osteoarthritis

[skuggi]

I know running is the best for fat burning all over, but I have osteoarthritis in my knees and have to stick to low impact. Most of the cardio I can find is barely modifiable for me, and feels like I'm copping out when I don't do some of the parts of the move (jumps, etc). I don't have pool access, and I can't afford a gym membership on my salary (my flex was a Christmas gift). Does anyone have any suggestions for good programs to try for fat burning?

[BrokenDad]

How far do you live from work? I've been commuting by bike for nearly 2 years now, its been great for keeping the weight off, you’ll get some great exercise and it helps clear the head on the way home from work.

I used to be really active, running, rugby, crossfit, mountaineering etc. Injury induced osteoarthritis has ended that as i try to reduce impact on my middle age knees long enough to hold of the knee replacement so i can play with my young children!

You can get a second hand bike for pittance, find a cycle workshop in your area, they take bike donations and do them up selling them on for a fraction of their value.

[shipo]

I know what I'm about to write flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but hey, been there, done that, got the tee-shirt, so here goes...

After a simple break in my left ankle in 1974 and a badly broken leg and partially torn off right foot in 2003, I was informed by the surgeon who screwed me back together I'd never run again and would walk with a limp for the rest of my life.  By 2009 OA had been diagnosed in both ankles, my left knee, and my right hip (and both hands a well); that and I'd gained about 100 pounds since the broken leg event in 2003.

Desperate to lose the weight I discovered I could gently run on a local 19th Century rail bed which had been converted to a recreational rail trail open to ATVs and dirt bikes.  I started with a quarter of a mile at a shot, and during my first month I logged a whopping total of 8 miles.  Four years later I changed jobs and had a fair amount of free time on my hands and I started ramping up the miles, always on dirt or grass.  While I had been grateful to be able to run without aggravating the OA (too much) between 2009 and 2013, I was more than a bit surprised to find the nearly constant pain from my OA started receding into background noise as my mileage started topping 100 miles per month.  By the time I was logging over 200 miles per month, still on dirt, the pan was almost completely gone.  Why?  No freakin' clue.

[brerbill]

@shipo: I'd been a runner for a few years, but various "running injuries" (like plantar faciitis, shin splints, and compartment syndrome) kept me from the sport for weeks and even months at a time - all within an eighteen month period. Also during that time, a foot x-ray disclosed I had two opposing bone spurs on the left heel. The tech pointed out all the arthritis in my feet (from a break playing HS baseball and severe sprains playing adult recreational basketball). Then I tore a tendon. I already had hammer toes on the right foot from childhood that had only been partially corrected through surgery, and which caused that foot to be 1.25 inches shorter than the other. Then I went to a podiatrist for an unrelated toenail issue. He took one look at my feet, and immediately exclaimed "You'll need surgery, or you're headed for trouble!".

So, out of desperation, I spent several months - almost a year - gradually weaning myself away from most of the rules of convention by learning to run in minimalist shoes and to run barefooted about 40% of the time. My legs and feet got stronger, I rested when stressed too much, gradually increased mileage (mostly easy running), stayed off of concrete for the most part, and in the 6 years since, haven't had one running-related injury. Right now, I'm looking for a fall half-marathon I can race barefooted - just for fun. Oh, and no surgeries needed.

How was I able to overcome all the issues that had been "professionally diagnosed"? Not for everyone or maybe not even most people, but I would say that going against convention might just work sometimes. It did for me. The worst thing people can do to resolve many physical issues is try to make things happen too quickly, which leads to more injury. Patience!

[shipo]

@brerbill, amen brother, amen!

[FitBeforeFifty]

I don't know much about recovery from acute injuries but I can say for certain that the concept that running causes wear and tear on joints is not backed up by studies. The incidence of osteoarthritis in people that run is actually lower than non-runners. Runners have reduced disabilities and increased mobility later in life.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23377837

CONCLUSIONS:

Running significantly reduced OA and hip replacement risk due to, in part, running's association with lower BMI, whereas other exercise increased OA and hip replacement risk.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2556152/

Conclusions

Long-distance running among healthy older individuals was not associated with accelerated radiographic OA. These data raise the possibility that severe OA may not be more common among runners.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3175643/

Vigorous exercise (running) at middle and older ages is associated with reduced disability in later life and a notable survival advantage.

[shipo]

@FitBeforeFifty, as an add on to the links you posted, I *wish* I could find a link to the Finnish study from a couple of years back where they tracked thousands of older runners for a long period of time (if memory serves, when the study started the runners had to be in the 50-70 year age range and the study ran for at least a decade).  This study backs up the things you posted; namely older runners have a lower incidence of OA issues as well as reduction in other joint related issues.

One of the more interesting (and possibly controversial) takeaways from that study suggests the stress on the femur from both the impacts of running as well as the pulling from the muscles/connective tissue caused the release of growth hormones, and said hormones in turn aided in recovery/repair of the joints.  So, while running does cause wear and tear on the joints, the net for many folks was a significant reduction is injury/disability.