Question by :
Continued lower joint pain after major weight loss.?
I’m a 25-year-old female at 5ft 7 inches tall and currently 209lbs.
I’ve had lower back and extremity joint and muscle pain for as long as I can remember, and even before I can remember starting as a newborn. As an infant I had severe hip dysplasia and wore a corrective cast/brace for my first 14 months. All through my growing years I’ve had muscle aches and joint pains that would keep me up or wake me up at night. I was told these were just “growing pains.”
Partly due to the discomfort of activity (and poor eating habits), last year I reached a weight of 319lbs and was obviously in the worst shape of my life. Since then I have lost over 100lbs with diet and exercise. I had been told by doctors that losing the weight and being physically active would surely help with my lower joint and back pain, but it hasn’t. In fact, because I am much more active, I seem to hurt all the time now. I’m still about 60lbs overweight, but I had expected, at the the very least, marked improvement.
During the past year, as I’ve become more and more active, participating in water aerobics, biking, running, and circuit training there have been two very specific symptoms to go along with the general lower back pain, hip pain, knee pain, ankle pain, and foot pain bilaterally:
The first is sharp pain in the dorsom of my left foot with unknown causation. It is a kind of locking up or seizing sensation that occurs unexpectedly, usually after resting from exercise or waking up in the morning. Some days it won’t happen at all, other days it can happen upwards of 15-20 times. I saw a podiatrist who diagnosed extensor tendonitis and “general instability” and prescribed a brace, anti-inflamatories, Voltaren gel, and told me to R.I.C.E. and limit my high impact exercise. When that didn’t work approximately 8 weeks later, I recieved a cortisone injection to my sinus tarsi. While that helped briefly, it never eliminated the problem and less than 6 weeks later I’m back to the same level of discomfort that I started with.
The second symptom I would describe as a clicking and tugging in my left hip. This is relatively new symptom, beginning about 3 weeks ago but again, with no specific event to pinpoint the cause. With about 60% of my steps there is a quick, nonpainful tugging sensation that runs from the front of my left anterior hip to my lumbar curve. I can hear a “clicking” noise, but I’m not sure if that’s external or internal.
Now that I am experiencing two rather specific “injuries” to my left side, I’m am beginning to suspect that there is a larger culprit at play here than just the injuries themselves. Perhaps this is more of a big picture issue than it first seemed. I hate visiting with doctors about my issues anymore. I’ve been told too many times that whatever my ailment- it’s either my weight or all in my head. Maybe they are right- but I still need help finding a solution.
diabetes.
losing weight helps control diabetes immensely.
[askername], I know what your going through, losing weight can really be tuff. Seems like I tied a hundred different diets / programs and nothing was permanent, until I found The Diet Solution Program. I don’t know if it will be the right thing for you or not, but it sure was for me.
Good luck.
I think you might be getting a little mixed up with what you want exactly. You say that you want to lose “weight” but that means you might want to get rid of some muscle too. You then say that you’d like to “shape” (I’d call it tone) your body a little which implies you want to build some muscle. I’m not trying to pick at your question – I just want to clarify the point for you.
To answer it in the best way, I am going to look at it as if you want to get rid of fat AND build muscle at the same time. If you’re looking to “trim” and “tone” your body, and espectially because you suggest you are not that overweight, I would suggest you start performing more intensive aerobic exercises such as jogging. I wouldn’t think you need to change the whole way you eat or go on a diet because if you’re wanting to build muscles – it’s better to do it all with exercise.
Exercises like jogging won’t exactly “build” your muscles on your stomach but they will help reduce the extra fat around there. Depending on how fit you are, you should go on daily or bi-daily jogs of around a mile. To build muscles, you should concentrate on anaerobic exercises such as sit-ups to help build muscles.
These muscle-building exercises will give your muscles the toning and training they need to grow and become more prominent. To start to see a real difference with sit-ups, you should be looking to do no more than 100 every day (more than that will often hurt your muscles).
If you stick to doing those two forms of exercise – jogging and sit-ups, you should see real improvements in a week or two. Remember, you should do them as often as you can (I.E every single day).
Good Luck and Take care