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When I first experienced RA symptoms, I had a doctor walk in, staring at my chart, and mumbled something to the effect of losing weight is beneficial. I asked how much weight he suggested I lose? Then, he actually looked at me for the first time, then looked back at the chart, and, probably for the first time, actually read it. My weight at the time was 118 pounds. Of course, I had made him look like a fool, so the thing to do was---get nasty! I think they teach them that in medical school I had to deal with that attitude, in addition to the pain and progressive joint damage I was suffering, while being told it was due to a lifestyle I wasn't leading
RA probably is unrelated to weight, so that doctor must be ignorant. RA is autoimmune and could be caused by just about anything, and doctors have no idea.
If reading this forum can get you so upset, maybe you should take a break from it.
I agree -- don't read it. I don't agree with a lot of what OP is saying, but these are his comments and I honor that. I've been in his shoes too. And maybe there is truth in some of what OP says.
What I posted about is my personal experience, take it or leave it. My reason for posting is to share what I consider valuable experience, but of course no one has to try it for themselves.
There definitely is some truth in it, because it has helped at least one person (me).
You can find lots of articles about how the mattress industry is full of scams. And probably the athletic shoe industry (I have not yet searched for that).
What I posted about is my personal experience, take it or leave it. My reason for posting is to share what I consider valuable experience, but of course no one has to try it for themselves.
There definitely is some truth in it, because it has helped at least one person (me).
You can find lots of articles about how the mattress industry is full of scams. And probably the athletic shoe industry (I have not yet searched for that).
NO there is NOT "some truth in it" because you can't prove ANY of your theories regarding beds, chairs, athletic shoes and arthritis....
You have NO idea if your lack of sleeping in a bed has somehow "protected you from arthritis"
There is no negative causation here that can be definitively taken as PROOF of ANYTHING
I don't have any symptoms of arthritis either....I also have been a runner for over 40 years and sleep in a bed
I could just as easily state I have eaten a twinkie every day for 40+ years and don't have arthritis therefore i have PROVEN eating twinkies prevents arthritis...
You haven't PROVEN a negative....its just as likely you wouldn't have arthritis if you had been sleeping in a conventional bed every day of your life
NO there is NOT "some truth in it" because you can't prove ANY of your theories regarding beds, chairs, athletic shoes and arthritis....
You have NO idea if your lack of sleeping in a bed has somehow "protected you from arthritis"
There is no negative causation here that can be definitively taken as PROOF of ANYTHING
I don't have any symptoms of arthritis either....I also have been a runner for over 40 years and sleep in a bed
I could just as easily state I have eaten a twinkie every day for 40+ years and don't have arthritis therefore i have PROVEN eating twinkies prevents arthritis...
You haven't PROVEN a negative....its just as likely you wouldn't have arthritis if you had been sleeping in a conventional bed every day of your life
Looks like you are a faithful follower of sciencebasedmedicine. If it were up to them, no one would ever believe anyone about anything. You can't prove it without expensive long-term controlled experiments.
But how much would it cost someone to try the informal experiment for themselves? Nothing.
Looks like you are a faithful follower of sciencebasedmedicine. If it were up to them, no one would ever believe anyone about anything. You can't prove it without expensive long-term controlled experiments.
But how much would it cost someone to try the informal experiment for themselves? Nothing.
I am an informal experiment. When I camp and my air mattress gets low, I wake up feeling like I have been beaten with baseball bats all night, and if I run without my expensive athletic shoes I will be couch-bound for days.
I understand how arthritis develops (loosely), both RA and OA, so I'm not going to sleep on a mat or not wear shoes, I've done yoga (still do on occasion) and been to a chiropractor (made my back feel great, but was double dipping with the insurance, and I won't support unethical behavior).
The logic of your conclusions is not logical.... but at least you mean well.
Science based, means the same result can be replicated repeatedly.... so yeah, I'm all about the science-based.
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I am an informal experiment. When I camp and my air mattress gets low, I wake up feeling like I have been beaten with baseball bats all night, and if I run without my expensive athletic shoes I will be couch-bound for days.
I understand how arthritis develops (loosely), both RA and OA, so I'm not going to sleep on a mat or not wear shoes, I've done yoga (still do on occasion) and been to a chiropractor (made my back feel great, but was double dipping with the insurance, and I won't support unethical behavior).
The logic of your conclusions is not logical.... but at least you mean well.
Science based, means the same result can be replicated repeatedly.... so yeah, I'm all about the science-based.
They call themselves "science-based," but that doesn't mean they are. If you never try anything until it has been confirmed by big controlled experiments, you are not being sensible. Most things have not yet been studied formally and published in established journals. And a large percentage of the formal research is funded by companies who can profit from positive results.
So you can wait years, or decades, or forever, for someone to run an experiment that determines if it's better to sleep on a bed than a floor, and what degree of softness or hardness is best, etc. And another experiment to see if doing yoga every day for 50 years helps prevent osteoarthritis, and another to see if walking with minimal shoes is good for the feet. Etc., etc.
Authors at sciencebasedmedicine always advocate whatever mainstream medicine happens to recommend. They have never once ever recommended a non-mainstream alternative. They will tell you it's because ALL the non-mainstream alternatives are bogus, and ALL the mainstream options have been confirmed by controlled experiments.
If you live according to sciencebasedmedicine you will not bother with yoga, because according to them yoga is merely another form of exercise, with no special benefits. You would never go anywhere near a chiropractor, because chiropractic adjustments have caused death (about one in a billion times).
We have to find what works best for each of us individually. Most of the time, we go with the cultural traditions, because there isn't time to try everything. But once in a while, it is worth questioning the accepted standards.
I don't run because I think fast walking is better for the joints, and also because it does not require expensive padded shoes.
[quote=Good4Nothin;50007381]Looks like you are a faithful follower of sciencebasedmedicine. If it were up to them, no one would ever believe anyone about anything. You can't prove it without expensive long-term controlled experiments.
But how much would it cost someone to try the informal experiment for themselves? Nothing.[/quote
How do you just "try" a lifestyle for a disease that is decades in the making? If sleeping on the floor and wearing certain shoes prevented arthritis, you'd have to live it, over decades, to know if it was true. It's not like you could try it for 2 weeks and deduce if you don't have arthritis by then, that it worked.
Arthritis is a wear-and-tear disease. Just like wear and tear on your car, it comes after many, many miles driven, or decades lived. Just like a worn serpentine belt, you can replace it, but you can't restore it. This is why the poster said it would take long-term highly controlled experiments, but I can't see how that would even happen, there are too many variables.
If you move your joints, they will eventually wear out, regardless of what mattress you sleep on. Those with a genetic pre-disposition of course more likely than those lucky few who won the genetic lottery and are still pain-free at 85.
They call themselves "science-based," but that doesn't mean they are. If you never try anything until it has been confirmed by big controlled experiments, you are not being sensible. Most things have not yet been studied formally and published in established journals. And a large percentage of the formal research is funded by companies who can profit from positive results.
So you can wait years, or decades, or forever, for someone to run an experiment that determines if it's better to sleep on a bed than a floor, and what degree of softness or hardness is best, etc. And another experiment to see if doing yoga every day for 50 years helps prevent osteoarthritis, and another to see if walking with minimal shoes is good for the feet. Etc., etc.
Authors at sciencebasedmedicine always advocate whatever mainstream medicine happens to recommend. They have never once ever recommended a non-mainstream alternative. They will tell you it's because ALL the non-mainstream alternatives are bogus, and ALL the mainstream options have been confirmed by controlled experiments.
If you live according to sciencebasedmedicine you will not bother with yoga, because according to them yoga is merely another form of exercise, with no special benefits. You would never go anywhere near a chiropractor, because chiropractic adjustments have caused death (about one in a billion times).
We have to find what works best for each of us individually. Most of the time, we go with the cultural traditions, because there isn't time to try everything. But once in a while, it is worth questioning the accepted standards.
I don't run because I think fast walking is better for the joints, and also because it does not require expensive padded shoes.
Yoga is not good for everyone btw. Science-based research has found for those with osteoporosis, flexion is the absolute worse thing you can do. I did yoga all quite a bit, and I actually now think it contributed to my need for a laminectomy last year (and yes I did btw sleep on the floor, I tried 10 different surfaces trying to find a way to sleep through the night without pain, and it didn't help in the slightest)
. I am not btw a science-only person. I cured my own digestive issues after a GI doc failed to, and she argued with me when I showed her the supplement that cured it.
You seem to feel there is no such thing as a balanced approach, you want to put labels on those of us who believe in science as if we can't possibly support natural cures if we support researched medicine.
Nobody knows what causes arthritis, except genetic predisposition. My siblings and I were never fat or lazy and ate healthily. I've always had a physical job, and hiked, kayaked, etc.
We ALL got OA and have had various joint issues. We all have various mattresses and various shoes.
I'm sleeping on TWO mattresses and a memory foam topper. LOVE IT!
IMO, there's something in additives or pesticides beyond our control as neither our parents or grandparents had OA.
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I had to deal with that attitude, in addition to the pain and progressive joint damage I was suffering, while being told it was due to a lifestyle I wasn't leading
