**** me i ache....

I used to have terribly achey feet ankles and knees, thanks to years of football and rugby. Getting walking after being in bed in the night or mornings was slow and painful… and in my early 40s.

Also I have a very sweet tooth. At some point I had a nasty boil on my back and read something about type 2 diabetes. I quit all refined sugar for maybe a year. Around one month after doing this I noticed the aches had gone. I can’t prove anything but even though I don’t restrict myself from sugar as much now the aches aren’t back.

Are those the only vitamins you're taking? Really for ligament and joint health you need to be taking vit A, vit C, vit D, copper, zinc, bromelain, curcumin and ensure you're getting enough protein.

I would start by taking a more well rounded multivit, do your research and find one that contains everything you need in and of the right quantities, a lot of off the shelf ones either don't have the most common missing vits and minerals or don't have enough of them, centrum for example are like that not that great. Could also try taking Shilajit for mineral support every couple of days.

I had problems with my knees back in 2018 to 2020, my sister is a GP so instead of ignoring it hoping it went away I sought her advice and she told me all of the above, followed the advice as i couldn't ride anymore and even walking was getting hard and thankfully my knees are fine now and have been since after about 6 months of taking all the supplements and rest guidance etc, she also said take piriteeze when excerising to reduce any inflammation if they do start play up again then go back to taking the supplements.

I'm on naproxen 'as and when' for my various pains (knees and wrists OA). I only take it when particularly bad or if I know I'm going to need it for something I'm going to be doing, as either it, or the omaprazole I have to take with it bungs me up and makes my stomach feel crap.

I've recently joined a (free) pain clinic course and group (Pain Association Scotland) which I hope will be helpful in managing things, but obviously won't cure OA, maybe there's something similar in your area. It's about understanding pain, managing it with pacing and stress reduction etc.

Really for ligament and joint health you need to be taking vit A, vit C, vit D, copper, zinc, bromelain, curcumin and ensure you’re getting enough protein.

I would start by taking a more well rounded multivit

Or just eat food.

> Gym > Lift weights.

Use it or lose it my dude.

I use it, so I don't lose it, but as with the OP, **** me it hurts. Which is his problem too, not being lazy.

I even use fatgrips on my dumbbells to help with retaining grip strength, as well as using dumbbells anyway rather than gym machines. If I don't do my upper body strength work due to my wrist pain my shoulders and wrists get so lose and feeble quickly, but **** me it hurts.

Eatmorepizza (sic) which multivit met your criteria?

The joys of now being a sexagenarian, I very rarely took pain killers until 58 for PMR ended up taking 8 Tramadol everyday along with ibuprofen and the omeprazole as it stopped the pain but hated the tiredness side effects or if you went out for the day forget to take them with you
After two years I'm off them feel so much better for it but the back aches and other pains I'd forgotten about keep recurring now and again

Thanks for the responsall, i do take an all round multi vit.

I am quite fit and very active, also not overweight.

Might just have to accept painkillers overnight.

Have you ever tried yoga? I am a gardener and can get very sore and achy and I've been doing a u tube yoga 2 or 3 times a week for the last 5 months and I think it helps a lot.

@BillMC Naturelo One daily seemed to be the best I could find for being well rounded and having a good amount of the stuff that was hardest to get into my diet naturally. In my family we've got an issue with crappy genetics turning vitamin D into D3 so all of us are usually always lacking in that, that brand skipped a step and put D3 in directly in which was good. For Bromelain and curcumin I had to take those seperate,i just ordered generic ones.

I haven't taken any for a while now mind I try to eat as varied as possible and get most of it through diet. Good rule of thumb is if you start taking a multivit and then start to get itchy on a night, feeling as though bugs are crawling on you your diets good enough. Though I think Holland and barrat can do tests now as well to find out what you are deficient in and you can tailor your supplements around that which is a lot better if you do eat well and want to know if you're still missing anything

Yoga, massage, functional weight training (not heavy weights), body weight floor exercises etc might help.

I assume you’re seeing a physio not a GP, as my experience is this is probably not the area of expertise of many GPS (ok I know it’s general, not specialist, practionner, but even so).

A decent personal trainer specialising in the more mature person will help too.

A PT thinking up new ways to hurt my abs on a weekly basis has really helped my back.  He gets the download from me whenever I see a physio and builds that in too.

PS - it will be hard work. It might not be right for you.

Try some Benfotiamine once in a while. More for muscle pains .

I’m with the OP on this topic.
I’m 50, have spent 30 years playing Rugby League, after some neck and back injuries whilst playing I now suffer from degenerative disc disease and can really only use one arm where any grip or strength is needed. The mobility in my left arm is poor, from standing straight, arms at the side, I have about 30 degrees of movement before the pain is too much.
I most definitely can’t lift weights to ease the pain. I can generally mountain bike for about 45 minutes before the grip strength is completely gone. Which considering I used to race and also do long distance off road ITT’s, is a bit of a killer.
I’ve never tried yoga, mainly because I’m so sore and have such a poor range of movement that I don’t think I could cope with the initial pain.
I have Hyaluronic acid injections every three months or so, along with corticosteroid injections. They help massively. The pain goes, I can then do physio to help with the mobility, but it doesn’t last overly long. A jarring hit on the mountain bike can cause weeks of pain, the body spasms in an attempt to protect my neck.

I know that sounds quite morose, but I try not to let it stop me doing what I want to do. Off gravel riding shortly. Just have to accept my limitations and enjoy what I can do.

NHS GP and NHS Physio in my experiences have been a waste of time. I pay privately for all my treatment. NHS wouldn’t pay for any pain relief injections, just wanted me to do physio, which I can’t do because of the pain. I tried for about 6 months before I went private.

Totally anecdotal, but for me, a lot of aches and pains in the body are from inflammation. Which appears to be caused by diet choices. If I cut out the carbs, lay off the bread especially and try to go long periods without eating I feel much more springy and agile.

Who has told you your bloods are "fine"? It depends what their definition of fine is (and what they have tested you for), and my tip would be to get a copy of the results to see if you are near end of range in any of them. You can still be symptomatic even if within range. HbA1c, active B12, D3, folate, iron profile, liver profile, hsCRP are a must IMO.

Also, there are different types and quality of vits. Most (cheap) ones are pretty much useless and will do very little. B12 and Magnesium are good examples, some are far better for absorption than others.

Diet is a big one too, you may have sensitivities driving inflammation. I have personal experience of this - daily nerve pain, barely able to get out of bed, unable to lift weights etc until I dealt with dietary causes of inflammation and a fatty liver (I thought I ate healthily). If you are chronically inflamed, you will not heal quickly. Finding the cause is the tricky part.

Yoga is a big help for me.. I'm only mid 50's, but that gives me 40 years of running , climbing and all round abuse .

Very gentle, possibly find a class, and try it for a few months.

Interested in the dietary angle, I'm sometimes woken up by back-pain in the middle of the night which can relent by morning (with some breathing exercises). Doesn't seem related to physical activity (like this weekend, sat on my arse drinking and eating mostly).

Need to start tapering off sugar anyway, as good a time to start as any 🙄

Your pain is following an inflammatory pattern (worse at night, better with movement) so something is being overloaded and swelling up. Best thing will be to try and work out what you are doing that's winding the affected structures up, find a way to offload them until the infalmmation has a chance to settle (about 2 to 6 weeks, depending on how much you've wanged them) and then start the rehab. The rehab is basically making those structures strong enough to cope with the task you are asking them to do (ie the activity that aggravated them in the first place.

If you want better guidance for all of the above then you're best off seeing a physio

Thanks all much appreciated

Just glanced at this thread.
Thought actually I feel fine today, until I read further.
My thumbs, back, knees, wrists, shoulders and left foot are now screaming at me. Then I thought maybe it’s like tinnitus, which immediately returned.

I’m going to take some drugs so I can go back to ignoring it all.

I’ve got osteoarthritis in my left knee as a result of coming off my bike one day, and my knee taking the full impact on tarmac, and I’m now developing arthritis in my wrists and thumb joints, which is causing inflammation and carpal tunnel issues. That’s from a former job. I’m prescribed Zapain, which I try not to take too often, Naproxen, which I take one in the morning, and now one at night for the carpal tunnel issue, along with wearing a wrist brace, as advised by my doctor. The wrist problem only showed up last October, and it was so painful I couldn’t sleep for three days, but Naproxen really helps me. I’m also taking Vitamin D, and a supplement for helping with Macular degeneration, which has a bunch of things in from dark green vegetables, plus zinc, copper and I take a fizzy orange tablet which has Vitamin C and zinc in as well
Not everyone benefits from Naproxen, I’m given a tablet to help with possible gastric issues, but I’m ok without, but I know of others who just can’t cope with it.
I’m now noticing some hip issues, but that may be just because I’m not working, and I’m just not moving around for twelve hours a day. I managed a three-four mile walk this afternoon around Castle Combe, which isn’t close to being flat, and I walk into town regularly, which is around three miles in total, so I’m trying to keep active.
Honestly though, I’m 69 in a month’s time, so shit’s getting real, as they say, wear and tear over the last thirty-forty years is now biting me in the ass!

> Gym > Lift weights.

Sod the gym, stuck indoors, doing boring weights. Ride a mountain bike out in the country, better for mind and body.

Funny I'm similar age to the OP, but no way I'd call myself "oldman" despite all the aches and pains! I was out on the bike on Saturday, left elbow agony, right hand went completely numb at one point, still great to be out. (But very much looking forward to the ebike arriving tomorrow!)

I'm 51 and have my fair share of aches and pains from old injuries and general wear and tear. I've had to cut back running quite a lot due to ongoing niggly injuries and sometimes struggle with enough time to get out for a decent ride.

Never been a gym goer but joined one about 6 months ago, initially I wanted to build some strength around my knees as they are getting worse ever year, but I'm actually enjoying building strength overall. I still get out on the bike whenever I can (lovely 4 hour gravel ride on Friday) but if I have an hour free I can nip down the gym and get a more intense workout than an hour on the bike. They also do strength and conditioning classes which are pretty good, and have a pool.

A further bonus is they have squash courts so we now have a family hour on Sunday morning where we all go and (try to) play squash.

I also started taking a multi-vitamin for general health, and glucosamine to help with knees and other aches. I definitely see an improvement but it's probably a combination of all of the above.

a lot of aches and pains in the body are from inflammation.

yep. Start taking cold showers, that should sort it out.
Especially after any exercise, it really helps prevent DOMS.

Shower as normal then whack the temperature as far down as it'll go and stay in there for as long as possible - aim for 30seconds the first few times. After a couple of weeks you get used to it and it gets easier to withstand longer durations. Aim to build up to 2-3min, after a couple of months you'll find you can stay there for as long as you want.

I've been doing it since mid January and feel a million times better, wish I'd realised 30yrs ago.

Yoga has been mentioned a few times but I thought I would throw in a good word for Tai Chi. Still a lot stretching and health benefits but there is also a martial element to it that in my opinion elevates it above yoga.