Case Summary  |  Water "Cure" for Knee Pain

Two years ago I was diagnosed with early stage rheumatoid arthritis in my left knee. I thought I had twisted my knee because it was painful, swollen and I couldn't put my full weight on it. My doctor said that it wasn't advanced enough for any big hitter drugs like Celebrex but she did prescribe ice and naproxin to reduce the swelling and ease the pain. It worked but the naproxin tore my stomach up. I didn't have any better luck with aspirin. But the real catch 22 was the fact that she said losing weight would help my symptoms but how was I supposed to do that when I couldn't walk?! Well, thankfully, my husband was smarter than I! He signed me up for an "old folks" aerobic swim class. At first I was like, "No, way. I am not that bad off." But it turned out to be the perfect group for me. The instructor was great, the pace was right for my knee and I didn't have to worry about my competitive side coming out. Not only did my '"therapy" make my knee feel almost like new, I lost weight and now even though I still have the knee problem, I find I can manage it. I almost wish I had gotten this arthritis thing earlier. Almost.;-)