Chronic inflammatory diseases and climbing
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Hello all, |
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Kyle Jones wrote:Hello all, I've recently been referred to a rhuematologist for a likely case of Ankylosing Spondylitis. This chronic inflammatory disease normally affects the back/hips, but over the year and a half I have been climbing I have also battled with "climbers elbow" in both arms. It seems these issues are may be related related, and while I have gotten better at controlling the pain, (boat loads of antagonist exercises, stretching, and no bouldering), it is always present in some form. It is pretty uncommon, but maybe someone has some experience with chronic inflammation and tendons. Does anyone else has AS, or something similar? How have you dealt with it?Holy shit, in the last two weeks, I've gone from thinking I was the only climber with AS, to seeing this video, and then reading your thread! vimeo.com/37550212 Anyway, yeah, I got diagnosed with it about 5 years ago. The diagnosis was actually brought on when I got a bout of iritis (as you probably know, a way common symptom of AS) in J-tree, I did not get it checked soon enough, and almost lost my eye from it. A lot of things about the disease hinders climbing: I can't sleep on the ground as easily now without severe back pain, find myself constantly downing NSAIDs throughout climbing trips, and if I'm in the middle of a lower back flare-up, I can't even begin to climb. I have to warm up very gradually, and actually prefer to climb in areas with longer approaches, since they tend to get my back stretched out in the morning even before I get on that rock. BUT, if I keep climbing regularly, it keeps my flexibility up, and the back pain down. The worst time of the day on climbing trips is morning, but after a good day on the rock, my back feels awesome. Even before I got diagnosed, I found out that straight-in splitter handcracks opened up my hips and sacro-illiac area better than any yoga or masseuse could. The last trip to a rheumatologist I had, he was very impressed that I could touch my toes, and basically told me to keep climbing. As you probably know, staying active and flexible is one of the best ways to keep your lower spine from fusing. When were you diagnosed, and how old are you? At what stage are you with treatment? Just ibuprofen? Have you started on TNF alfa inhibitors yet? Anyway, if you have any other questions, shoot me a PM. I'd be psyched to stay in touch with other climbers with AS, and keep tabs on how we deal with this bullshit over the years, hopefully keeping its worst symptoms at bay. |
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I have a good friend in Cali, early 50's with AS for many years and he sent 5.13c this past season, his hardest climb yet. He's religious about stretching, properly warming up, and nearly immerses himself in ice at the end of the day. In the 8 years I've known him, I haven't seen his illness result in any significant setbacks. I agree that climbing should be beneficial as long as you pay attention to your body and have a good Rheumatologist monitoring your progress. Good Luck. |
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I have had great success eliminating pain in both my elbows and knees by eliminating grains, legumes, and dairy from my diet. |
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I just got referred to a rheumatologist this week, though still not technically "diagnosed", I think. HLA-B27 test was positive, and I have the SI/back pain consistent with the disease, so I think it is a no-brainer. |
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I have chronic inflammation due to lyme disease. I know it is different but diet is similar. I went to see a famous Tibetan doctor by the name of Dandan and aside from meds he gave was also a strict list of no nos. pork, certain legumes, wheat, and a list of fruit I would have to look up. Also he recommended cooked or fermented veggies. That was 9 years ago and I have had much success. |
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I take turmeric to control inflammation from my old untreated wrist injury. I maxed out on my NSAIDs intake when I broke my shoulder and tore my labrum three years ago (I had to take 3200 mg daily for weeks), so when I sprained my wrist last summer I seeked something that won't mess up my GI tract. I read some other climber's testimonial to turmeric, so I gave it a try. I was sceptical at first, and his recommendation to dust the morning granola caused me gag (I had a tiny dusting that I had to cover up with honey or fruit preserve at first). I now take a spoonful of it daily with my granola/yogurt and can really tell the difference in the pain when I stop taking it. You can also buy capsules, but they're way more expensive than just buying the powder. |
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doligo wrote:I take turmeric to control inflammation from my old untreated wrist injury. I maxed out on my NSAIDs intake when I broke my shoulder and tore my labrum three years ago (I had to take 3200 mg daily for weeks), so when I sprained my wrist last summer I seeked something that won't mess up my GI tract. I read some other climber's testimonial to turmeric, so I gave it a try. I was sceptical at first, and his recommendation to dust the morning granola caused me gag (I had a tiny dusting that I had to cover up with honey or fruit preserve at first). I now take a spoonful of it daily with my granola/yogurt and can really tell the difference in the pain when I stop taking it. You can also buy capsules, but they're way more expensive than just buying the powder.+1 I take some meds for high BP, and NSAIDs are a bad combo with those, so I started taking turmeric as well. Especially on hard climbing days, it's great to take that day afterward and the next day to reduce soreness due to inflammation. Another good thing to add into the diet is ginger which also a huge anti inflammatory. I choose to eat a chunk of it or add it to my juicer. |
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Yonathan, your reply reminded me of this thread, so I thought I would post an update. |
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great to see this thread back up again; it's awesome that the Embrel is working for you, Kyle. Yonathan, I have never heard for certain if different strain injuries are related to AS, but I definitely get them a lot, too, from my neck down to all parts of my back and hips. Hope that the groin doesn't hinder your trip to the RRG too much. Give me a shout if you wanna meet up there; I'm climbing at least a couple times a month there this fall. |
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I know this is a long shot but how has everyone been managing their chronic inflammation over the last 7 years? I'm hoping to revive this thread as I was recently referred to a rheumatologist. |
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Im just going to throw this out there, my wife has Sjogren's but suffers a lot less in the way of tendon issues than I do. Actually she never seems to complain about such things. She climbs as much as I do ( 3x a week ). I honestly think some of the prescription anti-inflammatory drugs they give her ( which are shared by long term arthritics ) make her less prone than most people. She also gets very mild colds. She does get a lot of fatigue and joint pain, in addition to her Sjogren's symptoms. |
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Glad to see this post is revived! I am in my 30s, have AS, have had Lyme disease as well, and never fully recovered. I used to be an athletic specimen and now I am a broken, withered man lol. |
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I have rheumatoid arthritis and I’ve found cutting out the gluten does help but I just switched to a raw diet following Gerson Therapy for another unrelated heath issue and it has helped tremendously. I also use cbd cannabis and it has been a huge help. |
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I have AS. Diagnosed at age 37 after over two decades of doubting and being confused by my suffering. I started climbing at age 40. Climbing has helped me so much with managing my disease, but it also occasionally hurts me, like prior to surrendering bouldering to the AS gods. Climbing has changed my life so completely! And definitely for the better. |