Strange exercise problem after hypo/Hashi

[ellesan]

After being induced into Hashi He// I started having knee joint pain while resting, most specifically on the left side. I do have a history of ITB (illiotibial band syndrome), on the left side, which previously made it painful for me to run longer than a mile or two...however WALKING on the treadmill has never ever been a problem until now. I could walk fast, up to 4.8 mph on the treadmill with no problems for 45 mintues. Now after 5 minutes on the treadmill at level 3.0 my knee pain starts up (same pain as the ITB). It's like someone is winding up my knee really tight with a screwdriver. What is up with this!!?? It is so frustrating. I had goals of at least walking a 10K and 1/2 marathon.

I can do the elliptical, step, kickbox, etc all with no problems. I have been doing a lot of walking around, shopping, errands, etc. with no problem. It's so strange to me why walking on the treadmill would cause this pain after going hypo. Any thoughts? Anyone else have certain exercise intolerances since having thyroid problems?

I am hoping this will get better with more stretching, yoga, etc. If not, I can accept it and do lots of other things, just frustrated!

Sandra

[Smilerdeb]

I too have had the kneee and hip pain when my TSH was a little too high (both FT4 and FT3 normal).
I was convinced I had Fibromyalgia then I realised that Docotrs diagnose this when they dont really know what causes the pain!
I then asked for an ultrasound of the hip joint and was told that the 'Bursa' was swollen and I had a small amount of fluid in the ball joint (sorry..dont know the proper word for it lol).
Anyway to cut a long story short...Doc wanted to do steroid injection in the hip for the fluid there (very little) but the Ultrasound tech told me there wasnt enough fluid there to warrant a steroid guided injection.
(I've had one of these before in the shoulder and swore ..never again!)
As my TSH came down, the hip and kneee pain disappeared.
NOW i know that if my leg aches or pain in the hip..I am HYPO.
That is one of the first symptoms I get.
I dont know if this is the case with you but worth mentioning, I thought.

[LazyMoose]

Seems like many people hypothyroid people have muscle and joint pain, even while on thyroid meds. So why the pain??

How are your lab levels? Trying different meds or different brands lessens body pain for some. T3 vs. T4. You dont say what you have tried. Take popper magnesium, potassium, B's and D?

Another thing:
Muscles are organs and hypo effects all organs at the cell level. "Toxins", for lack of a better word, get trapped in the muscle fiber blocking the introduction new of nutrient flow. So muscle gets 'stuck' in a weak, painful, contracted state. Sometimes this needs to be helped by applying an outside pushing force on the muscle to get the healthy 'cycle' of blood and nutrients flowing again. In time the muscle heals, pain is gone, and we feel a lot better!

IT band syndrome and its remnants are known to be relieved by releasing muscle trigger points. Find a tennis ball and look into trigger point release and referred muscle pain on the web or book store if you haven't already. These books do point out that thyroid challenged individuals are known to have muscle recovery issues! Refereed pain is muscle or joint pain caused by a tight muscle in a different area that the pain is felt. A very small muscle knot (trigger point) in many of the thigh muscles can 'pull' on the knee making it appear like the cause of the pain is the knee. This goes for many muscles and joints throughout the body.

Some chiros and massage therapists do trigger point release. (not to be confused with acupuncture). If you learn it yourself, its just one more thing to put into your workout routine that you already have. You may not have to limit things you used to like to do! Many people are surprised by its effectiveness when nothing else helps.

[ellesan]

Thanks Maria, I will try some of these things. I did buy some glucosamine but I'm so tired of taking new meds/supplements I didn't want to add one more. I will start taking it next week and see if it helps. I wonder how expensive the orthotics are? I might try that too. It's just so weird to me that it's only on the treadmill, when I do other walking I have no problems.

Thanks!
Sandra

[redheadaussie]

I had chronic left knee pain for years before the docs believed me! ( I seem to have a theme with doctors not believing me!) That was during my Hashi days which went undiagnosed. I had Chrondomalacia Patellae....Meaning a wearing out kneecap! I had two surgeries in 9 months..not fun I can tell you! I had bone pain which would wake me at night. It would go up my thigh and into my hip. I was sure I had bone cancer!
  My osteo-surgeon told me I would need a further surgery in probably 18 months of the last one. Been 10 years now and I never did go back for surgery! I took Glucosamine for many years and amazingly enough no trouble! Only when I stopped taking it when I had the thyroid surgery did the pains come back. I lost a lot of weight and have had no need to go back to the glucosamine since.
Having said all that, I learned from my physio at the time that certain activities can cause more pain to knees. For me it is bike riding...so I no longer do that. Walking down steep grades causes pain. So I have tried to avoid that.
   After my knee surgery I was still having pain. I told my physio that maybe orthotics would help lift my leg and help. Guess what? They worked! Only in summer when I walk barefoot for weeks do I get the pain again. So I tend to wear them all year round. Feels funny when I wear evening shoes and no orthotics! But they really do help knee pain.
Maybe you could try these things?
Cheers!