Arthritis and the Ocean

[allen007]

Does living on a boat make arthritis worse? "Tiger Balm" seems to really help this landlubber

[moonlightmesa]

Unfortunately, if you are living in a damp, cool climate, arthritis can be more bothersome if living on a boat. Even when my husband and I cruise in the summer time in the San Juans and Inside Passage, after about three weeks his back begins creaking!

You might want to try Oil of Oregano. Check it out. It can be taken internally and also rubbed into the skin. It makes a gigantic difference to my husband.

[zeehag]

i find that what makes me happy and comfortable makes the athritis not hurt so badly.

[roverhi]

I've gotten a bit creaky as I've officially reached the SS age. The floor keeps getting further away and the joints just don't want to bend like they used to.

I just finished a solo TransPac and was surprized that all my aches and pains jumped off the boat in Sausalito and didn't come back till I was in Hilo, HI for a couple of days. Didn't have any aches or pains even after getting tossed around a bit and taking a few tumbles on the passage. Don't know why other than I may have been forced to flex the joints constantly and keep them loose.

[lorenzo b]

Swimming every day for a good 1/2 hr really helps, but just being on a boat and moving around is good. Take advil.

[Hud3]

My wife has serious spinal problems. Arthritis is the least of them. One of the reasons we moved to the Caribbean is that when we were cruising full time down here, she found her pain level to be less than back in Virginia. We attribute that to three things: consistently warm temperatures, the ability to do water aerobics every day, and the fact that the day-to-day atmospheric pressure changes here are much less pronounced in both frequency and amplitude than back in the States.

I ran that last theory by our Internist, and he agreed that it probably has some validity. For example, when Earl passed nearby recently, the pressure dropped about 12 millibars, and then rose fairly quickly. My wife reported a noticeable increase in her pain level during that time period.

So, the answer for you may be, "Buy a boat and sail it to the Tropics".

[zeehag]

hud--i can understand that--my hands donot like sudden anythings and love sun--we havent had any this year--so i ma not as good as when i am at sea and comfy ina sailing boar sailing my fool arse off....even with using my hands out there i still have less pain and loss of function than when i am home just fixing boat and waiting to leave......i have reynaud's disease so my arthritis is a slightly different kind--related to blood flow rather than bone inflammation--i get tendon and soft tissue irritation working on my joints and muscles instead of bone inflammation making the pains...
in mexico there is a tee--red elephant tree--the tea from the bark of this tree will make arthritis disappearr--it even helped mine for a long time...the indios swear by it and it does work for traumatic and other forms of arthritis---friend of mine had permanent results--longer than 5 yrs-from one use--is to be drunk every day 2 times per day for 15 days then stop.
it works.
i didnt believe it until i tried it.

[allen007]

Thanks all! Great info at these forums, much appreciate your thoughts here. A little surprised no one mentioned a nightcap or two after dark...

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by allen007

Thanks all! Great info at these forums, much appreciate your thoughts here. A little surprised no one mentioned a nightcap or two after dark...

Seems most sailors have that nightcap and so would not know since there is no control to test against.

[watergypsy]

You mean I won't need my nightcap or two ( taken for purely medicinal purposes) , if we sail to the tropics? Hmmmmmmmm do I add that to the pro or con list?

A :-)

[DeepFrz]

I found when sailing in the Caribbean that the arthritis in my lower back didn't bother me at all and it didn't bother me for a while after returning home to the Northland.

[zeehag]

the night cap is important--gotta keep up the good habits that do the good work of prevention.