Arthritis Question
- Thread starter wcwhitey
- Start date
Interesting. Your comment prompted me to go looking into total shoulder replacement. I wasn’t aware that was available now. I had my two shoulder surgeries in 2012 when the only option was to remove the damaged cartilage. At the time they could not replace the socket portion of the shoulder bones. I guess now they can. Thank you for mentioning this.
I had my right one done two years ago. I have 90% range of motion and 95% strength. I and getting the left one done in the next two years. After years of pain and compensating for it, it’s good to have my should back!
I have arthritis and gout issues, so lots of things can aggravate it. Wheat (gluten) inflames osteoarthritis, so don't eat sparingly. You don't have to give it up. Gout is aggravated by purines in food. Get a uric acid test and see where your levels are. Some people don't know they have gout because they have never had an acute gout episode. Gout degenerates your joints and make them arthritic. And of course, cold and over use causes inflammation. Arthritis aint for sissies. Have good rifle positioning and good shoulder contact does not aggravate my shoulder joint for what I shoot which is moderately significant recoil.
I have adjusted to arthiritic hands by shooting lighter loads in heavier, lighter recoiling guns that have quality S/A triggers. This reduces the stress that recoil causes on your thumb joints.
ETA - My better half works with medicare retirees. She would call this thread an organ recital
ETA - My better half works with medicare retirees. She would call this thread an organ recital
d2wing
Member
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- Nov 10, 2008
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- 6,433
I have had those issues for years now. I sleep with hand braces from the VA when they are really painful. It's mostly in my right thumb joint. I also exercise my hands to fight off trigger finger and pain. I had to give up motorcycles when I was 72. Really miss that.
Savage30L
Member
What I do for arthritis:
1. Sunbathe frequently when the weather allows
2. Take lots of vitamin D (15,000-25,000 IU/day)
3. Rub some Dimethyl Sulfoxide onto the affected area (cheap, effective, and safer than the stuff the doctors tried to get me to take).
1. Sunbathe frequently when the weather allows
2. Take lots of vitamin D (15,000-25,000 IU/day)
3. Rub some Dimethyl Sulfoxide onto the affected area (cheap, effective, and safer than the stuff the doctors tried to get me to take).
Hopefully your doctor is monitoring your vitamin D levels. And yes you can over dose o vitamin D which can cause some serious issues.
I take vitamin D3 as prescribed by my doctor for osteopenia and am on 2,000 IU/day.
The recommended daily dose of vitamin D without a doctors prescription is 600 IU.
doubleh
Member
Try a 1/4" battery powered impact drive instead. Much easier than a drill driver.
A s one of the more geezerly members of this fourum I have news for you young whipper snappers. Eventually nothing, I repeat, NOTHING works like it used to and most of it hurts when you try to use it.
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
Thank you. I will give that a try.
PWC
Member
54 yrs ago, parachuting accident...right foot went in a gopher hole (what's the odds?) Split the joint up the leg bone, open reduction surgery. 45 yrs ago exit C130 something snagged left leg tore all 4 cruchets, and all ligaments. Outside skin held upper and lower leg together. Landing shattered cartledge.
Yup, I can usually tell weather change. Off the shelf, lace up ankle support over a sheer silk or nylon sock, then normal white athletic sock over all.
Left knee...pull up "sleeve", best with a kneecap hole. Can be bought over I'net, mine's Rx for 2 $40 ea 4 yrs ago.
Sometimes ankle takes on a life of its own and twitches, and must keep it moving til I take an Aleve.
With these I can walk a couple miles OK.
Middle finger, right hand used to "catch" when bent. Trigger finger was kinda neat at first. Then it got to the point I didn't have the strength in my finger to overcome the "snap". Had to use the off hand to straighten the finger. CVS and Walgreens sells finger sleeves, 2 to a pack, with a soft splint to go under the joint. Works great, and does NOT affect my pistol grip.
I prefer conservative approach to pain management. Surgery and mandatory COVID shots are off the table.
Oh, did I mention that I'm 79?
Yup, I can usually tell weather change. Off the shelf, lace up ankle support over a sheer silk or nylon sock, then normal white athletic sock over all.
Left knee...pull up "sleeve", best with a kneecap hole. Can be bought over I'net, mine's Rx for 2 $40 ea 4 yrs ago.
Sometimes ankle takes on a life of its own and twitches, and must keep it moving til I take an Aleve.
With these I can walk a couple miles OK.
Middle finger, right hand used to "catch" when bent. Trigger finger was kinda neat at first. Then it got to the point I didn't have the strength in my finger to overcome the "snap". Had to use the off hand to straighten the finger. CVS and Walgreens sells finger sleeves, 2 to a pack, with a soft splint to go under the joint. Works great, and does NOT affect my pistol grip.
I prefer conservative approach to pain management. Surgery and mandatory COVID shots are off the table.
Oh, did I mention that I'm 79?
Ahhh the joys of being a young paratrooper!!!!
I had a bad landing while jumping into Ft McCoy, Wi in the middle of winter. Between that and having to carry my own body weight or more in gear sure didn't do my knees any favors. I was 120 pounds when I reported for basic training and averaged 125-130 pounds for most of my time in the Army. The M60 was my primary weapon for most of the time while an E1-E4. Plus being a combat engineer I had extra weight there too.
I don't own or shoot anything with a very heavy trigger due to the arthritis in my hands and wrists. I occasionally shoot my revolvers DA but shoot SA most of the time.
I had a bad landing while jumping into Ft McCoy, Wi in the middle of winter. Between that and having to carry my own body weight or more in gear sure didn't do my knees any favors. I was 120 pounds when I reported for basic training and averaged 125-130 pounds for most of my time in the Army. The M60 was my primary weapon for most of the time while an E1-E4. Plus being a combat engineer I had extra weight there too.
I don't own or shoot anything with a very heavy trigger due to the arthritis in my hands and wrists. I occasionally shoot my revolvers DA but shoot SA most of the time.
9x56MS
Member
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- Jan 31, 2021
- Messages
- 892
Try the compression gloves from copper fit their knee sleeves did wonders for me.
doubleh
Member
I should have mentioned that one will not work on straight slotted screws worth a hoot. You might be able to keep one from jumping the slot but I can't. Any other type head and they are great
It's a quick and easy surgical procedure to have that corrected. At least my wife says it is and has had three of them and a thumb done.
.
Be careful with this stuff.
By itself, it is fairly harmless for most folks when used in reasonable amounts and does seem to provide some people with relief from joint pain. The thing to keep in mind is that it is a very good solvent for many different compounds and has a somewhat unique ability to penetrate the skin, taking with it anything that is dissolved in it.
You want to be very careful about what you touch while applying it and right after you apply it before it is fully absorbed, to avoid poisoning yourself. This may not be quite as easy as it seems, for example, you might think that covering the area of the application until it absorbs fully would be a good precaution, but you have to be careful not to use any type of covering that dissolves in DMSO unless you don't mind it ending up in your bloodstream. You want to wash your hands thoroughly before applying it, being sure to rinse thoroughly to get all the soap off your hands. If you use an applicator, be sure it's not made of a material that DMSO can dissolve. If you transfer it to another container, be sure the new container and its cap/seal are not soluble in DMSO. Etc.
JTHunter
Member
About 10 years ago (in my 50s), both hands had trigger fingers, middle and ring finger on both, but the right was the worst (rt. handed). I went to an orthopedic had specialist, in fact, the same doctor who repaired my left thumb when I cut off the tip with a table saw. He injected steroids into the tube the tendons in those fingers run through from the palm towards the fingertips. He had to do multiple fingers over the course of about 10 months (more in the right) but after that, I haven't had any more problems.
You might want to consider that despite your age as it might solve your problem permanently.
Good luck !
OP
OP
wcwhitey
Member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Messages
- 2,814
The good news is I rested my hand. Did not go shooting for 3 weeks to give things a break. Went Thursday and shot a few boxes of mild .38 Special from my Model 66 and Model 15. Enjoyed the shoot with no ill effects. Just going to have to pay attention to recoil going forward, don’t want consistent problem. I already know what lead up to it. Several long and close together sessions with my Model 638, Ruger LCP and Kahr CM9. Small guns, big hands and snappy recoil. Going to have to pay closer attention going forward.
That's good. Maybe take some ibuprofen/aspirin or some other NSAID before you go on your next range trip to keep the discomfort to a minimum and to help prevent getting any inflammation started.
And don't beat yourself up with a ton of rounds. I used to shoot hundreds of rounds at each range session--I've done over 1,000 rounds of 10mm in a day and over 200 rounds of full-power .44Mag in a day on another occasion. I don't do that any more, not because I can't but because I'm hoping not to get myself into a bad situation like some of the horror stories I've heard about people who have had to have wrist/hand surgeries and/or have had to stop shooting calibers they love due to accumulated damage to their hands/wrists from recoil.
Take a .22LR or something else that is easy shooting if you want to drive your round count per range trip up. I have a little .22LR revolver that goes to the range with me every trip that involves another handgun that has significant recoil. I can get a lot of shooting in with the revolver and go easy on shooting the guns that recoil more.
And don't beat yourself up with a ton of rounds. I used to shoot hundreds of rounds at each range session--I've done over 1,000 rounds of 10mm in a day and over 200 rounds of full-power .44Mag in a day on another occasion. I don't do that any more, not because I can't but because I'm hoping not to get myself into a bad situation like some of the horror stories I've heard about people who have had to have wrist/hand surgeries and/or have had to stop shooting calibers they love due to accumulated damage to their hands/wrists from recoil.
Take a .22LR or something else that is easy shooting if you want to drive your round count per range trip up. I have a little .22LR revolver that goes to the range with me every trip that involves another handgun that has significant recoil. I can get a lot of shooting in with the revolver and go easy on shooting the guns that recoil more.
James K2020
Member
I've used Voltaren. It doesn't work instantly, need to use it for a few days but it does work. I also use a TENS for other sore areas but may not work on the thumb as well as a leg or shoulder.
I have some arthritis in my right hand too. This is part of the reason that I so strongly prefer pistols with a paddle release for the magazine. I also prefer full-sized, non-blowback, 380 pistols like the PK380 and the Browning 1911-380. They are just easier to shoot.
As far as taking ibuprofen before shooting, I generally take it before getting dressed and on a schedule throughout the day. The TENS, that goes on my back when I get him from work. This is after switching to a less physically taxing job (there are reasons I became a teacher, just plain wearing out my body was one of them).
As far as taking ibuprofen before shooting, I generally take it before getting dressed and on a schedule throughout the day. The TENS, that goes on my back when I get him from work. This is after switching to a less physically taxing job (there are reasons I became a teacher, just plain wearing out my body was one of them).
PWC
Member
So far most of this thread talks about the effects of arthritis on hands. What about the effects on rifle or shotgun? Truthfully, I haven't shot either in several years, so how does it carry over?
I have had to switch over to stocks with some type of pistol grip on my rifles in order shoot them comfortably. I have a couple of thumbhole stocks along with a couple of chassis stocks for my bolt action rifles and along with my various AR's. I have a hard time trying to grip and hold a traditional Monte Carlo style stock now days. And I don't shoot any shotgun as much as I use to. I just can't bring myself to instal a pistol grip stock onto my Mossberg shotguns nor will I contemplate doing so to my O/U.
Buzznrose
Member
Lots of good advice on shooting and dealing with arthritis pain. I’ve got it throughout my body from ankles to my neck.
I have recently discovered something new that is truly amazing, but most folks just don’t want it bad enough. But I’m now rarely taking either ibuprofen or CBD (which helps but get good stuff)…and my pain is almost always a 0-1 where it used to be a constant 3-5 and flare to 8-9.
1. Stop eating all foods with sugar
2. Stop eating all processed foods and all non-organic grains.
3. Increase water intake to at least a gallon per day.
4. Greatly reduce/eliminate all dairy.
My pain was significantly reduced in 48 hours on a clean diet of quality meat, pasture raised eggs, coconut/olive/avacado oil, and lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
If you suffer arthritis, I promise this will help significantly.
I have recently discovered something new that is truly amazing, but most folks just don’t want it bad enough. But I’m now rarely taking either ibuprofen or CBD (which helps but get good stuff)…and my pain is almost always a 0-1 where it used to be a constant 3-5 and flare to 8-9.
1. Stop eating all foods with sugar
2. Stop eating all processed foods and all non-organic grains.
3. Increase water intake to at least a gallon per day.
4. Greatly reduce/eliminate all dairy.
My pain was significantly reduced in 48 hours on a clean diet of quality meat, pasture raised eggs, coconut/olive/avacado oil, and lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
If you suffer arthritis, I promise this will help significantly.
sanpitch
Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2022
- Messages
- 46
Your diet is very much mine and the benefits go way beyond just arthritis. I had problem with mucus and a throat restriction, I noticed it was worse after dairy. I stopped all dairy for just a few days and my condition greatly improved. AND I'd been on oxygen for 3 years and my SpO2 shot up into the high 90's and has stayed there for over a year' I still monitor daily.
JKP
Member
At 70, I do have some arthritis. When shooting nowdays, 9mm is fine up to about 300 rounds, but 45 acp and .357 run out of fun after about 50 rounds. Last time I shot 44 magnum, 2 cylinders were enough. I do have, from what I've read, is trigger finger, but it's on my left ring finger, so it doesn't bother my shooting.
Between this thread and the bad hearing thread, I think l should sign up for the geezer forum.
Between this thread and the bad hearing thread, I think l should sign up for the geezer forum.
I also like to wear gloves to shoot. I have a few different pairs from actual shooting gloves with some padding to rubberish mechanic gloves. I don't always wear them, but if I'm going to shoot much I find my right wrist does not seem to hurt or feel as sore after.
