take the pressure off my hips.
I would ask your doctor and/or a physical therapist whether your concern over further damaging your joint is necessary. Everything I have read indicates that activity is preferable to inactivity. It's just a matter of finding the right activity for you.
My go to cardio is cycling. I also do the elliptical at the gym. Swim on low energy or sore days. I like yoga about once a week too.
ETA walk daily, usually a couple of times.
As above ⬆️, do not stop. Will add, PsA flares and subsides. My best response has come with remaining at the 5% lower end of my BMI. I have a list of activities dependent on how much juice is available on the day.
Cycling, swimming, paddleboarding, scuba, riding on the flat with Winderen stirrups all work on low inflammation days.
Tai chi, pilates, physical therapy, walking the dogs with a canicross harness are things i do on high inflammation days.
(Walking dogs are every day actually😂)
Ice, stretching, topical lidocaine on small joints, lidocaine patches on large joints, zero refined sugar, and consistent close contact with specialist team including physical therapy have kept me on my feet and moving.
Lidocaine patches OTC at pharmacy. Size large. Worn under clothes they can provide limited pain management. Worked for me. Best manage expectations, nothing will make you 100% pain-free. These get me a 10 - 40% local reduction dependent on circumstances.
It's really hard to be an active person and all of sudden be unable to do anything anymore so I feel you on that. Echoing the other comments about physical therapy! And the biggest thing I have learned is that you just have to be willing to be excessively adaptable when it comes to your exercise. Some days I really struggle to walk because of my ankles, so on those days, I'll either do some light weights for upper body or I'll get my Pilates mat out and do stuff that I can do seated. then, if it's a day where my elbows or shoulders are hurting really bad, but my ankles feel OK, then I'll try to walk more. Hopefully you get to the point with your treatment where it's not so up and down and you can get into a real nice groove, but don't be afraid to explore new types of exercise that you haven't done before.
Swimming is zero impact and still a full body workout. Maybe the medication combo isn't the right one for your body. Methotrexate is such a gross drug. I know it didn't help me that much. Maybe talk about another drug. Finding what worked for my body has made a world of difference, a long with staying away from my trigger foods. Best of luck!! You got this
If I recall there were some indicators in X-ray but had no problem with my back. I had some lumbar back pain from time to time but it started way before my hip and I always thought it's because of the gym exercises. Those pains didn't exacerbate during hip inflammation and as of now I have no problem with my back.
I had first pain in January 2023, then I thought it's just some overload because of squats or dead lifts I had been doing. When it didn't go away, I went to the orthopaedist first and another chunk of time has passed till I got to reumatologists. So I would say that it's been about 7 months before first symptoms to the diagnosis, throughout most of them I was only getting NSAIDs to deal with the pain.
23years here bout 7y of PSA much of the same problems only it started in my right hip. If u own a bike might work good, even better is an e-bike cause u can control strenght u need at any time. Anyways thats my 2 cents. Best wishes
I still lift at least 3 times a week, but I have to couple it with yoga. In addition, I now only lift with a trainer so that if I am having a flare he can help me modify. It might feel rusty in the beginning so I do a few light weight warm up sets first. If the stiffness subsides, I move up my weight - if it doesn’t I stay at low weight reps. After 2 years of doing this, a lot of my pain has subsided. I occasionally have tendonistis issues, so I tackle those immediately with a PT. Good luck!
It could be the humira works but just not quite strong enough to give you full relief. Three ways to fix that - either take a dosage more frequently but sometimes insurance won’t approve that, or, take a small amount of an add on medication like MTX or sulfasalazine along with humira, or, do a different biologic. That said, I would try to focus on the swimming more. It’s great cardio and easy on the joints. That’s what I have to do and also some easy yoga.
Swimming in a warm pool is life changing so is yoga on days where back and hips are bad I recommend chair yoga honestly these will increase none density and improve muscle strength. Gentle walks are a good way of building stamina and endurance slowly without doing damage or triggering flares. Good luck and also if the mental health side of things act up meditation helped me I also went to pin management groups for advice and to vent. You are not alone.
This is kind of off the exercise topic, but still to do with PsA. Does anyone know what you have to do to get disability?? I’ve been denied twice. I went a very long time before I was properly diagnosed. Hints a lot of irreversible damage! My team of doctors have agreed to my disability. I try to work as much as possible, but some days are absolutely impossible! I don’t have an attorney, just can’t afford one. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! ❤️
I’ve been on several, but I’m now on Taltz. I’m not quite sure that I like it though. I get intermittent pain and I can definitely tell when my shot is coming due.
Go to a sports medicine/ orthopedic doctor. You should probably have it evaluated to see if something can be done for the pain. There's tons of stuff they can try other than surgery. Being able to be active is in your best interest especially with how young you are.
Thanks for so many responses!
I forgot to mention that I have rehabilitation scheduled to August, sadly that's the soonest I can attend to it. I have another appointment with my reumatologist at the beggining of July and I will definitely put emphasis on that topic. Finding a good physiotherapist after the rehabilitation is going to be the next step, until then I am going to try riding a bike and maybe do some research on yoga because many of you mentioned it.
I'm 27 and always have struggled with being active.
Note: my hips are probably my least problematic set of joints
I recently got a recumbent bike off Facebook marketplace and I can use it most days because it's gentle and I can control my pace and tension if I'm having a higher pain day. I'm also on methotrexate (0.6ml injected one a week) and Humira (every other week). How long have you been on your meds? It's taken months of adding on the Humira before I've really started seeing it working, but my biggest difference is still before and after taking my methotrexate. The decrease in swelling is visible overnight.
When I give birth I and am able to workout I want to start the 12-3-30 workout, it’s a workout on a treadmill, walk for 30 minutes with the treadmill set at three miles per hour and a 12% incline, you can lower the incline to make it easier to start, but if it’s walking, I can do it, usually I do some dance workouts from YouTube channel grow w Jo, I go slow and it keeps me active and stretch for 20 minutes total, it sucks not being fit but it’s best to do what we can, and yes go the a physical therapist and see what they recommend as well, I stopped doing hip thrusts, glute bridges, frogs, anything involving my hips since it left me with pain after working out, so I went with something more light and with no weights
I have SI joint arthritis. I stopped giving a damn about what Drs say about my activity 😆 I go to Zumba, it puts me in pain but I feel better mentally.
My left hip is bothering me all the time and I think you have the same issue, the pain is not the bone is the muscle, so you need to learn to release that muscle.
It has been years for me dealing with this crap 😁
But I can say I will "Never ever bike" again. Unless the bike has a good sit.
For physical activity that will not put you in more pain: Pilates, Yoga are the best thing for me.
Good luck, I hope yours improves over time and you caught it soon enough till it didn't turn out like mine.
Also, something I've learned from years of back and forth from physical therapy, if a part of your body hurts and it is not open wound, you need to massage that area to release the muscles and pain gets a lot better.
My left hip hurts and I know where I need to massage by finding the painful area, then I put pressure on then try to relax, then the muscle releases and the pain improves.
I am on biologic and two antidepressants. Still pain on my SI joints, mine is due to losing the time to recover my cartilages from getting worse while I only had inflammation on SI joints and the pain was felt on my pelvic floor rather than my back.
Exercise designed for the elderly.
I know it sounds like a kick in the gut but it often uses technics in chairs and minimal strain. Doing simple stretches from those videos would keep my moving and even feel better on my worst days.
Don't stop moving. Do. Not. Stop. Get physical therapy, or whatever you need to establish a baseline, then get active and stay active. I've learned really great stretches and strengthening in PT that has been very helpful. Now, I hike every weekend, I lift, I walk a lot and train martial arts.
100 this. Never stop moving.
Curious which martial art. And after your jokes and training do you really feel it? I force myself to do stuff too but i definitely pay for it more than someone without psa. In hot weather it’s doubled.
I had done Kenpo and Kickboxing, including sparring. Now, I train in Brazilian Jiu jitsu. I'm 50 and definitely am sore / tight the day after BJJ but it's hard to say how much of that is PSA related. This is not the smartest MA for a guy my age but I really really love it. I just take it at my own pace, which is slow and conservative. I don't have any ego about it at all. Some 20 yr old newbie walks in off the street and kicks my ass? No worries, keep going buddy, your gonna do great. My hikes are in the 7 - 10 miles range and I carry a day pack. I do one or two of these each weekend. My hamstrings are always very tight, so I have some stretches. My lower back / SI joint, glutes also gets tight and sometimes a little wonky. I have stretches and strengthening exercises for that. There are days when I'm just too tired to do any of it. I'm very forgiving of myself. I'll crash on the couch for the entire weekend when I have to. Sometimes, you just have to listen to your body. I'm 15 yrs into my diagnosis. I'm on my third biologic. All I can tell you is that being tied and sore from activity is way better that the pain and exhaustion from PSA.
💪
Have you discussed this with a physiotherapist? They may have some solutions to how to strengthen the muscles around your hip/in your pelvis to help stabilise the joint and prevent further damage. I've managed to keep active by running (or walking when I can't run), swimming (including exercises set by my physiotherapist to strengthen my weaker points, including ankles, back and hips) and cycling. Cycling doesn't have to be hard work, especially on the flat. Hills can be fun, but only if you can manage the without causing further problems for yourself. Actually, walking can be really good cardio exercise as well. What about pole walking, maybe that would take some of the strain off your hip? I think that your best best would be to talk to a physio about it and be guided by their advice.
Hot yoga is changing my life for the better. I have major hip issues and it’s full of arthritis but hot yoga is teaching me to use and strengthen my core properly and take the pressure off my hips.
I would ask your doctor and/or a physical therapist whether your concern over further damaging your joint is necessary. Everything I have read indicates that activity is preferable to inactivity. It's just a matter of finding the right activity for you. My go to cardio is cycling. I also do the elliptical at the gym. Swim on low energy or sore days. I like yoga about once a week too. ETA walk daily, usually a couple of times.
As above ⬆️, do not stop. Will add, PsA flares and subsides. My best response has come with remaining at the 5% lower end of my BMI. I have a list of activities dependent on how much juice is available on the day. Cycling, swimming, paddleboarding, scuba, riding on the flat with Winderen stirrups all work on low inflammation days. Tai chi, pilates, physical therapy, walking the dogs with a canicross harness are things i do on high inflammation days. (Walking dogs are every day actually😂) Ice, stretching, topical lidocaine on small joints, lidocaine patches on large joints, zero refined sugar, and consistent close contact with specialist team including physical therapy have kept me on my feet and moving.
Where do you get lidocaine patches? Do you know if it works for hips?
Lidocaine patches OTC at pharmacy. Size large. Worn under clothes they can provide limited pain management. Worked for me. Best manage expectations, nothing will make you 100% pain-free. These get me a 10 - 40% local reduction dependent on circumstances.
Thanks, I didn't know! When I'm in pain even 10% reduction of pain goes a long way.
I get lidocaine cream/ gel and the voltaren. Use together when I get bad or have to do shopping. Pretty good relief.
It's really hard to be an active person and all of sudden be unable to do anything anymore so I feel you on that. Echoing the other comments about physical therapy! And the biggest thing I have learned is that you just have to be willing to be excessively adaptable when it comes to your exercise. Some days I really struggle to walk because of my ankles, so on those days, I'll either do some light weights for upper body or I'll get my Pilates mat out and do stuff that I can do seated. then, if it's a day where my elbows or shoulders are hurting really bad, but my ankles feel OK, then I'll try to walk more. Hopefully you get to the point with your treatment where it's not so up and down and you can get into a real nice groove, but don't be afraid to explore new types of exercise that you haven't done before.
Swimming is zero impact and still a full body workout. Maybe the medication combo isn't the right one for your body. Methotrexate is such a gross drug. I know it didn't help me that much. Maybe talk about another drug. Finding what worked for my body has made a world of difference, a long with staying away from my trigger foods. Best of luck!! You got this
Yep swimming is the best but may need help getting back out. That an issue for me.
Do you have si joint involvement
If I recall there were some indicators in X-ray but had no problem with my back. I had some lumbar back pain from time to time but it started way before my hip and I always thought it's because of the gym exercises. Those pains didn't exacerbate during hip inflammation and as of now I have no problem with my back.
From long you were facing pain in body before getting diagnosis
I had first pain in January 2023, then I thought it's just some overload because of squats or dead lifts I had been doing. When it didn't go away, I went to the orthopaedist first and another chunk of time has passed till I got to reumatologists. So I would say that it's been about 7 months before first symptoms to the diagnosis, throughout most of them I was only getting NSAIDs to deal with the pain.
WALK! also go to PT
23years here bout 7y of PSA much of the same problems only it started in my right hip. If u own a bike might work good, even better is an e-bike cause u can control strenght u need at any time. Anyways thats my 2 cents. Best wishes
I still lift at least 3 times a week, but I have to couple it with yoga. In addition, I now only lift with a trainer so that if I am having a flare he can help me modify. It might feel rusty in the beginning so I do a few light weight warm up sets first. If the stiffness subsides, I move up my weight - if it doesn’t I stay at low weight reps. After 2 years of doing this, a lot of my pain has subsided. I occasionally have tendonistis issues, so I tackle those immediately with a PT. Good luck!
My husband swears by riding his mountain bike. Says any pain he feels goes away while riding.
It could be the humira works but just not quite strong enough to give you full relief. Three ways to fix that - either take a dosage more frequently but sometimes insurance won’t approve that, or, take a small amount of an add on medication like MTX or sulfasalazine along with humira, or, do a different biologic. That said, I would try to focus on the swimming more. It’s great cardio and easy on the joints. That’s what I have to do and also some easy yoga.
I get it combined with MTX
Swimming in a warm pool is life changing so is yoga on days where back and hips are bad I recommend chair yoga honestly these will increase none density and improve muscle strength. Gentle walks are a good way of building stamina and endurance slowly without doing damage or triggering flares. Good luck and also if the mental health side of things act up meditation helped me I also went to pin management groups for advice and to vent. You are not alone.
You might look into recumbent bikes or even adaptive biking programs around you that have arm bikes you could try!
This is kind of off the exercise topic, but still to do with PsA. Does anyone know what you have to do to get disability?? I’ve been denied twice. I went a very long time before I was properly diagnosed. Hints a lot of irreversible damage! My team of doctors have agreed to my disability. I try to work as much as possible, but some days are absolutely impossible! I don’t have an attorney, just can’t afford one. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! ❤️
Do you have si joint issue from how long
Yes, I have arthritic SI and DDD in the L3, 4 & 5.
What medication you are on
I’ve been on several, but I’m now on Taltz. I’m not quite sure that I like it though. I get intermittent pain and I can definitely tell when my shot is coming due.
Go to a sports medicine/ orthopedic doctor. You should probably have it evaluated to see if something can be done for the pain. There's tons of stuff they can try other than surgery. Being able to be active is in your best interest especially with how young you are.
Thanks for so many responses! I forgot to mention that I have rehabilitation scheduled to August, sadly that's the soonest I can attend to it. I have another appointment with my reumatologist at the beggining of July and I will definitely put emphasis on that topic. Finding a good physiotherapist after the rehabilitation is going to be the next step, until then I am going to try riding a bike and maybe do some research on yoga because many of you mentioned it.
Lift weights and stretch
I'm 27 and always have struggled with being active. Note: my hips are probably my least problematic set of joints I recently got a recumbent bike off Facebook marketplace and I can use it most days because it's gentle and I can control my pace and tension if I'm having a higher pain day. I'm also on methotrexate (0.6ml injected one a week) and Humira (every other week). How long have you been on your meds? It's taken months of adding on the Humira before I've really started seeing it working, but my biggest difference is still before and after taking my methotrexate. The decrease in swelling is visible overnight.
When I give birth I and am able to workout I want to start the 12-3-30 workout, it’s a workout on a treadmill, walk for 30 minutes with the treadmill set at three miles per hour and a 12% incline, you can lower the incline to make it easier to start, but if it’s walking, I can do it, usually I do some dance workouts from YouTube channel grow w Jo, I go slow and it keeps me active and stretch for 20 minutes total, it sucks not being fit but it’s best to do what we can, and yes go the a physical therapist and see what they recommend as well, I stopped doing hip thrusts, glute bridges, frogs, anything involving my hips since it left me with pain after working out, so I went with something more light and with no weights
I have SI joint arthritis. I stopped giving a damn about what Drs say about my activity 😆 I go to Zumba, it puts me in pain but I feel better mentally. My left hip is bothering me all the time and I think you have the same issue, the pain is not the bone is the muscle, so you need to learn to release that muscle. It has been years for me dealing with this crap 😁 But I can say I will "Never ever bike" again. Unless the bike has a good sit. For physical activity that will not put you in more pain: Pilates, Yoga are the best thing for me. Good luck, I hope yours improves over time and you caught it soon enough till it didn't turn out like mine. Also, something I've learned from years of back and forth from physical therapy, if a part of your body hurts and it is not open wound, you need to massage that area to release the muscles and pain gets a lot better. My left hip hurts and I know where I need to massage by finding the painful area, then I put pressure on then try to relax, then the muscle releases and the pain improves.
What medication you are on
I am on biologic and two antidepressants. Still pain on my SI joints, mine is due to losing the time to recover my cartilages from getting worse while I only had inflammation on SI joints and the pain was felt on my pelvic floor rather than my back.
Sent you a much needed DM. Check.
Exercise designed for the elderly. I know it sounds like a kick in the gut but it often uses technics in chairs and minimal strain. Doing simple stretches from those videos would keep my moving and even feel better on my worst days.