Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Pain after arthritis aquatics - help

Hi -

Thanks everyone for all the info and advice. I'm sure I overdid it. I should have had the common sense to start out a few minutes at a time. The doctor has put me on Skelaxin, rest and moist heat. So far the Skelaxin doesn't seem to do anything(except upset my stomach). It hurts most when I walk, sit or lie down. So for now I'm trying to change positions when one becomes too painful(in addition to oxycodone).

I really want to give the aquatics another try, but I don't have a clue about when to go back or how to go about it. This class is for people with arthritis, but it's an ongoing class and I think I need some one on one.

It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one that it hit like this. If anyone else has anymore tips out there, please send them my way. Thanks, Wanda

I sent you a PM. If you want anything posted let me know. Maybe I should think about posting some of the aquatic exercises anyway in case anyone else is thinking of water therapy.
Cindy

Hi
Yes its a pain consultant i have at my local hospital. My pain dr is a total !bleep! i have asked to b moved to another. Yes he says theres nothin he can do for me, its obvious i am in a lot of pain and hes told me my step is morphine but refuses to prescribe it. Anyway i wont get started on that one or i will b here all night.
Wanda, i hope the meds and heat start to ease things for u soon. I also wish u all the best and hope that u can get aquatics to work for u. A lot of people say it helps a lot.
take care
heather

Hi Wanda,

When my AS was at its worst, any exercise was a no/no for the response I would get similar to you. Working "through" the pain just made matters worse.

What type of aquatic exercises are you doing?

Tim

heather, ask your GP for a referal to a rheumatologist they are more knowledgable the those ##@@$$%^&^&*&%%% pain clinic people....or call some rheumys in your area and ask them how much experience do they have with people with AS.....oak

Inanna, I followed your recommendations and checked out the site for RA certified instructors and found one in my area. Thanks for the info. The class I took did not have an RA certified instructor.

Merlin, I'm so glad they had one in your area. Hopefully, this means the pool is properly heated - none of this 60F crap. Honestly, I don't know how 'non-arthritis' people exercise in those low temps, let alone how any of us would handle it. Can't imagine anything worse than spending an hour in tepid water.

I hope the class works out for you.

Hugs,

Hey gang, I know some of you said about Wanda finding a certified instructor so I thought I would throw this out there. I am a certified instructor. As I told Wanda the Arthritis class she was in was a plus class, not a standard class. So many facilities call their classes Arthritis classes and are not taught by certified instructors. Unfortunately these facilities do more harm than good. Anyway I have all my pool stuff somewhere in a box at the new house, settlement is this week and I will be back at the new house this weekend. I will dig through my stuff and see what I can come up with. I know there are several of you who do water therapy and I would like to help. Maybe by doing a general post like I did last year with the stretches for AS'ers, I will be able to help more of you than just Wanda. Please be careful when entering any exercise gym or pool. There are very few even certified trainers and instructore that know AS, please be careful out there.
Gotta go, my computer desk is being loaded in a truck to move.
to all
Cindy

Hi Cindy,

I just found out that my local YMCA is definitely NOT certified at this time. They were certified by the Arthritis Foundation, but are not currently. This is frustrating, since that is why I joined. I talked to the local office of the AF and they said they could contact them about becoming certified again. They believed that the reason they are not now is because of employee turnover. This is a new(something like 2 years) facility that has so much - even has a rock climbing wall - but is not certified by the AF. The next closest place is about 35 minutes away.

Thank God for people like you and these other guys here that care. Thanks

Wanda

I'm so glad you brought this to my attention when you did. I was the Aquatics Director for years at our local YMCA, I know how they run. The only reason our instructors were certified to the max was because I demanded my staff be as educated as possible, after all it is the members health that is at stake. Unfortunatly most facilities aren't that picky and they pinch pennies where ever possible. Even those who have gone through the "Arthritis" training don't have a clue about AS. The training is general in nature and as we all know people who have AS have special protocol and can't be treated the same as all arthritis patients. Like I say, if you guys want, I will try to post some relavent water exercises in the next couple weeks, hopfully with Mig's help again. I know water exercose is the very best thing anyone with AS can do for themselves and the more people I can get in the water the better.
Cindy