Repetitive Stress Syndrome?
I have severe Osteo Arthritis in more than a dozen joints. Did you play contact sports growing up? A lot of collisions over the course of years can contribute mightily to degenerative joint disease and early arthritis. My choices in sports growing up has provided an education for a couple of my doctors' children. Adding a few auto accidents as an adult has paid for their medical school, too. Add three more decades of normal wear and tear, and life can be a daily misery if you do not start taking action now.
If you are facing arthritis at such an early age, learn to manage it effectively. I would strongly suggest looking into alternative therapies after you discover that a lot of conventional therapies do not offer long term relief. Heat is not always the answer. Ice as a treatment can do a lot to help relieve inflammation.
Proper stretching before and after any work out will help a lot. "Stretching" by Anderson is a great book to help you prepare and wrap up your work outs. There are millions of copies in print. See what exercises your physical therapist recommends. Show the exercises to your doctor and see if he recommends any exercises to add to them.
As you age, you will find that fluctuations in barometric pressure will increasingly have effects on how serious your symptoms are. Start looking for a good massage therapist. They can make a big difference in pain relief.
In the last decade or so, the greatest improvement for me has been found by using Acupuncture. I do not particularly like being poked by a bunch of needles, but I find that it is easily worth the phenomenal results that I have achieved. There is a great difference in the quality of Acupuncturists, so do not be discouraged if the first one is not right for you. Also, understand that it is normal to feel lousy after the first few treatments. Acupuncture causes your body to discharge a lot of toxins.
Lastly, choose not to surrender to Arthritis. The biggest battle you have to face is in the mind. Choosing not to allow it to take your life from you will make a huge difference in the quality of life. If the pain becomes severe and/or continuous, check with your doctor about pain management classes. There are techniques for battling pain that allow you to fully utilize your mind in this fight. As Winston Churchill once said, "never, Never, NEVER GIVE UP!"
Last edited by Vizigoth; August 27th, 2006 at 02:53 AM.
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It just started hurting about thursday of last week...woke up with the pain. It finally stopped on sunday but when i started working out on monday it started hurting during any movement that requires me to lift my arm. The pain only starts when i lift my arm to where its perpendicular to my body, but before and after that point in my range of motion it doesn't hurt as bad or at all. My appointment is on monday morning so i'll post back with the results sometime that day. 
