Inflammatory disease- Need some encouragement.

[qsdad]

Greetings!

So, I'm going to do my best to make this as short and sweet as possible. Overall, I'm trying to keep my head on straight. This may not be the exact forum this should be in, but its the one I felt was closest to my mark.

In October 2017, I developed a back spasm in my low back picking my daughter up from the floor. I was in bed for two days unable to walk, because the spasm was so great. It took me about 6 weeks to get back to where I could go back to the gym. I was about a month back into my routine and I felt a small twinge in the same spot in my back, while doing box jumps. It didn't hinder me enough to stop me, so I completed my workout and by the end of the night I was right back where I was in October. My back has never been the same since.

Fast Forward to November 2018 and 3 doctors later, I find out that I have a form of arthritis in my back. Spondyloarthopathy. The name itself categorizes about 4 or 5 different types of inflammatory arthritis types, but its basically an autoimmune disease. I haven't been to the gym since June 2018. My pain, stiffness, range of motion continue to roll downhill. I'm FINALLY on a medication that over time should help, but it takes about 4 months to see. I'm just under a month in.

All of that said. My sense of self really came from my fitness. It was where I went to work on me. I felt that it had a link in the rest of the successes I experienced in my life. I went from being the fat kid in my Platoon to one of the most fit in the Company. That journey taught me what hard work was. Unfortunately, that journey ended. I'm not even the fat kid in my Platoon anymore, I'm dead weight. I'm at the very beginning of the year long wait to see if I require an MEB/ PEB.

I'm just trying to wrap my mind around finding that sense of accomplishment in myself again. I care for my family, I'm going to school, I try to be the best in my career, but there is that one big aspect of fitness that really helped my self-worth. I'm hoping someone has some spare thoughts that might help me adjust a bit mentally.

Thanks to whoever responds.

QsDad 

[mynewunit]

QsDad,
I haven't had any diagnosis but I have done a bunch of tweaking my lower back. Mine was diagnosed as sacroiliac. I did a bunch of physical therapy movements for the pelvis, and that helped a lot. Most of these were done laying on your back. I would look a bunch of those up. If you want, I can link a few of the you tube videos of exercises I used. After a month of those, I started deadlifting and rucking. When I was hurt I would mix technique with an unweighted bar and loaded deadlift in cybex version that constrained the movement and made me less likely to further hurt myself. After a few weeks, I was able to move. Then I started to deadlift and squat heavy. Mostly because lower reps was working better for me. I found that my back issues were also tied to tight ham strings.

Other things that help include good sleep, yoga, meditation, and diet. I would do a small amount of work to improve in all these areas. These should all help the inflammation, anti inflammatory stuff. I might also look into Wim Hof. Breathing and cold exposure. This is some work without "exercise". It will help your stress, mental discipline, and build your tolerance.

Last thing would be some reading and writing. Finishing reading a book every other month or so helps you make some measureable progress and improve your self. Writing, be it letters to people, a journal, a blog, a book, a memoir, is a small daily task that overtime amounts to something substantial, improves your writing, improves your thought process, and improves your speaking.

When you are struggling in one area, a great technique is to compliment work in that area with work in another area. If the office is a struggle improve your home life. If money is trouble, work on fitness, or job, or house, or friends.

[RK]

Years ago I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, which severely affected my left hip knee and ankle, my hands and feet, and a little in all other joints.  The good thing about arthritis is that the more you move the better you feel! I take an immunosuppressant, which does help, but doesn’t eliminate the pain. Those pains also taught me to use better form.  Solid form decreases improper load on those affected areas and ultimately increases strength as you well know!  Try to find some good in it, use it, motion is lotion!  Prayers and good vibes to you, brother!