Living with Joint Trouble When You're Younger than 30

The general consensus concerning physical ailments such as arthritis and other joint problems is that they are reserved for the middle-aged and elderly. This is not the case, however.

Without making overtly general statements, I have learned that arthritis and other diseases of the joints affect those of all ages. When I was in kindergarten, there was a little girl in my class who had arthritis. At the time we were about 6 years old, and I remember when we would do reading groups or watch movies, she would always have to sit in a chair instead of on the floor because of her arthritis. Obviously, at such a young age, none of us really knew what arthritis was, but they told us that she would hurt if she sat on the floor.

As I got older and learned about my own joint troubles, as well as having watched both of my parents suffer from severe arthritis, I would think about April (that was her name) and realize the awful pain she must have been going through- something none of us understood as kindergartners. She experienced not only the physical pain of her disease, but the emotional pain of alienation; she could go out to recess, but could not play on the playground equipment, she always had to sit in a chair instead of on the floor, and she had few friends. I only wish I had understood all of this then so that I might have reached out to her.

That being said, I will share my own experience with dis-jointedness and offer-up my own advice to those who suffer along with April and myself. From infancy, my brother and I have had a host of joint and bone problems. My brother has severe scoliosis, so severe he hunches over and his spine is becoming more and more useless. He was 14 when it was diagnosed; he is now 27. He also was born with hip dysplasia, a disorder that I too, was born with. He had surgery to correct his not too long after he was born, but he had to endure intense physical therapy into his toddler years. When I was born, my hip dysplasia was not bad enough then to warrant surgery. However, it has since become worse. I have also dealt with a lot of wrist breaks, and since have developed tendonitis, the precursor to carpel tunnel syndrome.

Hip dysplasia is most generally defined as a "malformation or misalignment of the hip joint" (Wikipedia). The hip joint is one known commonly as a ball-and-socket joint. Like a puzzle, the ball of the femur fits comfortably into the socket of the hip. In the case of dysplasia, the ball does not fit properly into the socket, causing pain, discomfort, and deterioration. I am no doctor, and I only am reporting what my orthopedist and physical therapists have told me, but I can attest to the truth of the above description. I am nearly always achy, and depending on how much activity (or inactivity) I engage in, the pain gets better or worse. There are days I cannot get out of bed, because during my sleep I have moved into the wrong position and then I wake up stiff and in pain. Most days, because I sit to drive to work, and sit at work, I am achy when I get home. During the day I have to constantly change positions in order to get comfortable, and I have to get up and walk around so I don't stiffen up. At the age of 21, I often feel like I am in my sixties.

As a toddler, I was given a body brace that would hopefully correct the dysplasia. I obviously don't remember it, but I have seen pictures, and it looked as though it was very uncomfortable. I've been told it corrected the problem a little bit, and I hadn't noticed anything major until I was in high school. I was having chronic pain; my hip joints would crack nearly every time I moved, and my left hip came too easily out of the socket if I got up too fast or moved the wrong way. The orthopedic doctor started me on a program of physical therapy. I began at twice a week, getting on an exercise bike to help with the rotation, learning stretches, and receiving ultra-sound and moist heat therapy. Both my doctors and the physical therapists told me that while the therapy can stave off the pain for a while, but the dysplasia is irreversible. Because I am not an athlete, they think I can avoid total hip replacement until my forties. Even still, to have total replacement done in one's forties is unusually early. If the deterioration gets worse, I will have to have the replacements much earlier. This is the part that scares me.

While most people my age think nothing about their movements, I have to think about every move before I make it. I enjoy working out to stay fit, and many exercises help with the pain, but I always worry that whatever I do, I am just making it worse. I live in Maine and I don't ski because I am afraid of falling and hurting myself. I cannot run or do any high-impact activity, because that makes the grinding of the joints worse. I wake up with stiffness, I am almost always in pain, and I move around a lot, which makes sharing a couch with other people difficult. Sometimes I feel as alienated as I think April must have felt all those years ago (and probably still does).

The hardest part, after the pain, is the fact that I constantly hear "but you're so young." And it's true. I worry about the future all the time; how will this affect my ability to have children? Will I be able to walk ten years from now? Am I going to have to have my hips replaced sooner rather than later? As a young twenty-something, I shouldn't have to worry about these things. Therefore, I have decided to try very hard not to.

I have gone nearly two years without any physical therapy, vowing to stay active in safe and healthy ways. I am doing everything I can to avoid getting replacements any earlier than I absolutely have to. I take care of my body; watching my weight and stretching when I need to. As for the wrist problems, I always use wrist-rests at work for typing, and wear a brace whenever my tendonitis flares up. I figure, what better motivation to take care of oneself than the prospect of not being able to move ever again?

I offer up this same advice to others of you people "too young" for joint problems. Don't give up and become a lump on a log; take control of your body and do what is best for it. Because unlike the middle-aged and elderly that are affected by bad joints, us young folk are resilient, and we can work on management of our pain. Read up on the latest developments regarding hip disorders such as dysplasia and arthritis, new medications (if that's your thing) and, most importantly I think, explain your problems to loved ones and friends. Don't become like April; alienated and alone. Encourage them to participate in arthritis walks, research, etc. My brother and I try to take care of each other. And my father, who has one artificial knee because of arthritis, replacement for the other one scheduled, and arthritis of the ankles as well, serves as inspiration and motivation for us. We try to take care of him, and he tries to remain as active as possible. However, I look at him and I know that I don't want to end up in his situation, and that encourages me to keep-up with the up-keep of my body. I encourage you to do the same. Drink your milk, take your vitamins, and keep active. Most importantly, don't give up, and while your joints may feel like they are sixty years old, don't let yourself act sixty years old.