Why did I fight so hard against an osteoarthritis diagnosis when all the experts told me that fight was futile?
One in five women alive today are expected to live to 100 years old. Given the choice between living my whole life to the full or merely existing for half of it with limited capacity and pain I choose the former. However, it’s not just a simple matter of whether I think the health professionals approach to tackling osteoarthritis is adequate. I was 42 when I was diagnosed. What happens when I’m 70 or 80 years old? We assume that medical advances will improve our lot, but is that really likely to benefit our generation?
Staying alive or living?
Increased life expectancy and falling birth rates means that the country’s population is rising. Between 1946 and 1964 17 million births were recorded in the UK alone. That baby boomer generation are now reaching retirement age. Currently 4 people of working age support each old age pensioner in the UK. By the time I’m 70 that is expected to have dropped to 2.5.
I am now 52 years old – I was born in 1963 at the tail end of the baby boomers. I will be expected to work until I’m 67 years old. Those younger than me are predicted to have to work until 70 years old and beyond. There just isn’t going to be enough people of working age to support us in retirement.
Osteoarthritis is most prevalent among the elderly. With an aging population and a shrinking number of people paying taxes the health care system will struggle to cope. Will there be enough money to keep us in pain relief drugs? What happens when we need hip or knee replacement surgery – will it still be provided on the NHS? Many people cling to the hope that medical advances will ensure that they’re taken care of in later life. But regardless of what medical breakthroughs are made will there be money to spend on the elderly?
The only treatment we’re offered is pain relief (which tends to be ineffective in many OA sufferers) and ultimately surgery. It also seems that that’s all they’re interested in researching. Rather than try to cure us we’re just thrown on the scrap heap. I was diagnosed at age 43. If I live until my mid-eighties the NHS would need to keep me in pain relief for 40 years. If my condition deteriorated how many hip replacement surgeries would I need to keep me functioning for life? It’s not uncommon for osteoarthritis to develop in other joints as your body heaves under the strain of spending years hobbling around in pain. Certainly my condition led to many other painful dysfunctions – shoulder impingement, bunions, neck and back pain, ankle and foot pain.
From my diagnosis at age 43 I had 24 years of working life ahead of me – perhaps more than 40 or 50 years of life that I want to be living to the full. Will that be possible with the pain and dysfunction of osteoarthritis? If I can’t work and the NHS can’t afford to pay for my hip replacement surgery what happens to me? Surgery aside, if I can’t work and the welfare state can’t afford to keep me in benefits what happens to me?
My answer then to the doctors, physiotherapist and other health professionals that told me OA is not curable and I “just have to live with it” – was “not a chance!”. My response is the same to the well meaning friends and acquaintances that advise me to just “accept that not everything can be cured”. Will they be there when I’m broke, in pain with no one to turn to? I think not. Our only hope is to stay fit, capable and able to look after ourselves for life. I for one won’t be let anyone tell me to throw in the towel at age 43.
I chose to ignore all the medical advice and fight tooth and nail for my health. It paid off. I’m now in the best shape of my life at age 52. Not only are my hip symptoms gone completely but also the other issues that sprung from the same root cause – the shoulder dysfunction, back pain, neck pain, foot problems are all history. Now I’m working hard to ensure that my body stays in good shape, allowing me to make the best of my life until the day I die.
My 1000 pullups in 30 days challenge in the bag- working towards 2500 in 60 days. It wasn’t long ago I had severe shoulder pain and bone on bone restriction preventing me from lifting my shoulders overhead.
What do you choose? To listen to the health professionals and accept living half your life as a cripple? Or would your rather fight (using safe, cost-free corrective exercises) – claim back all those years and live life to the full?
I now run, strength train, climb mountains, practice martial arts – all pain free. Maybe you’ve been told this isn’t possible for you? Well they told me it wasn’t possible too!
If you want to fight back then follow my web site and I’ll do my very best to help you get the same results as me. Over the coming weeks and months I’ll share all that I learned in order to cure myself of osteoarthritis. Sign up to my newsletter to have self help information delivered to your mail box.
Author: Susan Westlake
Visit my website to find out more about how I cured my hip osteoarthritis. Find out if you can achieve the same through corrective exercises. If you want to be informed of updates please sign up for my mailing list.
I’m 22 right now and have been battling this iliopsoas problem for about 2 months and haven’t had any progress. I was 19 when I started getting the bad pains in my sides and I went to the doctors for over 2 years and have done every diet change, at the early stages I even suffered through 2 months of p90x3. The doctors didn’t see any problem with me. They checked blood, ct’s, X-rays, ultrasound, endoscopy, colonoscopy, they gave me so many meds to help with functional dyspepsia, ibs, antidepressants, anti anxiety meds, muscle spasm meds, muscle relaxers, never any actual pain medicine to help me. It’s been the worst years of my life I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter I can’t do anything with. My fiancé is the best she does so much to try and help but it’s taking such a huge toll on her as well as my entire family. No doctors can help me and they say I’m too young for pain meds but would give me anything else. I been to a natural path / homeopath tried working with so many remedys. I barley eat because I don’t have the energy to even make something, any time I move I’m in the worst pain I have to vomit. I try making a smoothie with super green power, very healthy protein, coconut oil, spinach, all kinds of good food really. I know it’s not that. I was tested for gluten and clear. I know it’s my iliopsoas, I been to physical therapist and they don’t know anything about this yet they always try saying they do but don’t even have a clue what the connecting muscles are called it’s crazy. I’ve done so much research on my own and figured this problem out for myself I’m trying to stretch but in so much pain. I really need help and don’t know where to turn. Your story is inspiring and feels like the same road I’m on. I’m 6′ was 170 pounds now down to 145 pounds. I’m weak and very very inflexible, I’m disabled at 22 and everyone looks at me and thinks it’s all in my head.
Hi Thomas,
I know only too well that muscle imbalances can cause bad pain. And I agree that doctors and physiotherapists are pretty clueless when it comes to treating the more complex cases.
I’ve obviously focused on the imbalances associated with hip OA, but the basic principles will be the same. The body has evolved to move in a particular way so when something goes wrong the imbalance tends to follow set patterns.
If your psoas is causing the pain then my first point would be that it’s highly likely that the root cause is elsewhere in your body. You won’t get results by focusing on the psoas.
I strongly recommend that you stop stretching – too much risk of stretching the wrong thing and making matters worse. Your body tightens up to create stability – usually because a muscle somewhere else isn’t working. The solution is to figure out which muscle is lazy (usually quite a few of them), get that working and from there things tend to improve quickly.
I normally suggest a couple of quick and dirty tests for people to try to get an idea of what type of imbalance they have. However, I don’t want to do that with you as you are in so much pain.
Send me a private message using my contact form. Give me what information you can about your posture. Both now, and from what you can remember prior to developing this pain. For example, did you have an anterior pelvic tilt (a sticking out belly and big curve in your low back)? posterior tilt (backside tucked up) or swayback posture (hips thrust forwards, upper back leaning back)?
Have you ever been aware of one side of your pelvis swinging back or forwards more when you stand/walk?
Have you ever had a sense of one leg being too long? Or one hip being hitched up?
Tell me what you can. Also tell me what led you to believe the psoas was the cause of your pain as your reasoning might help to give clues as to the nature of the imbalance.
Don’t give up! It’s just a matter of finding the lazy muscles and getting them working again.
Name typo.. Should read Fran
Such good stuff. I think this is a very important topic that you discuss here and how to not take the status quo as an end all be all. Inspiring message for anyone in wellness to hear.
Hi Fran!!! – and thank you 🙂
I want to fight this illness. I have OA, fibromyalgia and spondylitis. I am 48. Have a full time job as a Community Support Officer for the police. I want to work full time but recently been considering cutting my hours. Love my job just 10 shifts too long. I walk alot. I believe exercise is the best thing.
Nafisa, I agree that exercise is the best thing. I was advised to cut back on exercise. I went along with that advice for a while but I got worse. When I started training normally again things improved.
As soon as I get time I’ll post up details of what worked best for me for pain relief. There’s an awful lot possible without drugs!
I can’t tell you how happy I am to find this website. I’m only 45 and have 2 primary school age children. I never expected to be facing a bleak and painful future. I want to enjoy ALL of my life without pain and look forwards to more blog posts.
Thank you Amanda. I’ll do my best to help. I think I can help a lot of people diagnosed with hip OA as that’s what I have first hand experience of and I now know of a curable condition that will be mistaken for OA. However many of the things that have helped me will be relevant to lots of OA-like conditions.
My name is melhem 37 yrs old,chatting from Belize City,I am a person that have been in pain for 15 yrs and in need of my both hip replaced,after November of 2015 the pains just got sevear,Im a person of great fate and im sure there is an angel out ther that will assist me,God is great so my prayers will be answered.My email is [removed for privacy reasons]