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RSteve

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Yesterday was one of the days I care for my 17-month-old granddaughter. She's a big girl for her age. Both her mother and father are "good" sized. My daughter is just a hair under six feet and her husband is about 6'2". After I drove the granddaughter to my house, I had to lift her out of a child's car seat in the close confine of my garage. As I lifted her out of the seat, twisting my body, I could feel a pop in my lower back. I'm sure it was my sacroiliac joint, as I've had similar problems in the past. This morning I could barely walk and last night it seemed like I woke up a dozen times. Apparently, every time I moved, the sudden shock of pain woke me up. I know my body well enough that I could tell which muscles were seizing. I dosed myself with an anti inflammatory and muscle relaxant. I'm starting to feel human, but walking is still an effort.
Tomorrow, will be an another grandfather day, but my daughter's father-in-law will pinch hit. I'm hoping that by Friday, I'll be fully mobile, although I know it'll be a couple of weeks or more before I feel 100%.
My father died while I was a teenager. Even in his late 50s, he complained about the aches and pains of growing old. I can't imagine how much he'd be bitching if he'd lived to be my age or my brother's, who turns 80 in 3 months.

I admit that there are times when I awaken and if there's no pain, wonder if I've died.
 
Got a jolt of pain and woke up from a restless sleep. It's 3:37 am CST and I'm going to take a boneless leg of lamb out of my freezer to defrost and fill a pipe to smoke.
 
Ouch mate, done similar a few times myself. Last time was this time last year lifting a heavy esky and even with mobic and anti inflammatory drugs I needed to see a physiotherapist to set me straight.

Boy was I surprised, the physio must've been all of four and a half feet and whisper thin, but she beat me up good. Manipulating my 6 plus foot frame easily.
 
I feel your pain Steve. Last year my lower back pain went from an occasional twinge to almost constant soreness. Had to have 3 spine injections. I agree with your outlook, if I wake up and nothing is hurting I check the obituaries for my name, lol.
 
Your description of hearing and feeling a pop as you twisted your body sounds like what happened to me when I was yanking a tree root with a sideways motion. I spent a couple of weeks in agony on 600 mg Ibuprofen every six hours, hardly any sleep, a couple of days over twenty hours just laying flat on my bed, Finally had X-ray and discovered I popped my C4 spinal joint so the only solution was to get 8 back injections over two visits. I wouldn't endure the discomfort thinking that it might go away, see a back specialist and get relief ASAP!
 
I could feel a pop in my lower back.
I found out about that "pop" last January. (Great start to 2020.)
I got my lawn tractor stuck in soft ground and foolishly tried to push it out.
It was a really stupid move. I've never had any back problems before that.
It took several weeks to feel better and now I have back pain when I do much physical work.
I could hear as well as feel the pop and I just hit the ground and stayed there awhile.
 
I was mistakenly treated for herniated L4,L5 for several years. Finally, an osteopath suggested that he inject a soup of cortisone and novocaine into my left sacroiliac joint. I'd been in intense pain. As soon as I received the injection, the pain abated completely. I was stunned. Then the doc filled me in. "The novocaine will wear off and hopefully the cortisone will start to repair some of the damage. Prepare yourself for some intense discomfort."
And, of course, I was prescribed Vicodin for the pain.

The sacroiliac gives me some problems every few months, but they're rarely so intense that with a few days of anti-inflammatories I can't resume normal activities. I'm walking a little better today, but can't tolerate the added weight of shoes or slippers.

I have already had C4, C5, C6 discectomy, laminectomy twice. When I had the X-rays and MRIs for the neck surgery, they must have examined everything all the way down to my butthole. A radiologist commented that my T-12 appeared to be nothing but cartilage and built up calcium. "Do you remember a severe blow to the area?" I did.
A refrigerator we were moving off a ramp, unstrapped on a dolly, slipped off the dolly and hit me mid-back as I was standing beside the ramp.

I can't complain without some guilt today. Tomorrow, my soon to be 80-year-old brother, will have spinal neck surgery. Because of Covid, even his wife can't be with him. She'll drop him off at the U of MN Hospital at 5:30 am and pick him up five to seven days later. Their daughter is a heart surgeon at the Anderson Hospital Complex in Houston and on the instructional staff of the U of TX Medical School. She was refused permission to even view the surgery
 
Your description of hearing and feeling a pop as you twisted your body sounds like what happened to me when I was yanking a tree root with a sideways motion. I spent a couple of weeks in agony on 600 mg Ibuprofen every six hours, hardly any sleep, a couple of days over twenty hours just laying flat on my bed, Finally had X-ray and discovered I popped my C4 spinal joint so the only solution was to get 8 back injections over two visits. I wouldn't endure the discomfort thinking that it might go away, see a back specialist and get relief ASAP!
I'll second that.
 
I found out about that "pop" last January. (Great start to 2020.)
I got my lawn tractor stuck in soft ground and foolishly tried to push it out.
It was a really stupid move. I've never had any back problems before that.
It took several weeks to feel better and now I have back pain when I do much physical work.
I could hear as well as feel the pop and I just hit the ground and stayed there awhile.
Yep, gotta be careful. At our age we don't heal up like we used to.
 
I've had C4, C5, C6 surgery twice; 2005 and a re-do in 2006. I'm quite certain this is the sacroiliac joint and with time and anti inflammatories it'll get better.
 
I feel your pain, man. Literally. Back pain almost every day. Drugs and alcohol help!!! What frustrates me the most is trying to do something
I used to do and now can't. Yesterday was a good day so I decided to take the Polaris and go down to my woodpile and load up the Polaris with
some firewood. I barely got the bed filled and had to stop. My wife finished the job.
 
Had rotator surgery 5 weeks ago, arm still in a sling and doing PT once a week. So now I can't take down the xmas lights I put up in early Dec. Guess the HOA will just have to fine me. Lol.
 
Had rotator surgery 5 weeks ago, arm still in a sling and doing PT once a week. So now I can't take down the xmas lights I put up in early Dec. Guess the HOA will just have to fine me. Lol.
When I broke my right shoulder and arm in 2013, I was in a sling for months. My surgeon was a very polite young woman, considered one of the foremost shoulder specialists in the country. At one of my first visits with her, she asked, "How do you cleanse yourself?" and I replied,
"By showering."
To which she replied, "I mean, with which hand to you wipe your butt?"
"How is this relevant to my broken arm and shoulder?"
"If you are right handed, you have to be very careful the first few times you wipe with your left hand. Most men lean heavily to the side when they wipe. Using your left hand, you might lean heavily to the right, lose your balance and fall off the toilet increasing the injury to your arm and shoulder. I suggest that you wipe as a woman would, reaching between your legs."
I could never master that technique.
 
When I broke my right shoulder and arm in 2013, I was in a sling for months. My surgeon was a very polite young woman, considered one of the foremost shoulder specialists in the country. At one of my first visits with her, she asked, "How do you cleanse yourself?" and I replied,
"By showering."
To which she replied, "I mean, with which hand to you wipe your butt?"
"How is this relevant to my broken arm and shoulder?"
"If you are right handed, you have to be very careful the first few times you wipe with your left hand. Most men lean heavily to the side when they wipe. Using your left hand, you might lean heavily to the right, lose your balance and fall off the toilet increasing the injury to your arm and shoulder. I suggest that you wipe as a woman would, reaching between your legs."
I could never master that technique.
Bidet is the way to go
 
Started moving yesterday, very first thing we went to move was the washer and dryer. Went to load up the washer and BAM! pain right in the center of the back in both sides. No pop or anything but sure is painful. Think it's the first time I've ever hurt myself like that.
 
The alternative: Lost a H.S. classmate:
From his obituary:
Physically fit throughout his life, He ran the Twin Cities Marathon twice and was also a distance biker and walker. He was a healthy eater and enjoyed exercising. This fit and healthy man was feeling great and looking forward to the 2020 holiday season when, tragically, he was hit out of the blue by the coronavirus. He and his wife both were so careful, rarely venturing far from their home and, when they did, they wore their masks, washed their hands and maintained social distancing. They followed all of the safety rules. “He lived a clean, safe, healthy life. He followed the rules. He was protective of the world,” his wife said. Despite all of this, He got sick in late December with COVID-19 and spent a week in the hospital struggling with this horrendous virus. He fought so hard, rallied a few times, but in the end, tragically, coronavirus won despite his brave fight.

He was a decorated veteran, serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy on the destroyer USS Edson during the Vietnam War and stationed briefly on the USS Midway as well. Later, He served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a captain. He also served with the 133rd Airlift Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard, retiring in 2002.
 
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