I got the results of my x-rays, today. Spondylosis Deformans with lower lumbar facet arthropathy was the diagnosis. Hip x-rays were normal. I think that is a fancy way of saying I have degenerative arthritis in my lower spine.
Do you take glucosamine, or glucosamine plus chondroitin? I really can't recommend it enough! It gave hubby 15 years of mostly pain free life (while he was working as a dairy farmer plus working for the Highway Department) after he was told at 44, "you will need a hip replacement. Wait as long as you can, because you're too young - you will wear it out. No pain meds. No physical therapy. No nothing..Just, "your hip is a mess".
At the time, glucosamine and chondroitin weren't being used on humans (officially). It was being used, successfully, on multi-million dollar racehorse. I put hubby on it. Within a month, you could no longer fry eggs on the skin over the hip. (Metaphor: hat tip to our late, and sadly misses member Troke). I have an interesting ability to detect heat in parts of the body (very useful when doing vet related stuff with horses)...but I can actually tell where the heat and inflammation is coming from... depth, at least. From there, it's knowledge of the anatomy, and experience.) His hip went from "blazing hot" (most people can feel this in the skin from a bad sunburn), about 2 inches down, to "essentially normal", but with a tiny focal point of heat/inflammation at least 6-7" deep.
He essentially went from "really having trouble keeping up with the normal - admittedly physically demanding - activities to full, physical work, including milking cows, cutting and splitting wood, machinery repairs. Without pain.
For almost 14 years. Then he started having shooting pain down his leg and into his groin. We thought it was his back. He fractured 2 vertebrae badly at 27. As it turned out, he also broke that hip in the fall. But because he broke or dislocated every bone and joint in his *right* ankle and leg, and he had serious pain from 2 crushed vertebrae,...they completely missed the fractured left hip and pelvis!! Which meant that he was using that fractured hip to support his weight as he started using crutches 2 days after the surgery to put everything on the left side back together!
So, for the TLDR crowd (I don't blame you! LOL!)...it works on osteoarthritis, whether due to aging or old injuries. It may not last a lifetime, but it may keep you comfortable and active for a decade or two! It works by rebuilding cartilage...hubby's hip was almost bone-on-bone ...9 months after he started taking glucosamine and chondroitin, and x-ray his chiropractor ordered showed *normal spacing* and what looked like healthy cartilage filling the joint space.
Our daughter has been running cross-country since she was 13, and has since run many triathlons, Mud Runs, and marathons. Her idea of "stress relief" is a 12 mile run through the rural countryside.
I got her started on glucosamine and chondroitin early... she was taking it through running in college, and most of the time since.
It's hard to believe, but she has *never* had a serious injury that has required time off from running. She's 44, and has no knee or hip pain at all.
Summerthyme
