Chaucerfan

When I was having joint pain I signed up to do a water exercise class in the pool. It really works but no pain to the joint.

Maybe that is an option for you.

I did feel like a fish outta water...pun intended lol, as it was mostly old folks in the class...but I met great people. That is why older folks exercise in water, less pain.

Thanks, Stacy. I used to do lap swimming, and I'd see all the "older folks" doing water walking in another lane. Now I'll be one of them.... But your recommendation is timely because I'm even now waiting for the arrival of a bathing suit that I ordered last week on line. So I'm hopeful!

I am 100% for a regular exercise. Exercise serves my mood, lungs and PN. even when PN is painful, I still try to walk and when pain is worse, I do the stationary bicycle because it has less pressure on my feet and legs. During those "normal" pain level days, the pain disappears while walking, but once you stop walking and just standing, you will curse your neighbor.lol. I don't know why is the pain becomes tolerable while walking and becomes intolerable while just standing ??? I remember one poster wrote that just thinking of standing in line makes his blood pressure go up.

There are days though that I really cannot walk. During those days, I try to lift weights. But this hurts my osteoarthritis in my fingers. Oh well, don't ask me if there is any part of my body that does not hurt....lol.

I wish I knew why movement like walking or running makes my PN better. If I even think about standing in a line it does make my blood pressure does go up. I too have the flare ups as soon as I stop running and take the shoes off. Sometimes this can last for the whole day but the advantages makes it worth it. I feel better, much more able to deal with the bad days, helps with my weight and my attitude about myself. Now I have chronic hip bursitis so I'm weight lifting and riding a stationary bike. Not as good though.

I too swear it's blood flow but I don't have a clue if that's it. All I know is if I'm paper thin and run about 20 miles a week I'm so much better off. I haven't been able to say I'm there for 2 years though. Weight gain and limited exercise are the culprits.

Marty, I agree!!!!

My PN is soooo much better this week and I have not gotten to exercise due to company visiting, but I am using my chi machine and it really must be working.

Marty, I too, can not stand in line, it's AWFUL. Even exercise is easier than just standing. And WHY does shopping in a mall make things WAY worse than an hour of full on exercise?????? So weird.

The only thing I can connect it to is the amount of standing done in the mall compared to the amount during exercise (or the amount of blood the pools in the feet and legs while at the mall verses the amount of blood the flows at a higher rate during exercise). I really really wonder if it's not somehow tied to our blood vascular system. (Not the cause of PN but relief)

This is something with PN that does not make sense to me. The pain becomes tolerable when you start walking but once I am done and starting to do simple tasks in the kitchen which requires standing, that I cannot do. BUT, during those days when pain is really bad, both standing and walking are out of the question.

Marty, seeing how long you've had PN, I assume you've already tried a cortisone injection for the hip bursitis? After reading in "Listen to Your Pain" that the only--but also very successful--remedy for trochanteric bursitis is corticosteroid directly into the bursa, I asked my orthopedist to try that, and so far its taken care of THAT particular issue for four or five months. (Now I wish I could tame the patella pain, from arthritis or who knows what. Before PN I was active enough to overcome that. Now it's keeping me FROM being very active again. Sigh.) BTW, I agree with you and Stacy that standing is much worse than walking. I wish I could get a "handicap placard" that would let me cut into line at the grocery check-out....

Sigh... I've had injections, didn't do a thing. But thanks for the advice/help anyway.