Arthritis from boxer break 15 years ago

[Functionalfool]

Hi guys, I'm new to the site and have a question I'm guessing many of you deal with. I broke my hand in a couple places like 15 years ago (doc called it boxer break) and during spring and fall it sometimes hurts pretty bad from arthritis. Would taking a martial arts class make it better or worse?

I've always wanted to get into martial arts and a place just opened up walking distance from my house. It seems like ignoring the pain and just using it like normal makes it feel better, but that could just be because it was going to get better the next day anyways. Any advice?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

You'd probably have to ask an orthoped for expert advice on this. My gut reaction (as someone with some arthritis, though not from breaks) is that it might help, or it might aggravate it. I've had both happen, in different areas. Training in a style that doesn't do much hard impact (not a lot of heavy bag work, breaking, etc.) would probably be nothing but benefit in the long run. Heavy bag work and breaking might actually aggravate it (that's the kind of thing most likely to aggravate arthritis from a dislocation on my right hand).

If your doc doesn't see any reason to avoid the impact, then your best bet is to give it a try, and make sure your instructor knows of the existing issue. If I had someone come in with something like that, I'd be sure to go gently on that hand while we figure out what does and does not cause problems, and re-evaluate every few months (as light work might improve overall, making heavier work more acceptable later).

 

[Headhunter]

Ask a doctor

 

[jobo]

Hi guys, I'm new to the site and have a question I'm guessing many of you deal with. I broke my hand in a couple places like 15 years ago (doc called it boxer break) and during spring and fall it sometimes hurts pretty bad from arthritis. Would taking a martial arts class make it better or worse?

I've always wanted to get into martial arts and a place just opened up walking distance from my house. It seems like ignoring the pain and just using it like normal makes it feel better, but that could just be because it was going to get better the next day anyways. Any advice?

it's really a value judgement that only you can make, if it makes it feel better do it, if it makes it considerably worse , dont, if it's some where 8n the middle then decided if what your doing it worth the discomfort.

I've found as a general rule of thumb, that ignoring the pain, brings improvement, but that is rather dependent on what level of pain your ignoring and particularly what your personal thresh hold of pain is. will will certainly rise if you go through the test of ignoring it,

you dont say what ma your doing, but you dont have to bang with full power unless your actually competing and even then you dont and youl have nice gloves on to soften the impact, infact just buy some thickly padded gloves

 

[Xue Sheng]

As previously stated, this is a question for a doctor.

Martial artist, my self included in my youth, are notorious for training while hurt, which generally makes things worse. This makes us a bad choice for answering these types of questions.

A doctor is who you need to talk to.

 

[jobo]

As previously stated, this is a question for a doctor.

Martial artist, my self included in my youth, are notorious for training while hurt, which generally makes things worse. This makes us a bad choice for answering these types of questions.

A doctor is who you need to talk to.

theres a significant differance between ignoring an acute injury and soldering on through a chronic injury. acute I juries general need rest or treatment. chronic I juries just are, rest wont cure them and treatment apart from using them through the pain arnt general available, so it becomes a quality of life issue of if your going to let it dictate your life choices, causing adition damage probably isn't the best idea, just ignoring pain, will at the very least be rewarded by a higher pain freshhold

 

[Gerry Seymour]

theres a significant differance between ignoring an acute injury and soldering on through a chronic injury. acute I juries general need rest or treatment. chronic I juries just are, rest wont cure them and treatment apart from using them through the pain arnt general available, so it becomes a quality of life issue of if your going to let it dictate your life choices, causing adition damage probably isn't the best idea, just ignoring pain, will at the very least be rewarded by a higher pain freshhold

To some extent, I agree. However, pain from a chronic injury can also mean you're making it worse if you soldier through.

 

[jobo]

To some extent, I agree. However, pain from a chronic injury can also mean you're making it worse if you soldier through.

well yes it could, but not it's not necessarily so, not using it will cause the joints to jam up with calcium and the muscles etal to waste. so it gets worse no matter what you do, that's 8f it doesn't get better

 

[dvcochran]

Go with the general theme and talk it through with you Ortho.
I have arthritis in my hands from breaks. Gripping is painful but if I do it consistently with a ball or just working it helps. I have spurs in my knees where the cartilage is gone. Doc says this is the bodies way of trying to counter the missing cushion. If I do not stay active and on my feet some every day I can tell. Doc says the spurs grow very fast and staying active keeps the area where the two bones are grinding together a little smoother. I can really tell when I over do it and they get inflamed.
All that said, while I am certainly no expert, I would recommend some kind of exercise. Just know going in your pain will likely spike for a while before it gets better. Even if it doesn't help the arthritis pain it will surely help your overall health.
I don't what part of the world you are in but the "itis" brothers are a real thing. Barometric pressure and humidity make my arthritis noticeably worse.
Best of luck. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

well yes it could, but not it's not necessarily so, not using it will cause the joints to jam up with calcium and the muscles etal to waste. so it gets worse no matter what you do, that's 8f it doesn't get better

Yes, it might help. It might not hurt. But it might make things get worse faster (as would be the case if I kept doing distance running on my bad knees, according to my doc). There are cases where folks might be okay with that, if it just accelerates an inevitable treatment (knee replacement, etc.). My point is just that it's not a safe blanket assumption that working through chronic pain is a good idea.

 

[jobo]

Yes, it might help. It might not hurt. But it might make things get worse faster (as would be the case if I kept doing distance running on my bad knees, according to my doc). There are cases where folks might be okay with that, if it just accelerates an inevitable treatment (knee replacement, etc.). My point is just that it's not a safe blanket assumption that working through chronic pain is a good idea.

all discussions we have on this or related topics end up sooner or later as a discussion about your knees, which are a ) clearly very special knees and b) a subject you are an expert in.

m6 knees on the other hand WERE completely shot, I couldn't knees down with out excruciating pain, I couldn't stand up with 9ut severe pain and loud clicking noises and I couldn5 run or cycle with out them blowing up like a balloon and hurting for dais after.

now, because of steady diligent exercise through the pain and swelling non of that happens at all, if I'd listen to my doctor I'd be semi invalid by now,

which of us has the typical and which the atypical knees, we will never know, but as I see it the only way for anybody to find out if working through the pain is benifical is to try working through the pain, and find out what happens

 

[Gerry Seymour]

all discussions we have on this or related topics end up sooner or later as a discussion about your knees, which are a ) clearly very special knees and b) a subject you are an expert in.

m6 knees on the other hand WERE completely shot, I couldn't knees down with out excruciating pain, I couldn't stand up with 9ut severe pain and loud clicking noises and I couldn5 run or cycle with out them blowing up like a balloon and hurting for dais after.

now, because of steady diligent exercise through the pain and swelling non of that happens at all, if I'd listen to my doctor I'd be semi invalid by now,

which of us has the typical and which the atypical knees, we will never know, but as I see it the only way for anybody to find out if working through the pain is benifical is to try working through the pain, and find out what happens

There's nothing unique about my knees. I bring them up when chronic injuries are mentioned, specifically because knee arthritis is pretty common, and the type I have is something I know not to be all that odd (though some of the behaviors of them are, according to my doc).

Your condition was likely different from mine. I can keep active, but if I keep running (which I'd prefer to do), I'm more likely to need replacement, which I'm hoping I might avoid, or at least delay so it's a one-time thing (if I did it now, I'm almost certain to need it again when the parts wear out).

Summary: not all knee pain is the same.

 

[jobo]

There's nothing unique about my knees. I bring them up when chronic injuries are mentioned, specifically because knee arthritis is pretty common, and the type I have is something I know not to be all that odd (though some of the behaviors of them are, according to my doc).

Your condition was likely different from mine. I can keep active, but if I keep running (which I'd prefer to do), I'm more likely to need replacement, which I'm hoping I might avoid, or at least delay so it's a one-time thing (if I did it now, I'm almost certain to need it again when the parts wear out).

Summary: not all knee pain is the same.

so how is your type different from my type, they clearly originate from the same activerties ?

but you do invoke them in all conversations ad proof of something ?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

so how is your type different from my type, they clearly originate from the same activerties ?

but you do invoke them in all conversations ad proof of something ?

There are many things that can go wrong in knees. I have no idea what was causing the pain in your knees. In my case, I'm losing cartilage, and exercise won't fix that.

 

[jobo]

There are many things that can go wrong in knees. I have no idea what was causing the pain in your knees. In my case, I'm losing cartilage, and exercise won't fix that.

well nothing causing the pain in my knees, its fixed , and as you dont know if I'm loosing/ lost cartilage or not, you dont know if exercise fixed it or not

 

[Gerry Seymour]

well nothing causing the pain in my knees, its fixed , and as you dont know if I'm loosing/ lost cartilage or not, you dont know if exercise fixed it or not

Yeah, you're rambling now, mate.

 

[Buka]

Functionalfool, welcome to Martial Talk.

And, yes, I have some advice. Go work out, it will help your arthritis.
And focus learning a proper Martial punch to protect those hands going forwards, brother.