Moving beyond joint pain
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Arthritis doesn't have to stop you riding, in fact staying active is part of living well with the condition. Melissa Cranenburgh reports
This article first appeared in Ride On August-September 2005 issue
My grandmother’s hands had knots and lumps like old tree limbs. Her back and legs were bowed and she hobbled painfully. It’s an image of arthritis I have carried since childhood.
But the Arthritis Australia publication 10 steps to living well with arthritis promotes a very different view of life with the condition. It highlights staying active, as well as relaxation, a healthy diet and proper medical attention, as key to controlling the condition.
An estimated 3.4 million Australians live with ‘arthritis’ – an umbrella term covering more than 100 muscular-skeletal conditions. And, despite the stereotype of elderly arthritics, these conditions affect people in all age groups.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting around 8% of Australians. Anyone can develop this condition, although the most at risk are aged 45 plus.
Margaret Andrews was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in her hips four years ago, at age 44. Andrews had always been active and she believes high-impact activities like netball exacerbated an abnormality in her hips, eventually resulting in arthritis.
But far from being put off exercise, Andrews remains a keen cyclist. She continues to participate in demanding events like Around the Bay in a Day® and rides for two to three hours at least three times a week.
“What cycling has given me is the opportunity to keep exercising but in a way that’s not doing me any more harm,” says Andrews.
Cycling can help
To avoid further damaging joints and increasing pain, much of the literature on managing arthritis suggests non-weight-bearing exercises such as cycling. Other suggested activities include swimming, aqua aerobics, walking, yoga and tai chi.
According to Tanya Conway, health educator at Arthritis Victoria, regular physical activity helps strengthen muscles, which in turn improves circulation to and protects affected joints.
Conway acknowledges that for some people with arthritis, riding a bike may mean a bit of work and even a few modifications, such as adjusting the seat position, fitting soft hand grips to reduce the impact of vibrations, and even modifying brake levers if gripping is a problem.
“People need to be relatively strong to pedal a bike, some people with arthritis may need to build up to it,” says Conway.
Cath Stephensen, 48, was diagnosed with osteoarthritis nine years ago. It mainly affects her hands but other joints in her body flare up at different times.
“It comes in bouts. There’s a week or a couple of weeks where I’m as sick as a dog – stiff and sore all over. It can be really difficult to keep motivated. But if I stopped I’d never start again.”
But as hard as it sometimes is, Stephensen, a keen Audax rider, completed a 300km endurance ride this earlier year.
Stephensen has replaced her hybrid’s flat handlebars with touring bars to help minimise vibration. She plans to get shock-absorbing seat post and front forks on her new bike.
Other recommendations to make riding more comfortable are to stretch properly and to try to change position on the bike regularly during a ride.
Andrews says she has a few peculiar issues when she rides. “It’s quite funny to watch me getting on and off the bike. I lie the bike down and step over – it looks a bit clumsy, but I can’t lift my leg higher.”
She has also built up one of her cleats, so that it compensates for one leg having less reach than the other thanks to her condition.
For Andrews, the benefits outweigh any inconvenience. “The sense of achievement I have gotten out of some rides means more to me because I am overcoming an obstacle as well.”
If you do suffer from arthritis, there are many good reasons to keep, or even take up, cycling. But do consult your healthcare professional to make sure what you are doing is right for you.