what it feels like: living with a type of arthritis normally found in seniors

in just a few short years, maddie watts went from skis to a wheelchair.

by robin roberts

published dec 04, 2023

last updated dec 18, 2023

7 minute read

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7 minute read

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what it feels like: living with a type of arthritis normally found in seniors

maddie watts earned her canadian adaptive snowsports (cads) level 1 and level 2 teaching certifications and now teaches sit-skiing. supplied

maddie watts grew up in the foothills of world-famous whistler mountain and spent most of her childhood gleefully schussing down the slopes. it was her happy place — until a diagnosis of facet joint syndrome at just 17 years old turned it into an uphill battle. in just a few short years, watts went from skis to a wheelchair. “i treated it a bit like a grief,” says watts, now 21. “i went from being fully able-bodied and quite athletically inclined to not really being able to move much by myself. so i certainly went through the phases of anger, of sadness, of grief of who i was.”

what is facet joint syndrome?

facet joints are located at each vertebral level of the spine, one on each side, according to orthopedics and sports medicine at the mayo clinic. these joints help the spine to be flexible, to turn and bend.

facet joint syndrome, a form of arthritis, occurs when the cartilage that covers the ends of the joints wears out and becomes thin, causing inflammation, severe pain and stiffness that radiates from the neck all the way down to the thigh, depending on the affected joint.

in fact, because the pain doesn’t follow a nerve root pattern, it’s called referred pain, since the brain can’t figure out the source of it. people often have to turn their whole body to look to the left or right, and have difficulty standing up straight or getting out of a chair.

watts says the condition causes secondary muscle and nerve pain, resulting in numbness in her legs and feet, some of which is permanent. on top of that, she has scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and spondylolisthesis, which causes a vertebra to slip out of place onto the vertebra below.

facet joint syndrome usually strikes people over the age of 65, those who have experienced a trauma, such as a car accident or fall that caused the spine to move out of joint, have degenerative disc disease, poor posture, or a family history of degenerative arthritis.

it’s usually diagnosed by x-ray, ct scan, mri or by injecting an anesthetic and anti-inflammatory into the joint. if there’s immediate relief, it’s likely facet joint syndrome. its prevalence is difficult to determine because, according to arthritis society canada, the condition can be a cause of lower back pain, which is very common, so it’s not recorded.

treatment ranges from over-the-counter pain killers, heat or ice on sore spots, and physical therapy for stretching and strengthening. if none of this helps, corticosteroid injections or a heat injection procedure called radiofrequency ablation to block the nerves are often recommended, along with stronger, prescription pain-relieving medications.

living with facet joint syndrome

watts says it took quite a while for her to be officially diagnosed simply because she didn’t fit the profile of someone typically afflicted with facet joint syndrome: she wasn’t older and she hadn’t experienced physical trauma. she does, however, have a family history of spinal issues and arthritis. she believes it’s possible that her facet joints just didn’t grow properly in utero and they’ve been degenerating all her life without her realizing it until she became symptomatic in her teens.

regardless, she says navigating the healthcare system with the condition can be challenging. “i used to see medical people every day, but it was a little too [overwhelming] so now i go only when necessary, usually for treatment every few weeks,” she says of the acupuncture, physiotherapy, and massage therapy that “helps for short periods of time.”

she says her pain meds were on the high end — 900 mg of gabapentin three times a day when it’s generally not recommended to exceed 1800 mg per day. “i didn’t really have a lot of sense of self so i decided to pull it back quite a ton,” she says. “i also have to take hydromorphone and morphine in certain situations but generally i try to keep it a little more holistic these days [by using] natural anti-inflammatories.

“i still take lots of pain medication if i’m having a rough time. it used to [zone me out] but i’ve gotten pretty resistant to the medication so it doesn’t really bother me too much. but [the pain] definitely is still strong. some days i wake up and it’s just not happening, i can’t really move.”

watts says some friendships faltered as a result of her condition since, with all the medical appointments, she didn’t have time to put the effort into maintaining them. “plus, i was quite medicated so i wasn’t really too aware of myself and where i was and what i was doing, so it put strains on my relationships and friendships.”

after having relocated for a few years to ontario and quebec, she’s back in whistler, living with roommates who are more supportive now that they — and she — have a better handle on her condition and what to expect.

she was studying philosophy at bishop’s university in sherbrooke, quebec, but had to drop out part way through her second year because her pain became too problematic. she hopes to return to a local college next year but to focus on another area of study.

the other side of the mountain with facet joint syndrome

watts says, despite a few falls, she’s currently doing quite well, and relies less on a walker and more on a cane if she needs it. and she uses the wheelchair even less, since sitting for long stretches was contributing to her pain.

she has participated in some fundraising events with arthritis society canada, and collaborated with them on a video of her life, illustrating what it means to be young and arthritic, to have spent so much time in hospitals and medical trials. she’s also been involved in the society’s “fire ball” galas and fashion shows to raise money and awareness and to change the narrative around what arthritic pain looks like.

she counts herself lucky to be involved with the organization. “they’ve been really good to me and i’ve been able to feel like i have a positive impact on changing this narrative that arthritis is an older person’s disease. there are so many people who have arthritis —one in five canadians — and many children with arthritis, which nobody really thinks about. it’s not something that’s well-funded. but it’s really fantastic to feel like i have a bit of ownership over the situation and to meet other people who have the same thing.”

watts says she’s sought out support groups but prefers individual talk therapy over group therapy. “a lot of the supports i was introduced to were online and few and far between. but i know people who have enjoyed support groups and find it comforting.”

she says her ordeal has taught her a lot about herself, and to have more compassion for others. “it’s not a linear process, it has its ups and downs, it takes a lot of time and patience with yourself.”

she says she’s always in pain, always aware of it, which brings on mood swings. but she has some advice for others in a similar situation.

“you have to choose to want to try. you can only stay angry for so long before you get tired of it. don’t have the expectation that you’ll suddenly feel fantastic about the whole situation. but if you work at it, chip away at it, and find ways to readapt your life through a different lens and with different supports, you can definitely get better and gain autonomy over it again.”

it was that loss of autonomy over her body that she says is one of the hardest aspects of her condition. always active, not just as a skier but as an avid mountain biker, kayaker, and backpacker, she says she had to give up so much of it because of the debilitating pain she’s lived with every day. but, last winter, she took up sit-skiing with the whistler adaptive sports program and says she regained much of the autonomy she’d lost. “it made me feel like i had a little more control over what was going on.”

she enjoyed the experience so much that she wanted to teach others. she’s now earned her canadian adaptive snowsports (cads) level 1 and level 2 teaching certifications and now teaches sit-skiing to others who have physical challenges, such as from loss of limbs. this season she plans to up her game and take the level 3 program for adaptive skiing instructors.

discovering sit-skiing, she says, is the silver lining around the struggles she’s faced. she’s doing so well with the sport that the canadian paralympic committee invited her to train with other adaptive athletes, which led to a possible opportunity to participate in the 2026 winter paralympic games in italy if she can meet the qualifications as a para-athlete. “i’m very excited if it’s possible, but i just don’t know if it will happen. i’m really hoping it does.”