Hello,

Until 8 years ago, I was a healthy, active woman who was much stronger than average (rode lots of horses). Then I injured my lower back in what should have been a nothing incident, and it has been giving me quite a lot of trouble since. Now, I am at a point where I get quite sore all over from just little day to day activities, and I have pain in multiple areas of my body nearly all the time. My fingers are stiff and hurt badly if they get twisted (opening a jar, etc.), my arms/neck/shoulders/hips/knees/wrists all get sore at the drop of a hat.

I still move around a fair bit just taking care of my horses, but I most often have too much pain to ride, and even when I feel okay, I can get hurt so easily from the smallest thing, so I am afraid to ride. I have been diagnosed with osteopenia (no one knows why, no risk factors), but that is actually improving (lots of weight-bearing exercise taking care of the horses now that two are at home with me), but I feel like there is something else wrong. Could this be an arthritic thing, or are there other things that can cause one to feel like your muscles and joints are weak and made of glass? I am only 42 and much of the time I simply can't function. This is so depressing! When I talk to my doctor, he just says "Welcome to getting older", but this is too much and does NOT seem normal. As someone who was previously so strong and capable, this is extremely discouraging. Any ideas would be most appreciated. Thanks,

Susan