Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers, how do you cope with it?

All,

After months of pain and stiffness that has cost me some distance and consistency in my golf game this year, I finally have been confirmed as having rheumatoid arthritis. It as been my suspicion for a few months but I finally was diagnosed and will be starting to take medication to treat it.

For those that have it, how does you handle it in your day to day lives and your golf game? Once the medication starts to work against the inflammation can I expect to get some of my swing speed and distance back by feeling more "back to normal"? It really frustrated me this year as I I had hoped to meet some personal goals to get better but my game ended up regressing as I didn't know from one day to the next if I'd be too sore to even swing a golf club. Even the days I was able to swing with limited stiffness still ended up hurting my swing as I never really felt comfortable.

I mainly want to make sure there is the light at the end of the tunnel that I'll be able to resume normal golf activity and feeling good again once the treatment kicks in.

That can't be fun. I had a bout of polymyalgia rheumatica and it was the worst experience. Steroids daily for a full year. Tremendous pain in my joints and muscles. All I can say is take your meds and don't be afraid to experiment until you find what's right for you. I was lucky and got through it for now. Good luck man, I don't wish that crap on anyone.

Sent from my 6045O using Tapatalk

Here's a link to an article on golf with RA. Lots of good info on warming up, equipment options, changing one's approach to the game, etc. The good news is golf is really good therapy for RA. It keeps the joints working without subjecting them to severe stress.

http://www.arthritis.org/living-wit...workouts/other-activities/golf-swing-tips.php

I played in company tournaments with a guy whose hands were severely affected by RA. He used training grips on his clubs that allowed him to grip the club and play pretty well. Not strictly legal but no one cared. My dad has osteoarthritis. He used oversized grips to ease pain in his hands.

I also found an article on Kristy McPherson an LPGA pro who has had RA since she was a child. She recommends lots of gym time to keep your joints working but keep everything low impact.

I hope you find drugs that work for you. There are a lot of options these days. Don't give up if the first therapy doesn't work. RA is an autoimmune disease so the modern biological drugs work by suppressing your immune system. You may be susceptible to some nasty infections. Golf will tend to keep you outdoors and limit close contact with other people who might be carrying something you don't want to catch.

Good luck. RA is a rough disease but the treatment options these days are so much better than they used to be.

Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers, how do you cope with it?

Give the book Plant Paradox a read. Some helpful information in there that will help some. Combined with a a good workout program you may have good success.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks everyone for the information so far. I do currently play midsize grips but it hasn’t been extreme enough that I’ve needed to go any bigger. If anything it has prevented me from having a death grip on the clubs. The biggest things big for me so far hindering my swing is just pain and stiffness going up my forearms and elbows. I have started wearing a compression sleeve to help with my elbows but it want to be able to regain some of the speed I have lost.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There is light at the end of the tunnel !!!

I feel your pain. I was diagnosed about 4 years ago. It’s a roller-coaster for sure. From what I can gather, they still don’t know what causes RA and like with any other medication, it’s a trial and error to find the right mix that works for you. The crappy thing with the medication is that it takes about 6-8 weeks for it to start kicking in to even know if it’s working. If not, they’ll change up the medication and wait another 6-8 weeks to see if it works.

My problem was inflammation of the joints in my hand for the most part, specifically with my left index finger. Use to have an interlock grip but made it completely unbearable. Had to change my grip to an overlap which took a bit of time to readjust my swing. After 4 years from first being diagnosed, I’d say I’m about 90% which is pretty good in my book.

Feel free to hit me up any time if you have any questions.

I just subscribed to this thread.
I haven't been diagnosed but I have constant pain in both thumbs. At times they flair up and get quite painful. Being in N.E. Wisconsin I find that cold makes it worse. I'm currently trying to use winter gloves which helped with warmth but not my game (slicing). More than likely I'll just not golf when it's cold.

Regardless, I'll be interested to learn what I can in / from this thread. Thanks.

Someone I know has it. He recently switched to graphite shafts in his irons to take some of the shock from thin shots out. Definitely takes some more time to loosen up. He says that the shafts make a world of difference in his pain tolerance. Hope this helps out


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Gilbertc13 said:

Someone I know has it. He recently switched to graphite shafts in his irons to take some of the shock from thin shots out. Definitely takes some more time to loosen up. He says that the shafts make a world of difference in his pain tolerance. Hope this helps out


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Click to expand...

Yeah, I made the switch it graphite last spring for the shock absorption factor. I was lucky enough to be chosen for the new Recoil shafts with SMACWRAP and those things are great. It does take me quite a long time to get loose. I normally use an Orange Whip to help get loose but I really feel the pain in my hands and wrists if I don’t loosen up first in other ways. The weight of it really seems to put the stress on my wrists if I’m not fully warmed up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk