HEALTH Getting Old Hurts

[ChicagoMan74]

Already I can tell a difference between me at 20 and me at 40.

Yeah...there's a story I recycle to tell folks about this. Used to be, somebody would ask me to help them move...third floor with stairs, hide-a-bed sofa, heavy bulky furniture, 90 degrees and humid outside; then afterward we'd hit the basketball court for a couple hours for some full court pickup, THEN later on that night hit a couple bars...and wake up the next morning like it was nothing.
Now? The younger ones can handle the hide-a-bed sofa, I probably physically move half of what I used to, maybe I spend some time in the truck organizing, and when the work is done...I'm ready to go home and take a nap. Next morning I wake up a little sore.

 

[Blacknarwhal]

Yeah...there's a story I recycle to tell folks about this. Used to be, somebody would ask me to help them move...third floor with stairs, hide-a-bed sofa, heavy bulky furniture, 90 degrees and humid outside; then afterward we'd hit the basketball court for a couple hours for some full court pickup, THEN later on that night hit a couple bars...and wake up the next morning like it was nothing.<P>
Now? The younger ones can handle the hide-a-bed sofa, I probably physically move half of what I used to, maybe I spend some time in the truck organizing, and when the work is done...I'm ready to go home and take a nap.

I knew something was up when I was listening to the radio and some new song came on, and I said, "This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Then I took food home from a restaurant. That made it abundantly clear.

 

[summerthyme]

LOL! Yes, it does. Thanks to those who plugged my Ouch! Liniment... honestly, hubby and I would be in big trouble without it.

Monday, it was 50 degrees here. Even though I was exhausted (had young families and grandchildren visiting overnight all week... dishwasher sprung a leak, so it felt like all I did was cook, wash dishes and give pony rides.. and then had to start over for the next meal! And I was already hurting from carrying toddlers), we decided we had to at least get started pruning the fruit trees.

Mostly hand pruning work, and those 36" anvil pruners will really give your upper back and shoulders a work out!

It went well, so 2 hours stretched into 5. About bedtime, reality started setting in.... owwww! My entire back was in spasm from my neck down. I was seriously concerned about whether I'd be able to function at all the next day. Hubby gave me a thorough rub down with the Ouch! (And I returned the favor). The pain let up and I slept hard. But I was shocked when I woke up feeling fine the next morning...

Can't live without the stuff around here. Hubby gets antsy if the bottle on the nightstand starts getting a little low!

Summerthyme

 

[Josie]

Honestly, this getting old stuff totally stinks! In my MIND, I'm still able to do everything I have always done. The body, however, is telling me don't be an idiot. I usually find another way to accomplish the task...work smarter not harder. And there is always those mystery pains. I had a stabbing pain in my hip the other night that woke me up out of a sound sleep (Getting good sleep is in it's self a feat.). I have no clue what I did while awake or asleep to cause that. Did the heat thing...nothing. Tried the ice route...nothing. Then tried Tylenol and that seemed to work. Haven't had that pain since.

 

[Dennis Olson]

Honestly, this getting old stuff totally stinks! In my MIND, I'm still able to do everything I have always done.

Like standing up to Corn Pop?

 

[ShadowMan]

My mind says that I'm still a "young stud" and can do anything I want.....however, my body reminds me I'm really an "old dud" and it can take days for me to recover from one of my 'studly' endeavors.

 

[Elza]

"There is no disgrace in getting old but it sure is unhandy as hell!" As often stated by my late father. He had the situation well pegged IMO.

 

[coloradohermit]

:-)

 

[Groucho]

Ah, but she warned me against GETTING old. Which I am doing every day. And am paying for, bit by bit. Already I can tell a difference between me at 20 and me at 40.

Oh, I don't know..... you're still ugly.

(ducking and running. Laughing all the way)

 

[Blacknarwhal]

Oh, I don't know..... you're still ugly.

(ducking and running. Laughing all the way)

...I have had a perfectly pleasant afternoon on this forum. This wasn't it.

 

[Groucho]

Couple of these in the evening. It won't cure anything, you just won't care.

Seriously, after nerve damage caused by spinal stenosis, arthritis, and just plain wear and tear from seven decades of active living, I just keep on truckin'. I do my best to warm up before working on something. I call a professional now to do the heavy chores. I don't cut and split wood anymore. Coal is fine. When it's an easy winter like this one, I exercise my index finger and push up the thermostat.

Tilling the garden I now use a small Mantis instead of the heavy Troy Bilt. Sold it last year. Same with other tools including splitting mauls and the like.

Ratchet back a few measures and enjoy what life you have left. The pain's gonna be there in varying degrees. It's a little more bearable when watching a sunset over the the lake whilst enjoying the company of my wife. I'm looking forward to Spring. We'll do that all over again, God willing.

 

[Groucho]

...I have had a perfectly pleasant afternoon on this forum. This wasn't it.

Quoting Marx now, huh? Groucho Marx that is.

 

[Bones]

I'm concluding that all that " You love The Golden Years! " stuff was a great big tube of baloney....and I'm not even old age yet.

Stay off of ladders, at all costs.

 

[Blacknarwhal]

Quoting Marx now, huh? Groucho Marx that is.

I'd quote Harpo, but that's just honking and gestures.

 

[Groucho]

I'd quote Harpo, but that's just honking and gestures.

No, that's Dennis when he sees a good deal at PSA.

 

[dvo]

Frustrating to me is that I can wake up hurt, but not know how I did it. When I was young, that didn’t happen. Naproxen and ibuprofen help me get by, but trying not to kill my liver and kidneys. Hip replacement scheduled for early April. Hope it happens, but wonder due to the “virus” and its affect on surgical supplies. I’m going to keep trying to get in better shape for the surgery and see what happens. What else can you do?

 

[colonel holman]

Better olde than cold, eh?

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

Another thing I did about a week back: was sawing a hole thru a 2x4 with a hole saw in a large and unforgiving drill. The hole saw wasn't deep enough to go all the way thru, so I turned the 2x4 over and came at it from the other side. When it broke thru, it jammed and instantly spun the drill ... hard. Lucky it didn't break my wrist, but the fingers on that hand now feel a little numb every now and then. Joint swelling will probably do that. I just hope I didn't permanently damage something.

 

[Catnip]

This winter of finishing my pole shed has really been taxing on the ol' joints and bones. I've always had stick arms, but this time around, my elbow tendons are sore and staying sore. So much so that they woke me up last night. Then earlier this evening I wasn't lifting anything particularly heavy, and somehow twisted my right hip socket ( getting off the ladder I think ). Hurts so damned bad I can barely sit. Straight walking is OK, but any twisting and lifting is no go. I'm sure it's the equivalent of a sprain and will heal, but ...

This sucks. Is this how it's going to be from here on out? Have to watch every little move you make? Being sore all the time?

Find a good chiropractor. They will put your hip back in place with one adjustment.

 

[Dennis Olson]

FS, you should have used a variable speed drill, or been lighter on the trigger. Just mashing on things tends to get a person hurt. “Finesse” will save ya...

 

[Ogre]

I heard somebody say once that when you're old, "If it don't hurt, it don't work."
I take a total of 1200 mg of Ibuprofen a day from osteoarthritis wrist pain. It doesn't stop it completely, but makes it bearable. However, doc monitors my kidneys religiously. So far, so good.

 

[Groucho]

I'm concluding that all that " You love The Golden Years! " stuff was a great big tube of baloney Perperation H....and I'm not even old age yet.

Stay off of ladders, at all costs.

Fixed it.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

FS, you should have used a variable speed drill, or been lighter on the trigger. Just mashing on things tends to get a person hurt. “Finesse” will save ya...

Well, it is variable speed but I though it would just drop thru to the other-side cut. I was wrong.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

With respect to the hip joint, it was pretty much normal the next day, and nothing wrong since then. No pain. Today, I noticed when I got up I was hearing this tiny little snap in my hip. At first thought I was mistaken, but then it happened a couple more times. Thus, I'm wondering if the other night I knocked a ligament out of place, or maybe there's calcium built up. As fast as it went away ( coincidentally after taking the IB I now believe ), I'm thinking something popped back into place and I didn't notice it. Damn. Wonder how often this is going to happen? Wish I knew exactly which maneuver messed it up?

If it happens again, I'm going to find a way to stretch it really hard and fast to pop things back into place.

 

[summerthyme]

FS, and others enjoying the other "fruits of our labors". Look into "trigger point therapy"... also called by several other names. I highly recommend the (out of print) book by Bonnie Prudden called "Pain
Erasure. As most of you know, both hubby and I have sustained serious injuries when we were younger... and believe me, they healed well, but now like to remind us that nothing bests original equipment.

Hubby especially struggled with back pain... falling 40 feet off a silo, crushing 3 vertebrae, breaking a hip on one side, and almost every bone in his foot and ankle in the other... well, that will cause problems.

I read the book about 15 years ago... it was old then. I started using the techniques on hubby's back... when I started he had several dozen trigger points in all the major muscle groups in his back and hip. It wasn't a lot of fun for either of us... the very simple technique HURTS... that's pretty well how you KNOW you're doing it right. You essentially prove for very tender points. When you find one, you press *very* firmly directly on the point for 8-10 seconds. Release, and rub over the spot in the direction the muscle runs. Move up (or down) an inch and probe for another spot. Repeat until you've covered the area that's bothering you once... do NOT go back and repeat any individual points. When you've finished, gently stretch the muscles you worked on... for the back, a "cat stretch" arching your back on your hands and knees works well.

We found that this was amazingly effective for relieving pain and allowing sleep, but the results lasted longer than a few hours. And as I continued to work on hubby over a period of several months, he went from dozens of trigger points to 6... occasionally some will come back and need to be worked out again, but the difference is startling. Prudden explains it as these are caused by "microtears" in muscle fibers, which tend to go into spasm to "splint" the injury... But the spasm persists, and can eventually develop tiny calcium deposits (or scar tissue... I haven't read the book in 15 years... lent it out and never got it back!) which make the spots permanent... and permanently tender and sore. Her technique helps release the spasm, and massage and stretching can help keep them from recurring.

We've discovered that using my Ouch! liniment with the technique gives even better resukts...

Summerthyme

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

The day my wife does anything like that for me will be when I awake from this dream.

 

[Milkweed Host]

 

[thompson]

I highly recommend the (out of print) book by Bonnie Prudden called "Pain
Erasure.

Oh yes, so do I! I'm not sure if there is a newer edition, but mine originates from the early 1980s. Her techniques have helped me so much over the years. Highly recommend if you can find it. Did not know it was out of print.

 

[summerthyme]

The day my wife does anything like that for me will be when I awake from this dream.

Sigh... that's a shame. But for those without cooperative spouses <g>, or who l8ve al9ne, the book also describes ways to perform the technique on yourself.

Summerthyme

 

[Millwright]

Another thing I did about a week back: was sawing a hole thru a 2x4 with a hole saw in a large and unforgiving drill. The hole saw wasn't deep enough to go all the way thru, so I turned the 2x4 over and came at it from the other side. When it broke thru, it jammed and instantly spun the drill ... hard. Lucky it didn't break my wrist, but the fingers on that hand now feel a little numb every now and then. Joint swelling will probably do that. I just hope I didn't permanently damage something.

I think you caught that from me.

The DeWalt 20v drill will hurt you.

When I grab up my old B&D, angle head, 1/2" stud drill, I treat it like picking up a mad rattlesnake. It has dealt me a lot of pain in the last 20 years.

 

[Dennis Olson]

If it happens again, I'm going to find a way to stretch it really hard and fast to pop things back into place.

I suggest you talk to a physical therapist before attempting what I’d classify as a “bone-head move.” In the times I’ve had PT over my life, it was never, not once, “hard and fast.”

Think drill. Finesse will save you.

 

[Meemur]

Used copies of Bonnie Prudden's book are still available, as is a Kindle edition

Pain Erasure: Bonnie Prudden: 9780871319838: Amazon.com: Books

Pain Erasure [Bonnie Prudden] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Pain Erasure

www.amazon.com

 

[Millwright]

I suggest you talk to a physical therapist before attempting what I’d classify as a “bone-head move.” In the times I’ve had PT over my life, it was never, not once, “hard and fast.”

Think drill. Finesse will save you.

3 shots of rye whiskey, bite on a bullet and yank it on through.

 

[summerthyme]

I suggest you talk to a physical therapist before attempting what I’d classify as a “bone-head move.” In the times I’ve had PT over my life, it was never, not once, “hard and fast.”

Think drill. Finesse will save you.

Absolutely agree! That "snapping" you are hearing in your hip is almost certainly a very tight ligament or tendon... think "overstretched rubberband". "hard and fast" has the very real potential to tear something, and turn a mild strain/overuse injury into something a lot worse and longer lasting.

Meemur- thanks for looking that up! I knew there were still a lot of used copies of the book around; didn't realize they had a Kindle edition now. Really, guys... if you think you may not be able to access our really amazing (for all its faults) medical system in the future, for any one of a thousand reasons, this book may give you a useful tool to deal with the aches and pains of overuse and aging...

Summerthyme

 

[raven]

LOL! Yes, it does. Thanks to those who plugged my Ouch! Liniment... honestly, hubby and I would be in big trouble without it.

Monday, it was 50 degrees here. Even though I was exhausted (had young families and grandchildren visiting overnight all week... dishwasher sprung a leak, so it felt like all I did was cook, wash dishes and give pony rides.. and then had to start over for the next meal! And I was already hurting from carrying toddlers), we decided we had to at least get started pruning the fruit trees.

Mostly hand pruning work, and those 36" anvil pruners will really give your upper back and shoulders a work out!

It went well, so 2 hours stretched into 5. About bedtime, reality started setting in.... owwww! My entire back was in spasm from my neck down. I was seriously concerned about whether I'd be able to function at all the next day. Hubby gave me a thorough rub down with the Ouch! (And I returned the favor). The pain let up and I slept hard. But I was shocked when I woke up feeling fine the next morning...

Can't live without the stuff around here. Hubby gets antsy if the bottle on the nightstand starts getting a little low!

Summerthyme

Yea, I wrote a tome about my winter activities so far.
Can't work outside when it rains and it seems to rain 3 days a week.
Can't work when it is cold and we only get one day every other week above 50 and sunny.
Scraped, primed and painted six windows . Finished topping off and thinning 15 crepe myrtles with the chain saw (they call it crepe murder here), Cut back about two foot off all the Box Woods. Cut down and cut up a dozen 6-8 inch "volunteer" trees. Raked and bagged a dozen bags of leaves. Cleaned the leaves out of all the gutters. And cleaning up all that mess and dragging it to the street for pickup.
And then after I wrote it I thought "this is really nothing to share . . . I used to be able to do all that in a couple days . . . not all freaking winter."

 

[Bps1691]

As I reached fifty, I began to understand what my Grand Mother said to me after coming to see me in a High School wrestling match with I was 17.

It was a tournament and I separated my shoulder in winning my second of three matches I needed to place first. The coach & trainer popped it back in and took me the locker room where the trainer filled a large wash tube with water and ice.

Then had me soak my hurt shoulder in the frigid water for as long as I could. Soon as I could stand it again, it was back into the water. It was freeze and repeat up until about 5 minutes before the championship match. They then taped and wrapped that upper shoulder/arm so tight that I couldn't even move it except from the elbow through the lower arm. Then out I went and wrestle three periods.

When I finally got back home, my grand mother said this to me- "You are going to regret that when you get old".

Dang was she ever right.

Played sports all through high school and even two years into college. Got hurt and still played on to many times. Shoulders, knees, back, ankles, you name it I hurt it. Getting up in the mornings I sound like Rice Crispys and it takes a while to limber everything up and get moving.

Looking back on it, I am now a firm believer in what Mickey Mantle said - "If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself." - Mickey Mantle

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

I think you caught that from me.

The DeWalt 20v drill will hurt you.

When I grab up my old B&D, angle head, 1/2" stud drill, I treat it like picking up a mad rattlesnake. It has dealt me a lot of pain in the last 20 years.

20V ? This was a 15 amp corded drill. One of those that comes with the attachable side handle ... for a reason. However, had I been using the side handle, it would have then spun the 2x4 and whacked me in the ankle.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

I suggest you talk to a physical therapist before attempting what I’d classify as a “bone-head move.” In the times I’ve had PT over my life, it was never, not once, “hard and fast.”

That's what the chiropractor did to my wife's knee. Similar to relocating a joint.

 

[FaithfulSkeptic]

:-)View attachment 183974

That's about right.

 

[summerthyme]

That's about right.

The chiropractor KNOWS what he's popping! And that includes understanding each structure of the joint, how the ligaments and tendons are attached, how each movement changes the posistion of various structures.

Your wife may well have had a "trapped" tendon, or possibly a but of loose cartilage getting caught in the joint and hurting movement. Or any of several possibilities. He's got the training to (hopefully!) cause more good than harm!

Sorry for the mini-lecture, but I've seen way too many issues that overzealous "amateur" "treatments" can do. For some reason, my Amish neighbors seem to adore amateur "chiropractic" "treatments"... several of the men offer them for every imaginable ailment.

Just be careful... one thing you learn as you get older is that time spending time warming up a bit and doing some gentle stretching before physical activity can save spending time healing later.

Summerthyme