It seems to me I heard somewhere that Stephen Denney wrote in article
<[email hidden]>:
Quoted message said:
I really loved to run when I was young. I ran cross country and track in
high school, and continued to run in college, but began experiencing back
problems and my times became slower. Since about that time I have had
ankylosing spondalitis, a form of arthritis where the joints of the spine
gradually fuse together over a period of years. I have had to replace both
hip joints. I can get around okay but can no longer run, in fact stopped
running almost 30 years ago.
That's sad to read. Was it the spine or the hip replacements that
forced you to stop? If your replacements were some years ago the newer
ones might give better results, but you probably wouldn't want to
consider newer ones unless the ones you have are actually bothering you.
Quoted message said:I mention this because I sometimes wonder if my running in youth might
have contributed to my developing this condition, with all the pounding on
the spine and other joints that is involved in running and training.
Anyone have any ideas as to whether this might be possible?
Possible, maybe. Likely, I doubt it. Ankylosing spondylitis is among
the 170+ diseases and syndromes related to autoimmune problems; the
catchall term is rheumatoid arthritis, but many types are defined and
treated as separate diseases. A good starting point for information and
treatment modalities is http://www.spondylitis.org/about/main.aspx
A rheumatologist is usually the specialist of choice, and many new
medications have become available in the last few years, so the outlook
is better than it was only a short while ago.
There is an active mutual support newsgroup dealing with the whole range
of autoimmune diseases at alt.support.arthritis; users share questions,
experiences, and practical information related to these kinds of
disease. Someone there probably knows of a similar newsgroup more
specifically for ankylosing spondylitis sufferers, as well.
Good luck.
--
Don Kirkman
