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Barbell Training with arthritis?

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scottienomad

Level 3 Valued Member
Whats up...

Recently I go diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis. It's a relatively rare kind that for most cases is temporary. It's my body overreacting to a bacterial infection.

Right now I'm about 3 weeks into it, I'm currently on week 2 of a 4 week course of steroid medication to dampen down my immune systems response.

I can deal with the discomfort, but the mental side of things is getting tough. All my work is done remotely from a laptop, I worked my a#@ off for the last 6-7 years to have a lifestyle of almost non stop travelling. Which now isn't really possible.. at least till I get better.

The time frame for this is very vague also, could be 2 months, 6 months, 1 year or forever.

I am mobile, I don't need crutches for getting around inside the house. But for going any distance I do need the crutches. I'd get by without them, but it would start to suck very fast haha.

The problem areas are my right foot, lower back, right shoulder, right side of my jaw and middle knuckle on my left middle finger.

They all ease up during the day, except my foot. Which has a constant swelling. I can weight bare on my whole foot no problem. But I can't put weight on the ball of my foot without discomfort.

Does anyone on here have experience with getting stronger while having arthritis?

I need something to focus on and progress with over the coming months badly. The thought of being stuck at home not doing much is driving me mad!

One of the benefits of having this is I appear to have lowered my body fat. No all bad news then haha!

I'm 26 year old male, 6 foot, haven't weighed myself in a while. I'd guess mid to high 80s kg..


Cheers!
 
Dr Fuhrman, see attached, was a competitive ice skater and won quite a few medals years ago. He became an MD specializing in diet as 1st line therapy for all non-communicable diseases, autoimmune as well as cardiovascular, cancer prevention, etc. He has had a lot of success with things similar to what you have and quite possibly same thing. His diet got me from pre-diabetic with horrible family history to blood sugars my MD is jealous of. You have to pay to play on his website but I poached the attached to hang here; he's given permission in the past to share with friends. There is loads of good info and support on his site which can be very helpful in making the necessary changes.

Having this sort of condition indicates that you have a tendency for "over reactivity" so following Fuhrman's recommendations could be very helpful for the rest of your life.
 

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@scottienomad, my sympathies for your predicament! It sounds fairly miserable. I hope it is resolved soon.

Are you cleared to do any type of exercise, as long as you are able to tolerate it pain-wise? Or are there things to avoid (because they will cause joint damage in your current condition, for instance)?

I don't have any great advice for you except that anything you do is likely to lesson your pain if it doesn't aggravate the condition. Google "Exercise-induced analgesia"...
 
Dr Fuhrman, see attached, was a competitive ice skater and won quite a few medals years ago. He became an MD specializing in diet as 1st line therapy for all non-communicable diseases, autoimmune as well as cardiovascular, cancer prevention, etc. He has had a lot of success with things similar to what you have and quite possibly same thing. His diet got me from pre-diabetic with horrible family history to blood sugars my MD is jealous of. You have to pay to play on his website but I poached the attached to hang here; he's given permission in the past to share with friends. There is loads of good info and support on his site which can be very helpful in making the necessary changes.

Having this sort of condition indicates that you have a tendency for "over reactivity" so following Fuhrman's recommendations could be very helpful for the rest of your life.


Thank you mate! I want to use a serious diet change as a last resort. I love food, half the reason I live abroad so much is for the food. I'll take a read through this though
 
@scottienomad, my sympathies for your predicament! It sounds fairly miserable. I hope it is resolved soon.

Are you cleared to do any type of exercise, as long as you are able to tolerate it pain-wise? Or are there things to avoid (because they will cause joint damage in your current condition, for instance)?

I don't have any great advice for you except that anything you do is likely to lesson your pain if it doesn't aggravate the condition. Google "Exercise-induced analgesia"...

I was booked into see a physio, but me and the doctor decided it wasn't really needed for me. My symptoms aren't nearly as bad as some others. Luckily.. I'm in the best of a bad situation lol.

I've been told to keep moving and being active. The arthritis itself won't cause any damage, but swelling will.

I had found a Reactive Arthritis group on facebook. A few people in there where in wheelchairs with this, and are now doing crossfit 4 times per week. Which seems worse for the joints than the bread and butter simple strength training I enjoy.

I have some kettlebells at home, I was thinking of just doing some work with them to see how i get on. I'm just worried I drive to the gym, end up pretty bad and can't drive back home haha
 
Hi, I was sadly diagnosed recently with arthritis in both hip ( and a labral tear in the right hip as well. ) I didnt really want surgery, and the ortho doc wont do it anyway since he says that the arthritis caused the tear and if he repairs it , it will just tear again.
This has devistated me. I knew I had it in my family ,and Ive been in pain pretty much every day for the past several months. Here is my question. I was an active kettlebell user before this, am I doomed to never be able to do this again, and to live in constant pain? Im supposed to go skiing for a week in two weeks ( suprisingly, skiing doesnt bother it that much) but the hip pain has been pretty intense recently. Has anyone had any luck with wearing a hip brace? Im really struggling on how to best deal with this since It wont get any better.

Thanks
 
I have rheumatoid arthritis (thanks mum!) in my hands, neck and feet. (I also have banged up shoulders and elbows but they're all down to me.) I have found working out (I do barbell work with a hypertrophy focus) to be at least neutral and maybe positive for the condition but (1) rarely lift above my 10 rep max and never above my 5 rep max (2) perform a limited number of exercises each workout (3) strict attention to programming - exercising submaximally most workouts (4) strict focus on recovery - at least two clear days between workouts, often three.

At the moment I'm getting good results from a peaking style program based on seven sets of seven reps, 90s rest between sets, full body, three exercises only. I start with a lightish weight and build up incrementally until I max out, then I dial the weight back down again and start over. The cycle is 3 to 4 weeks of which the first two are pretty easy. My joints seem to like the period spent submaximally and slow/steady build up.
 
I have rheumatoid arthritis (thanks mum!) in my hands, neck and feet. (I also have banged up shoulders and elbows but they're all down to me.) I have found working out (I do barbell work with a hypertrophy focus) to be at least neutral and maybe positive for the condition but (1) rarely lift above my 10 rep max and never above my 5 rep max (2) perform a limited number of exercises each workout (3) strict attention to programming - exercising submaximally most workouts (4) strict focus on recovery - at least two clear days between workouts, often three.

At the moment I'm getting good results from a peaking style program based on seven sets of seven reps, 90s rest between sets, full body, three exercises only. I start with a lightish weight and build up incrementally until I max out, then I dial the weight back down again and start over. The cycle is 3 to 4 weeks of which the first two are pretty easy. My joints seem to like the period spent submaximally and slow/steady build up.
I think what he has is very sinilar to an autoimmune problem like RA, so your advice is probably a good way for him to go. I've been positive for RA since my mid-20's (Both sides of the family) and dread getting symptoms. I hope you can manage it well, it looks like it really sucks, based on what has happened to members of my family.
 
I think what he has is very sinilar to an autoimmune problem like RA, so your advice is probably a good way for him to go. I've been positive for RA since my mid-20's (Both sides of the family) and dread getting symptoms. I hope you can manage it well, it looks like it really sucks, based on what has happened to members of my family.
I certainly wish I didn't have it but appreciate that others have it worse. I haven't yet needed prescription medicine, I medicate with some supplements and OTC anti-inflammatories. In terms of working out, you just have to figure out what works and go with that. There's no point crying because, say, you can't lift heavy or can't bench or can't workout more than twice weekly. You just identify what you can do and get on with that. I can remember when it first struck in terms of workouts - I was doing Plan Strong and the high volume days were killing me. I was constantly sore but when I inserted some extra rest days, I was much better. So I adjusted the program from three workouts every seven days to three workouts every nine days - making sure I always had two clear rest days between workouts made a huge difference. Being mindful and flexible is the key - everything we do in terms of exercise is a variable. So when dealing with a chronic condition, just try all the combinations until you find one that suits you. And if that runs out of puff, try them all again. Good luck!
 
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