Osteoarthritis and powerlifting (one case)

[Guest guest]

I have not seen much on arthritis in the past year or so, although I have

not read every post. If I have neglected earlier discussions of this

topic in this forum - my apologies. A quick Google search reveals that

weight training can have both negative and positive consequences regarding

the development of arthritis. A few excerpts from the search are given at

the end of this post. My own case is less severe than most of these but

may be more common and therefore of interest to older power lifters.

I was an OL in my teens and have been a PL since my late 20's. I am

currently 65 and have been competing once or twice a year since age 58

(USAPL in Colorado). About 1.5 years ago I started having persistent pain

in my left shoulder during the bench press, and particularly while getting

under and holding the bar on my back for squats and good mornings. I

always used a low bar position with the bar located just below the spine

(protrusion) on each scapula. I tried varying my exercise routines,

laying off for 6 weeks, various NSAIDs (aspirin, Tylenol, ibuprofen,

Celebrex, Bextra), large amounts of glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate, MSM

and other herbal and health products with little success.

As the pain increased and my range of motion decreased I was no longer

able to compete or even work out satisfactorily. After seeing local

physicians, I went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN (Dr. R.H. Cofield)

since their orthopedic department was highly rated by US News. In his

report Dr. Cofield stated that: " x-rays (of the left shoulder) show a

typical osteoarthritic picture with loss of cartilage on the posterior

half of the glenoid (socket) and certainly on the central-superior portion

of the humeral head " . The right shoulder appeared normal. Since there

was no single event that I could identify as initiating the condition and

since I had no symptoms in other joints (after adequate warm-up), he was

of the opinion that the cause of the condition was a series of small

injuries incurred during training or competition.

Assuming these small injuries correlate with pain experienced in a given

exercise, I would have to rate holding the bar in the low position for

squats and good mornings as the worst, followed by bench press on a wide

bench, lat pull-downs and inclined presses. Unfortunately most benches

used in PL meets are quite wide (~12 " , 30cm). Interestingly there is very

little pain when doing dumbbell bench presses on a bodybuilding type

bench, which is often narrower (~9-10 " , 23-26cm).

So what can I conclude from these observations? Not much, since this is

by no means a controlled experiment. My suspicion is that holding the bar

low on the back in the squat and good morning - particularly when one side

is lowered or raised while putting the bar back on the rack - and too

frequent bench pressing on a wide bench, are the most likely culprits.

This does not explain why both shoulders are not injured - perhaps the

weakest link principle applies here.

I am wondering if others have had similar experiences and how they have

dealt with the condition.

Excerpts from Google search for Osteoarthritis and Power Lifting:

" athletes subjected to heavy loading and resistance are relatively free

from osteoarthritis in old age and the subjects that were not exposed to

heavy loading and resistance show a much greater incidence of

osteoarthritis and cartilage fibrillation " . (KC and Osman :

Weghtlifting Q and A, www.wannabebig.com/article.php?articleid=106 )

" every time I moved my arm it sounded like rocks grinding together plus an

audible clunk. Without comment he ordered x-rays done of the shoulder

area. After reading the x-rays he advised that I should have total

shoulder replacement done on both sides, osteoarthritis had totally

destroyed both shoulder joints (complete loss of joint space, large

osteophyte formation). In other words the cartilage had worn away and the

bone ends touched together and were grinding into each other " . (Osmo

Kiiha: Osteoarthritis: My Experience. Posted on NaturalStrength.com on

June 24, 2002. www.naturalstrength.com/

features/detail2.asp?AuthorID=158 & ArticleID=552 )

" A number of weight lifters, many of them my friends - Grimek, Tommy

Kono, Bill and Pat O'Shea are prominent examples - have suffered

from arthritis later in life and eventually had to have joint

replacements. I've also experienced some joint problems. One might think,

based on these cases and others, that weight training is bad for the

joints. Obviously, it can be hard on the joints. In most cases, however,

strength training protects the joints, and relieves pain and improves

mobility for those who suffer from arthritis " . (Clarence Bass: Weights and

Arthritis - Good & Bad www.cbass.com/Arthritis.htm )

Predecki

Denver CO. USA