I have just been told that I have rheumatoid arthritis in my foot and ankle, the pain is currently pretty bad and means that I can’t even think about running. I go to the gym each morning to lift (increasingly lighter) weights but that is also putting too much pressure on my feet.

I don’t like swimming, so need to think about a form of exercise that is arthritis friendly…then I remembered that some of you lot still ride bikes.

I have 1 bike left that I haven’t ridden in about 8 years – a Dialled Kobe Ti. the drivetrain, brakes and probably more will need replacing, the old Fox TALAS will definitely need some attention and of course the wheels are the wrong size nowadays.

I imagine my riding these days would be more sedate, light trails and gravel – although I don’t really fancy a drop bar bike. On One look like they have some good deals around the £1300 mark…any other suitable bikes out there for not much more than a grand?

Any other tips for arthritis? cheers

I wouldn’t be buying a new bike until you have your RA under control.
Have you seen a rheumatologist?
Loads you can do and it can go away (it did with me but took a couple of years) but you need to know how it is going to effect you at least in the medium term until you take any decisions about a new bike.
It is definitely RA is it? RA doesn’t stay in one locality as a rule whereas OA can just affect one joint.

Say yes to drugs! I was in pain for years before getting access to the stuff that worked for me. Still have bad days but there was a point where I couldn’t even shake hands in meetings due to the pain!

Cheers

Have you seen a rheumatologist?

I am waiting for a follow up appointment after the initial phone consultation – X Rays and bloods indicate a high RA factor and ‘deviation’ (?) in foot.

It is definitely RA is it? RA doesn’t stay in one locality as a rule whereas OA can just affect one joint.

I’m glad you said that, it started at the joint between my toes and feet, then moved to side of big toe, currently ankle but can feel it going back to toes. The ankle has been the most painful bit…

Loads you can do and it can go away (it did with me but took a couple of years) but you need to know how it is going to effect you at least in the medium term until you take any decisions about a new bike.

Good point, I think I’m just in freefall. I was kickboxing for many years until a brain injury put paid to that, love running but can’t do that at the moment…I can feel that I’m losing my mind and wanted to get out there and do something and my only bike needs a lot of £££ to get it up and running.

Say yes to drugs!

I’m only on the Naproxen/Paracetamol at the moment but they don’t appear to be taking the edge off it. What do you take?

It comes as a pretty devastating blow especially when you’ve been active. But the waiting is the worst time. Once you’ve seen the rheumatologist and you’ve got some drugs inside you, thing seems a lot more manageable.

I was on diclofenac before I saw the rheumatologist. I remember taking quite a lot of them and them only taking the edge off. I couldn’t cycle for some time but it was my knee that was most affected in my lower body and it just wouldn’t go round.
I was then put on Sulfasalazine which worked well.

Re the bike, is it unrideable? If so and you want to ride, could you borrow one to see how you go? Or if not, buy secondhand?

While you’re wating, look at your diet. No nightshade family food. There’s lots of info online about what diets can help.
Good luck! It will get better that’s for sure.

I have 1 bike left that I haven’t ridden in about 8 years – a Dialled Kobe Ti.

Yay! Another member of Klub Kobe Ti! (And it’s my only MTB, too…)

Not arthritis but I snapped my foot off which hurt a bit even after they bolted it back on. I found an e-bike amazing. Keeping it on the lowest setting just removed so much pressure from my bad ankle when pedalling the pain difference made riding possible again.

When most cyclists test ride, they turn it up to turbo boost, blast around giggling and then say it doesn’t feel like a normal bike and they don’t like it. Keep it in low or perhaps medium and it is like you but fitter and with less strain and pain in the legs.

In reply to the what drugs question…

Etoricoxib (with associated omeprazole); sulfasalazine and the stuff that worked the magic is Humira (fornightly injections at home by pen). Humira was the one that I had to wait ages for as it was costly, off patent now I think so produced by other manufacturers and should be more accesible.

I also took methotrexate for years, then quite suddenly that became difficult due to nausea, tried an injection version of it before canning it entirely.

I don’t like swimming,

Neither did I. Then I got RA in my feet and ankles @ 30yrs. Wheelchaired. Hydrotherapy helped some. I went to a private clinic and treated it with militant diet and therapy to attempt knock it into submission. It worked. 20 years now and no recurrence. Wish I’d done it sooner though because I waited a year dicking around with docs and ended up with joint damage before I eventually got it in remission. There were less drugs on offer back then (sulfasalazine I refused because of the hepatoxicity. Rofecoxib I refused-because I’d begun drug-free treatment. Which was lucky as they later withdrew it owing to one side-effect being sudden heart attacks in men my age!)

The one NSAID painkiller that worked for me during flare-ups and rehabilitation was Diclofenac Sodium (Voltarol). It massively helped (and got me walking small steps on crutches) seeing me through the physio and hydro necessary to recondition joints once I’d gotten rid of the flare-ups. During flare-ups it also took some of the edge off.

I also bought an (expensive) new bike, tried to ride it once and then spent time polishing it/looking at it. It (this bike I could hardly ride) was hit and miss for my mood tbh. If I had my time again I’d start the therapy earlier and go straight to swimming, no weight-bearing. Exercise that is weight-bearing can mess your joints and muscles up much more quickly. Get over the ‘don’t like swimming’, is my advice, in retrospect. 15 years later I forced self to learn to swim ‘properly’ to increase confidence and lose weight, and to my massive surprise I really took to it. Really good for the mind and spirit too (It was also a wonder to finally cycle again, but swimming remains a big feature of my life)

But health first, IME. I was brutally tenacious, militant and forced self through too much pain trying to continue to bike and walk at a time where I could have been simply swimming and focusing on getting rid of the inflammation/protecting joints for such a time as I could get back to other physical pursuits.

And contrast foot-baths. Look them up. All the best on your journey back to health. It can grind you down. PM anytime if want to chat.

IANAD. No idea what RA drugs/treatment developments abound these days, but you need to get the inflammation down fast as, as that’s what does the damage.

PS Did I say contrast foot-baths? AM and PM. Don’t skimp. Start today.

Is 2019 i was diagnosed with Moderate – Severe Osteoarthritis of the knees & hip, chronic degenerative disc disease (lumbar Spine), spinal stenosis (C3 – C6) & Arachnoiditis, took the pain meds & turned into a netflix vegetable.

Then in 2020 i decided to hell with this cut my meds in half and started using CBD/THC oil then bought myself a turbo trainer in the beginning the only goal was to spin as long as i could bear it. Slowly but surely my time on the turbo got longer and longer, i then got zwift did a few training courses to get my fitness up then this year i got a full susser don’t get me wrong anymore than 45 mins of riding trails breaks me the pain in my knee and spine is crazy but the way i see it is if Martyn Ashton can get his arse out on the trails then i have no excuse not to.

If you do go down the swimming route give wild swimming a go, you won’t regret it.

Any other tips for arthritis? cheers

yes, keep moving as much as possible.
i have a fused ankle, and a replacement hip, and waiting for my other hip doing.
the pain is terrible, But cycling keeps me active without too much pressure on my hips.
so keep moving.

Psoriatic arthritis here. Quite like RA in many ways. As others say, get on the DMARDs asap. I’m on apremilast and it’s changed my life. Sulfasalazine and methotrexate were ineffective for me. You want to get the inflammation under control to minimise long term damage. I have the odd flare up and aches and pains, but basically cycle uninhibited by the arthritis.

With RA it’s often not possible to move. The swelling makes it impossible to rotate the joint. With OA it’s ‘just’ incredibly painful. As has been said, DMARDS is to way to go initially at least with RA.

I was diagnosed in my early thirties with RA in most of my joints, without prescription drugs I’d be up the creek, methotrexate didn’t agree with me, currently on sulphasalizine and leflunomide to control it plus naproxen and get the occasional steroid in the butt cheek which is almost like a temporary cure, not had one for a couple of years though but still riding better than my brother and most of my mates.

My wife has RA so I’ve seen what it can be like to live with. These are the things that she’s found helped:

-Take the drugs, and keep pestering the clinic if they’re not working. They try people on the cheap less effective drugs first before giving the more effective ones a go.
-Keep moving. My wife finds the more active she is the less her joints flare up. And the stronger her muscles and ligaments are, the less strain is placed on joints.
-Don’t over do it. Exertion can cause her to flare up. Still exercise, but dail it back a bit from 11.
-Stress. Keep on top of it, which is easier said than done.
-Diet. Follow the advice they give you, eat plenty of leafy greens.

She rides her bike quite often, but canal paths and bridleways rather than trails, but getting her bike set up so it fit properly was the main thing. Went through a few sets of grips and setup tweaks before we found something that didn’t aggravate her joints.

She swims and runs too, and finding a good stable set of running shoes was again key here.

I am 56 and have been living with Psoriatic Arthritis for 15 years. At first slow release ibuprofen and then diclofenac made it bearable but the inflamation continued and has damaged my finger and toe joints with most toes and my little fingers now fused.

At the regular hospital reviews I kept a stiff upper lip and told the doctors and specialist nurses that I was coping while life gradually became more difficult. Eventually I was struggling to walk and drive, dressing took a long time and writing was difficult. Cycling was impossible.

Thankfully at one of my hospital visits approx 8 years ago I saw a doctor who recognised what was happening to me and prescribed Humira. I had my first injection on a Wednesday morning and on the Thursday I woke up pain and inflammation free. I couldn’t believe the difference, it was life transforming.

There are potential long term risks to Humira and similar biological drugs but I have had 8 years and counting of normal life back and I wouldn’t swap that for anything. The key with these conditions is to stop the inflammation, if NSAID or DMOD work for you that is good but if they are don’t work you should start researching biologics. You need to research the risks but if comfortable push hard for them to keep damage to joints to a minimum. Good luck.

I was diagnosed with RA 9 years ago (54 years old now). It took a while to come to terms with it and about 18 months until I found the right drugs that worked for me. If you get the meds right I would imagine you will be able to ride a bike again.

RA has actually spurred me on to ride more and faster when ever I can. Even completed some xc races this year coming middle of the field in position.

I can’t add to the already good advise above. Hope you get it diagnosed properly soon.

Following with interest.

Currently (last couple of years) experiencing bouts of proper nasty ankle/foot pain that seem to be getting worse each time and last anywhere from a couple of days to three months – to the point where I can bear absolutely no weight on the affected foot.

Doctors not really helping ATM – every time they go to Naproxen which seems to have diminishing returns. They suspect Gout but I’m not convinced (pain and weakness feels like it’s around joints rather than in them). Last bout was last weekend and they prescribed Colchicine for symptoms that in my mind didn’t match Gout but not sure whether it worked or the fact I just iced, ibuprofened and rested the foot for three days took the edge off.

I suspect RA or OA (X Rays years ago apparently showed early signs of OA). Whatever it is has affected riding, weight and fitness this year (only ridden 1/3 as much as previous years so far). I hate not being able to ride.