Arthritis

Do you have a question related to an arthritis condition that doesn't fit in any of the other boards? Perhaps you're living with spondylitis, spondylosis, rheumatica, polymyalgia, fibromyalgia or something else we've not covered? Your questions and discussions can be posted here.

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kman3555
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Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:30 pm
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by kman3555 on Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:41 pm

Arthritis

My wife suffers from arthritis. She has been diagnosed with arthritis and osteoarthritis. The biggest problem she has is with her feet/ankles. They are very swollen and she has a lot of pain when she walks. She is on medication and has had a new shock treatment recently. However I just worry about her so much as she has so much difficulty walking. Is there anything she could do to help herself, excercises, other medication for specially to reduce the swelling.

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Arthritis Action
Posts: 97
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:27 pm
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by Arthritis Action on Sun Oct 09, 2016 3:23 pm

Re: Arthritis

Hello,

Ankle swelling can be caused by arthritis but there are some other medical causes too, including heart problems, so you should make sure that your wife has been investigated for these things as she may need a different type of treatment. I am not familiar with shock treatment for arthritis. In general, exercise for arthritis cannot hurt the joints but it can be difficult especially if her feet are painful. She should make sure that she has supportive shoes with thick soles and may need to but shoes which are larger than usual. If her ankles and feet swell more later in the day, she may be helped by resting her feet on a stool to reduce the effects of gravity. If the swelling is caused by inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis, she should speak to a consultant rheumatologist as she may need alternative treatments.

Wendy

Dr Wendy Holden
Medical Advisor to Arthritis Action and Consultant Rheumatologist
www.arthritisaction.org.uk /
info@arthritisaction.org /

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Lee Murphy
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Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:29 am
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by Lee Murphy on Wed Oct 12, 2016 10:42 pm

Re: Arthritis

kman3555 wrote:My wife suffers from arthritis. She has been diagnosed with arthritis and osteoarthritis. The biggest problem she has is with her feet/ankles. They are very swollen and she has a lot of pain when she walks. She is on medication and has had a new shock treatment recently. However I just worry about her so much as she has so much difficulty walking. Is there anything she could do to help herself, excercises, other medication for specially to reduce the swelling.
As above, there are lots of potential causes of ankle swelling and some may not be associated with having arthritis. Of course, if the swelling is due to something else, this does not rule out arthritis as it is common to have more than one health problem as time goes by sadly.

I assume the shock treatment is 'extra corporeal shockwave therapy'? ESWT? Please can you give us some more information about who did this for her and what other treatments she might have tried? Insoles? Braces? Injections? Who diagnosed her with osteoarthritis of her feet? Has she had any x-rays or scans?
Lee Murphy
Consultant Podiatric Surgeon - MRes FCPodS
http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... murphy.php

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Arthritis Care
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Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:27 am
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by Arthritis Care on Mon Oct 17, 2016 1:23 pm

Re: Arthritis

Hi kman,

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's problems with managing her arthritis. It's always going to be important that she can think about her daily self-management. This is mainly about eating a balanced diet to keep body weight down and doing plenty of gentle movements (to keep muscles strong and flexible). A physiotherapist can advise if your wife would like some support.

If she'd like a chat she'd be most welcome to speak to us on our freephone helpline.

https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/managing-arthritis

Tel 0808 800 4050 10am - 4pm weekdays.

Kind regards

Guy

Arthritis Care Helpline

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