Weight loss with Arthritis

[S.hubbell]

Hello everyone! I apologize if this isn't where this goes, but I'm looking for some advice on exercises I can do to help me not only lose weight, but with my arthritis. The arthritis is in my lower spine, but the pain radiates through my hips and up to my shoulders.
As a little backstory, I'm 19 years old, and was just diagnosed with arthritis last year. I've struggled with being overweight since I was around 10 or 11. When I was 2, I was almost killed by a bad asthma attack, and so the doctors loaded me up with steroids to help me survive. When I was 10 or 11, these steroids finally hit me with a growth spurt, and I not only got much taller, but ended up gaining a ton of weight that I've never been able to get off.
I've always been in decent shape despite being overweight. Up until I was diagnosed with arthritis last year. Particularly this year, I now find it difficult to exercise, because my back locks up and I can't move anything for up to half an hour after any sort of physical activity. This even happens while I'm laying down sometimes.
Has anyone gone through anything similar, and has any advice or ideas to give? I really appreciate any help!! Thank you so much!!

 

[Trusylver]

Start with examining your diet, you can loose excess fat with just dietary changes, with reduced weight the debilitating effects of arthritis will reduce but never go away unfortunately. If you have access to a pool, exercise in the water will take some of the strain away from joints while doing gentle exercise.

I have arthritis in multiple joints, some days are worse than others.

 

[alligatorob]

Trusylver is the real expert here, but I can tell you that weight loss and exercising has helped my arthritis considerably.

I am a lot older than you, and my arthritis problems are mostly in my knees, but I have found it to be much reduced since losing weight and exercising. I lost a lot of my weight before I started exercising, making exercising more doable. My exercise has varied a bit, for the legs I started with riding a bicycle, low impact. Then I started walking and weight lifting. My arthritis is not cured, but it hurts a lot less and makes getting around a whole lot easier.

I am sure your arthritis is very different from mine, but you may find a similar result.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Spencer82]

Hi! I'm so sorry that you're dealing with this, it's such a debilitating disease. There are many types of arthritis that affect people in very individual ways.
For me, my arthritis is in my knees, and as alligatorob has mentioned above, I had to shift some weight before I was even able to start exercising safely and comfortably. I would definitely be looking into your nutrition and exploring ways to move some weight to help your spine cope better.

Also, because your arthritis is in your spine, I would be seeking professional, individual support in determining what types of exercise would work for you safely. It may be worthwhile looking into hydrotherapy and/or clinical pilates, but again under supervision and support of a specialist.

All the best x