Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Sand, Sun, Beach and Flare - are you doing 2 much?

With the warmer weather here in Perth, and my Lyrica dose increased, I took the opportunity to take the dog to the beach.

It's a ten minute drive there.

A slow walk in the firm, wet sand. Occasionally I would gently throw a tennis ball underarm. The cold salt water rushing over my feet was such a relief.

Dry the dog off, then drive home.

The next day I was in pain. It was so bad it made me ill. I couldn't sit for long, and for the next two nights couldn't sleep for more than an hour at a time due to the back pain - even with my adjustable bed shaped like a lazy V.

Surely it wasn't the trip to the beach?

Gradually, over several days with minimal activity the pain subsided, and I took the dog to the beach again, this time not throwing a ball. The next day I got the same result.

It took 5 days to come good, with again little sleep during the first two days.

I'm back to doing very little, and slowly becoming comfortable again.

For those of you experiencing flares, can I suggest you see whether you need to really scale back your activities to see if it helps? Did you do something really simple, like a hour drive in you car or a long walk?

AS is such an inscidious desease!

James

sorry to hear how easy you flare, but thanks for sharing the advice.

for me, housework seems to be the killer, that's the thing i really have to pace myself on.

and cooking, i love to cook, but find i need to take breaks in between when my back really starts to hurt....hubby laughs at me cause the most effective break is to lay on the floor, hug my knees to my chest, and roll side to side, then a quick stretch....right in the middle of the kitchen floor funny, but effective.

i'm only in my mid 40s, just not ready to admit that this is the new me....
still kind of hoping its messing up my back 4 months ago and as i do my exercises to strengthen my back, that i my back won't fatigue so readily. but of course that doesn't address the rest of the body....who knows....

I didn't flare this last trip to the beach, but there was a definite north wind coming through (brisk, cold, dry). The time before, I slept outside on a friend's big, breezy porch on a marsh in front of the ocean - the African trade winds blew right through the house. I thought surely this kind of wind would be balmy and healing, but I woke up so stiff I could barely turn my neck! I think we're just really sensitive to humidity. Perhaps it was warm/humid when you went?

Hey there Jimmy,

Have I told you about the plastic stick I use when I play fetch with my dog? It's the second best thing to my cane - I barely need to bend at all to pick up the ball so I can enjoy walking the dog a bit more.

Chris

The day i took this pic the family and i were at Carova Beach NC. We spent a week there. This was an awsome vacation and at this time i didn`t know i had AS. One of the best times i ever had but it was also the most painful experience i ever had. After the first day on the beach i had a terrible time walking and spent the rest of the time there in pain but was still happy Im not sure why the beach walks cause this but i definitely feel your pain.

i know walking in the sand, soft sand at least is a very good workout, a lot harder than just walking on a normal surface, really works the muscles.

i grew up in southern new jersey and the cross country team from atlantic city always had the home team advantage because part of the race was along the beach and the other teams weren't used to running in the sand.