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Health

Wearing out of joints

(46 Posts)
soontobe Mon 03-Aug-15 08:56:31

As a society, do we give enough thought to this?

There is a article today that says a woman has to have major surgery on her jaw, because she chewed gum for 7 hours a day, and has worn out her joints in her jaw.

I see many older people around me having knee and hip replacements.

Now that we are living older, should we give more thought to not wearing out our joints so fast?
We are encouraged to exercise, but can too much of it be bad for us?

My husband has worked long hours in a manual job, and was told by his doctor that his joints are wearing out too fast.

It just strikes me that we dont consider this health aspect much, and perhaps we should.

Indinana Tue 29-Sept-15 09:02:27

Reported.

randyparker Tue 29-Sept-15 08:03:32

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

TriciaF Wed 12-Aug-15 11:35:48

Sorry ThelmaJean I can't help on that one. Probably your friend has been out of action for so long that her muscles (which support the joints) have become very weak. She maybe needs prolongued physio.
My doctor once said to me when I was complaing of osteoarthritis all over " everyone gets it after 70."
Being overweight adds to the problem.
I once read of a new treatment where artificial cartilage was fed into the damaged joint. It's wornout cartilage which causes the damage to the joints.

ThelmaJean Tue 11-Aug-15 16:05:28

I'm asking for a friend who is beside herself with worry. She had a hip replavement which failed after a year and consequently had hip revision surgery. Since then she has had multiple prosthetic hip dislocations with each one requiring the emergency services to our nesrest A&E wherr it is pulled back into place. She wasnt doing anything when it happened. Once was in a specially raised chair turning the pages of a newspaper. She has had 8 dislocations now in 6/8 months. Help?

Anya Tue 04-Aug-15 08:31:18

So they use arm not leg muscles Gaga OK.

Gagagran Tue 04-Aug-15 08:29:04

Anya the answer to your question, speaking as a non-squatter- is that they always choose chairs with arms and lever themselves up. In instances where no such "aids" are available, a discreet push up on the edge of the seat helps. Low sofas etc are to be avoided at all costs! grin

Anya Tue 04-Aug-15 08:28:32

Not just sport but also walking badly. I'm forever noticing the number of people who walk with one, or sometimes two, feet pointing outwards. This will, over time, put pressure on hip and knee joints as leg joints twist against each other.

thatbags Tue 04-Aug-15 07:52:27

anno, 'normally', as you say. But there are over two hundred different kinds of arthritis. I don't think it's rheumatoid arthritis that I've had since my late teens.

absent Tue 04-Aug-15 00:24:21

It would seem that exercise, like almost anything in life, is best when done in moderation. Jogging frequently on hard surfaces is bound to do horrible things to ankles and/or knees and/or hips. Keen golfers develop problems with one shoulder because of the repetitive action. Go to any orthopaedic ward and count how many beds are occupied by middle-aged men having knee surgery as a result of sports damage.

Anya Mon 03-Aug-15 23:46:39

How do people get into and up from chairs if they can't squat confused

Katek Mon 03-Aug-15 22:24:48

I do lots of resistance work sitting on a gym ball which strengthens my core (theoretically....I'm not even sure I've found my core yet). I'm shoulder pressing/bicep curling 4kg and doing other work with resistance bands. The aim is to stay as strong as possible. Aerobically I'm pretty poor because of the asthma but can manage some short exercises. I'm the go to person for opening jam jars though!

merlotgran Mon 03-Aug-15 21:40:56

I haven't been able to squat for years but thank goodness my hips are OK so I can bend over really easily.

annodomini Mon 03-Aug-15 21:26:39

bags, osteo arthritis is normally age-related. Rheumatoid conditions can be found at all ages.

vampirequeen Mon 03-Aug-15 20:52:47

Try toning tables. I know they get a bad press sometimes but I use them and after a session I know I've exercised. Admittedly you don't get your heart and lungs pumping but you definitely know you've exercised muscles. The good thing is that you put in as much or as little effort as your body can do. I work hard because I want to work the muscles and I'm capable of doing so. Other ladies let the machine do most of the work because they can't exercise but want to keep a better range of movement than they'd have if they did nothing.

Isn't swimming supposed to be the most joint friendly exercise?

jinglbellsfrocks Mon 03-Aug-15 20:25:13

I can't do them. Can't stand the crunching noise.

Ana Mon 03-Aug-15 20:23:33

Squats are very hard to do if you've got dodgy knees...hmm

jinglbellsfrocks Mon 03-Aug-15 20:22:32

With my luck the bag of sugar would burst. hmm

jinglbellsfrocks Mon 03-Aug-15 20:21:31

I know what gluteus maximus is. smile #bottom

thatbags Mon 03-Aug-15 19:52:39

Arthritis isn't only because of age. There are strains of it that young people, even children, suffer from.

Anya Mon 03-Aug-15 16:48:51

Merlot ditch the bag of sugar and do squats instead. They exercise all the muscles in the legs plus your gluteus maximus.

Anya Mon 03-Aug-15 16:44:29

Goog genes.

soontobe Mon 03-Aug-15 16:25:20

Does she do anything different like rub in oils, or eat loads of something or other that she swears by?

Tegan Mon 03-Aug-15 16:19:48

'MIL is 102 and has no arthritis at all - but then she's in league with the devil' grin. If only the NHS could bottle what it is she has, it would save the country a fortune.

merlotgran Mon 03-Aug-15 14:49:47

I find the exercises as boring as hell, jingl I've been instructed to sit upright on the bed with legs outstretched, strap a bag of sugar to my ankle and lift the leg up and down twenty times- then do the other leg. It's not difficult and I'm sure it's doing some good but I just CBA. hmm

tanith Mon 03-Aug-15 13:46:51

To keep excercising withe O/A you need to do more non-weight bearing excercising, such as cycling and swimming this minimises further joint damage but excercises muscles and tendons.
Also walking is much better than jogging or running if you already have damage. Don't stop, just pick less damaging ways to excercise.