You’ve been struggling with physical things lately. Increasingly you need help. Your joints are swollen, you’re losing energy to keep up with the things you used to do all day long.
Your doctor runs tests.
You spend a few weeks anxious about the results.
And then they finally return with the results and jovially claim, “No worries, it’s JUST arthritis.”
Has this been your experience? It was mine and it changed the course of my life.
Saying “it’s JUST arthritis” has had a serious impact on my mental health since my diagnosis.
I don’t mean to paint the doctor as the bad person. Maybe they were JUST relieved they didn’t have to tell me I was dying and the alternative of JUST having arthritis was great news!
But that word JUST is an UNJUST word!
It’s JUST arthritis
JUST take Ibuprofen
JUST lose weight
JUST stop gardening
It’s JUST normal aging
One quarter of the population has arthritis. That’s a lot of people!
It’s typically thought of as the old person’s disease. Something everyone will eventually get. The wear and tear disease. All those things can be true, but there’s so much more to it.
Using the word JUST to describe osteoarthritis makes it less than for the person receiving the diagnosis and creates a burden of guilt and shame.
Was I supposed to be happy I have osteoarthritis in every joint in my body? Was I the cause of my osteoarthritis because I’m overweight? Because I overused my joints? Because I garden? Because I’m aging? Was I the cause of my own pain?
Without realizing it, I was allowing others to blame me for this disease.
When I asked why I have such bad osteoarthritis, I was told I’d been hard on my body.
When I asked what I can do about osteoarthritis pain, I was told to take Ibuprofen.
When I asked about my prognosis for the future, I got the mixed message that there’s nothing you can do about it, everyone gets it.
Wait. Was I the cause of my arthritis? Or is it inevitable?
The truth is, osteoarthritis is a complex disease, without a cure. Research is revealing more about it all the time, throwing new light on the causes.
When people say it’s JUST arthritis, it steals your ability to make positive change in your prognosis.
But the worst part is when you tell yourself it’s JUST arthritis.
The Problem and the Solution are Easy
You JUST have wear and tear on your joints due to age, weight, and overuse so,
JUST lose weight, JUST stop gardening, JUST take Ibuprofen. Easy right?
Researchers are finding that the problem isn’t all wear and tear. Overuse and age can add to the development of osteoarthritis, but many more factors beyond our control are at play like joint injury, musculoskeletal abnormalities, genetics, weak muscles, gender, and environmental factors.
Combinations of these factors and hormonal issues can make it difficult to lose weight and the cycle of pain makes it hard to exercise.
Gardening is the activity that brings me joy. It’s what I’m most passionate about and provides me with an emotional, physical, and creative outlet. Telling me to JUST stop gardening is devastating!
Daily Ibuprofen was causing stomach issues and it has a list of negative long-term effects.
I needed a better way to manage my osteoarthritis!
But if I continued to buy the line it’s JUST arthritis, I was powerless to do anything about it.
The only way to get my power back was to say, “Enough!”
It’s not JUST arthritis any more than I’m not JUST a gardener!
Osteoarthritis is a serious disease of the joints that for a variety of intertwined reasons has manifested its way into my life. It’s a disease that medical science doesn’t have a cure for, but one that I can learn to manage.
And so, I’m learning to reinvent myself from someone who JUST has arthritis, to someone who’s doing something about it. I’ve developed my own management plan for my arthritis. One that will let me continue to pursue my passion for gardening for the rest of my life in a way that allows for healthy aging for arthritic joints.
My management program, the Pillars of Strength has six pillars that are integral to each other.
The Six pillars are:
Mind Management
- Manage the way I’m thinking about my arthritis starting with removing the word JUST! I have osteoarthritis, a serious disease of the joints. Through integrated management, I can pursue my passions and dreams in life, despite arthritis. I didn’t cause osteoarthritis, but I can choose to have a positive effect on my prognosis.
Exercise
- I can find or develop exercise programs that cater to my specific joint problems and help strengthen me to compensate for the weak areas of my body. It has taken some mind management to convince myself that I’m a person who loves to exercise! But I do it for the love of my joints and my desire to continue gardening.
Nutrition
- I’m discovering that what I eat directly affects how I feel. Sugar is a major player in creating inflammation in the body, as is gluten. I use the garden to gradually replace my love for refined carbs with a love for fresh fruits and vegetables. Some supplements can have a positive effect on my pain levels long-term and are a great alternative to daily Ibuprofen. I’m becoming more aware that what I put in my body has a significant impact on pain and inflammation. Like creating a great environment for plants to grow in the garden, I need to create a positive biome for healing in my body.
Methods
- I research new gardening methods constantly to find ways to garden that impact my joints the least but create a beautiful impact on my life. Gone are my old back-breaking ways. I’m constantly on the search for better gardening methods that allow me to nurture both the garden and my body.
Tools
- Simple changes like replacing a wheelbarrow with a garden cart, regular pruners with ratcheting pruners and metal watering cans with plastic, are easy solutions to overworking joints. I’m re-thinking all the tools I use and making sure they work harder for me.
Pain Relief
- With arthritis there’s going to be pain. I must give myself grace on days when I need it. Self-care is paramount and I can’t let it slide. I’m finding alternative means of pain relief and know that it may not be one but a combination of several things I can use regularly to provide pain relief for aching joints.
With these six pillars, I know I can create an unbreakable foundation for living my life my way with arthritis.
It’s my choice. I can believe it’s JUST arthritis, something not to be taken seriously. JUST keep pushing it under and try to ignore what it’s doing to my body. JUST take the Ibuprofen and continue to feel guilty for what I’ve caused and shame that I won’t JUST lose weight. JUST sweep it under the rug as if it isn’t creating life-altering differences. Everyone gets it right? It must be ravaging everyone else’s lives too.
Or I can say, enough. I have arthritis and I intend to learn everything I can to find ways to manage it positively.
I hope my story helps you make a better choice for you.
It’s not JUST arthritis, it’s your life.
Find your inspiration to keep you gardening longer with arthritis!
