bad joint problems - help

[bhamglassman]

ok so ive never really had a problem with my joints but this is my first season wakeboarding and in the past month ive gotten into a lot bigger tricks and ive been riding a few sets almost every day. now, during my run when i start doing raleys and trying scarecrows and stuff my shoulder and elbow start to get really messed up. usually by the end of the day it's really painful to lift my arms above my shoulders or to move them much at all really. ive heard of supplements and stuff to help soothe the pain of joints that are being bashed all day, ive heard some people say that a lot of pros will use stuff like this... anyone know anything about this kind of thing or of any other solutions?

[malibu_inverted]

Sorry i'm not a ton of help with drugs for that. But i think some serious stretching and work outs on the muscle with light weights will really help strengthen them. I used to get horrible shoulder pain and neck problems in the past but i worked with light freeweights prior to the season and i haven't really had any problem. I also do a lot of shoulder and neck stretches in my free time.

The doctors will always say that strengthening the muscles in areas are better than anything artificle. Wakeboarding takes a major tear on the body. the constant stomping from 5-7ft up isn't the greatest on especially lower joints. This is the first year that all my joints and stuff in my legs ache some after riding. Especially the deep calf bruise that haunts me.

I'm sure stretching and weight lifting isn't the answer you wanted. but it's always worth the shot. holding some 15lb dumbells out infront of you at shoulder level probably really could help strengthen for raleys. Later.

[Jim M]

Eat bananas! Do a search on potassium and you will earn a new respect for high-potassium foods.

Have you been injured before? I hurt my shoulder snowboarding and usually by mid-season it starts to irritate the scar tissue. I dont even notice it in the off-season. I stretch a lot with elastic bands and Im sure to stretch before I ride.

If the pain is bad after riding, Ive had good luck with Naproxin (Aleve). Pop a couple after you ride, then keep it in your system by popping another one every 8-12 hrs.

[bmartin]

The exercise (light free weights) and probably more importantly stretching is the first step over the long run to protecting your joints. In the short run, If you are riding every day, you may want to back off for a little while. Icing your joints down after riding will also help.

I'm a pharmacist and feel pretty comfortable offering advice on the drugs, NSAIDs (naproxen 'Aleve', ibuprofen 'Advil') will help over the short run and long run. They work best if you take them continuously and since naproxen has a longer half life I would choose that one if you can tollerate the potential GI complications. You can take up to 550mg twice daily. The OTC strength is 220mg so you can take 2 of those twice a day with food. They will work at reducing pain if you just take them when you feel pain but you will not get much of an anti-inflamatory effect unless you take it continuously for a week or so. max daily dose of ibuprofen is 2400mg / day usually divided over 3 or 4 doses per day. These doses above are prescription doses and higher than what is labeled on OTC packages.

Glucosamine/Chondrointen 'Osteoflex'has some pretty good evidence in helping joint pain over the long term as well, but will not help much if the joint pain is due to muscular damage or tendonitis and is not something you will feel better the next day after first dose. Sorry...can't begin to diagnosis you over the internet to know if those would help or not. You can pick some up and just follow directions on bottle if you think it will(dosing varies a lot by strength and manufacture).

[Leggester]

The only cure for a bad joint is to use a bowl.

[Ohioboarder]

Yep weights and stretching are the way to go. Stretch only till you feel resistance stretching should not hurt. For your shoulder a few good stretches are:

Across the body: try to touch your elbow to the opposite shoulder( use your left hand to push your right elbow to your left shoulder) same for the other side.

Over the head: Touch your right shoulder with your right hand. Lift your arm straight up and push your arm back with your opposite hand. same for the other side.

Pull away: Grab a stable object with your hands, lean foreward with your head between your arms and pull way like your trying to pull whatever your holding on to.

Arms behind back: grab your hands behind your back at your waist and try to lift both over your head, leaning forward will allow you to go farther.

For strenghtening:

Shoulder
Arm raises: hold weights in hands ans lift straight up to slightly more than shoulder height. Do this infront, straight to the side, and to the back with elbows slightly bent. Don't use too much weight. you will begin to cheat and will lose the value of lifting.

Chest

Bench press

Flys: Lie flat on your back (preferably on a bench) hold weights straight out in your hands and bring them togther above your body with your arms straight.

Back

Rows: These can be done seated (need a machine or strong tubing) or standing: Bend forward head up start with weights hanging in your hands. Lift straight out to the sides as high as you can. Again this is one that you dont want too much weight you will bend your arms and lose the benefit.

Rotator cuff / shoulder.
The R/C is what holds your arm on your body. Stand and hold your arm straight out like your pointing at something. If you were standing with your back against a wall move your hand till its half way between straight out infront and the wall. Point your thumb to the floor like giving a thumbs down. Lift with arm straight in this position. This specifically isolates the R/C muscles.

The big thing is don't use too much weight. Most guys wanna lift way too heavy and have to cheat /use improper form. You are just wasting your time if you do this. Find a weight that you can rep 10-15 times. Move up slowly as you build strength.

As was said before NSAIDS are also good. The only pain reliever you wanna avoid it Tylenol. It won't get rid of swelling if there is any.

Icing although not fun it the best at gettig rid of inflamation. If there is swelling(inflamation) it cannot heal until that is removed.

Hope this helps.

DJ

[lcap]

bhamglassman,

If you're as old a Legge try Glucosimine and Chondrotin in addition to the weights. It's a natural supplement and as much as the MD's hate to admit it, it actually works.

[Leggester]

Heh. If you're as Old as Legge, you made it here without joint problems.

Now, fractures and calcium deposits are another matter

[lcap]

Leggester,

Just checking! Everything I read says you should no matter what age if you are an athelete take the Glucosimine/Chondrotin. Replenishes the natural joint lubrication our body produces.

[Rocky Dennis]

Look into "Voltaren" or "Celebrex". Both are prescription drugs. I have lots of friends and family that swear by either of these. It's worth looking into.

[jryoung]

bhamglassman Between your avatar and the thread title I though this was about something totally different.

Anyway, Lcap is right about Glucosimine and Chondrotin. But don't get it at GNC, I would seek out a Naturopath in your area and get a professional grade product. The stuff at GNC is full of fillers and other crap you don't need. In fact, I know there is a good supplement company in Lynden, but I can't remember the name of it for the life of me. If you're heading to Seattle anytime soon you can probably go to the student clinic at Bastyr in Kenmore for a cheap office visit, and it'll give you access to the supplements.

Also, if you want a good stretching routine get into yoga. Strength, flexibility and balance all in one workout.

[bhamglassman]

Jim M, i actually did do something weird to my shoulder in the half pipe when i was snowboarding a few years back... ever since then i can pop my shoulder like 1/2 way out of the socket so the bone starts to stick out, but it's the other shoulder that usually hurts the most, i think because thats the shoulder that takes the beating on the regular footed landings b/c its my front shoulder.
ive been popping ibuprofen a lot lately, sometimes ill take like 3 or 4 before i ride if it hurts... im gona look into all the stuff you guys recommended, and as much of a fag ill feel like doing stretches before i ride, i may have to bust out a few of those handy shoulder stretches...
lcap, im only 17 years old, heh....

[jryoung]

bhamglassman, Why would you feel like a homosexual for stretching? You're about to perform athletically? Stretching will only help your performance. When was the last time you saw any athlete not try and get loose before they perform?

[Vampyre]

Wow, thanks Ohio for a very descriptive stretching set. I am printing this out now.
Thank you everyone else for the suggestions.. i was looking for this information as well!

[jayp]

I had something similar. It started in my shoulder and then my elbow. It hurt to lift my arm over my head. I have been taking glucosamine for about three weeks and it has really helped. The pain is basically gone and I have full movement of my arm.

Antother thing that has been posted by others is STRETCH

[Ohioboarder]

[Nauty]

If the pain runs from your arm up through your shoulder it sounds more like tendonitous than joint pain.

Tendonitous is pretty common in wakeboarding. Try replacing a 5ft section of your non-stretch rope with a 5ft section on STRETCH rope. This will help keep you from getting tendonitous.

Also, when getting pulled up or riding through chop, give your arm (the one that's hurting) a break by gripping the handle palm up, like a slalom skier. This will transfer the energy used to hold the handle to your bicep. This will help to give your forearm and shoulder a rest.

At the end of last season I had a very similar pain. There really isn't anything that will heal tendonitous except for time. However, some ibuprofen will help keep the inflamation down. Doing the tips I suggested above will help to keep it from coming back once it's healed. You may need to lay off riding everyday for a while to give your arm time to heal.