What a draaaag it is getting olllllld

[KNS]

Originally Posted by masraum

...and? Those are?

Along with my other stretching - these two stretches have just about eliminated lower back muscle spasms, the kind that send you to your knees in pain as you reach across to pick up a pencil or something silly. I don't know if the two stretches have a name so I can't search for images on the net...

To describe:

Laying flat on your back bring one leg up and bend at the knee, foot on the ground. We'll say this is your left knee with a 90 degree bend. With your right leg, bring it across and rest your right ankle on the left knee. With both hands grab hold of your left knee cap and slowly pull it towards your chest, the left foot will come off the ground. Try to keep your back somewhat flat. Pull it towards you as far as can (comfortably) and hold the position for about ten seconds. Repeat with the other leg/knee. Repeat again with the other leg/knee. This muscle goes from the back of your leg up to your back (or something like that).

The other stretch:

Stand in front or your kitchen or bathroom sink about two feet from the counter. With your hands together grab the inner edge of the sink and squat down with your knees. Bring your butt all the way close to the floor and stretch your whole back as you pull your butt further away from the sink. Keep your feet together. It doesn't have to be a sink but anything at that height that you can grab onto. Hold it for about 10 or 20 seconds and just stretch the back. I move my butt slightly side to side as I'm stretching.

Please be careful if you're doing this for the first time, I'm not responsible if any of you tweak your back! These are easy but go slow and steady at first. I hoped I described them alright.

A Chiropractor showed me these so that's where I learned them. I generally never go to a Chiropractor but I had one of those lower back muscle spasms that have been described on this thread. It would usually happen about once a year. Since doing these along with all my other regular morning stretches I haven't had a zinger in over three years.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

in the words of Randy Bachman. "you ain't seen nothin' yet" ........

In the words of Warren Zevon "life'll kill ya"

[tabs]

Sunday morn brushing ma teeth..felt soreness between shoulder blades.ahhooo..checked bp 200/120..whoops.. took meds..drpped some

Checked bp during day no drop..2am.
226/150..time to go to ER..

EKG, blood work and chest xray time.. good news is i am fine bad news for you i am still alive.and u have to put up wt me.⛈



Bp..has returned to 120/73 this afternoon.

Culprit too much fkin salt in diet..RED Lobster on friday and too fking much ham in the preceding weeks..restruant food is high in salt content.

Surprisingly all blood work was in normal range including kidney function.

Also i lost another lil dog on Friday..i didnt want to, didnt have to at the moment but had to put him down. 13 14 yrs Dementia, blind, deaf, arthritus, frail..where he was just hobbling along..

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by KNS

Along with my other stretching - these two stretches have just about eliminated lower back muscle spasms, the kind that send you to your knees in pain as you reach across to pick up a pencil or something silly. I don't know if the two stretches have a name so I can't search for images on the net...

To describe:

Laying flat on your back bring one leg up and bend at the knee, foot on the ground. We'll say this is your left knee with a 90 degree bend. With your right leg, bring it across and rest your right ankle on the left knee. With both hands grab hold of your left knee cap and slowly pull it towards your chest, the left foot will come off the ground. Try to keep your back somewhat flat. Pull it towards you as far as can (comfortably) and hold the position for about ten seconds. Repeat with the other leg/knee. Repeat again with the other leg/knee. This muscle goes from the back of your leg up to your back (or something like that).

The other stretch:

Stand in front or your kitchen or bathroom sink about two feet from the counter. With your hands together grab the inner edge of the sink and squat down with your knees. Bring your butt all the way close to the floor and stretch your whole back as you pull your butt further away from the sink. Keep your feet together. It doesn't have to be a sink but anything at that height that you can grab onto. Hold it for about 10 or 20 seconds and just stretch the back. I move my butt slightly side to side as I'm stretching.

Please be careful if you're doing this for the first time, I'm not responsible if any of you tweak your back! These are easy but go slow and steady at first. I hoped I described them alright.

A Chiropractor showed me these so that's where I learned them. I generally never go to a Chiropractor but I had one of those lower back muscle spasms that have been described on this thread. It would usually happen about once a year. Since doing these along with all my other regular morning stretches I haven't had a zinger in over three years.

The first one is a basic stretch for the piriformis. There are several variations that increase in difficulty but improve the stretch. When I have problems I usually start with the one you describe, work up to sitting up bringing the leg with the ankle on the knee to my chest. Once I'm to that point, I move to crossing my leg in front of me and then laying over that leg it's called the forward folding pigeon. GO SLOW with this one.

[creaturecat]

condolences on the dog loss, Tabs

[Superman]

Sorry about that, Nick. In my view, there are plenty of quacks out there. In sharp contrast, there are some gifted physical therapists as well. I visited one a few years ago and if I told you that story, you'd conclude that he deserves his great reputation. His clients include the Pacific Northwest Ballet and he has travelled with the PGA Tour. Find a physical therapist like that. Do the exercises they assign to you. Avoid surgery wherever possible.

[john70t]

Get yourself one of these and thank me later.
https://www.homedics.com/products/massagers


A localized joint injury happens because the adjoining structures didn't support it and alignment was off.
That's usually because they are locked up with muscle stress/low synovial fluid/and/or binding fascia tissue is not allowing easy movement.
Often related to other areas: ie a bad shoulder restricts rib movement.

[Evans, Marv]

Sorry to hear about your trials & tribulations with getting older, Nick & you other guys. I lurked here for a while & joined when I was 59 years old & turned 79 on my last birthday. When I read about some of the problems with others here, I feel more lucky as time goes by. So far I (mostly & luckily) don't have problems described by some you guys. I obviously have age related things I'd rather not have, but have had luck on my side - I guess. I must admit I 've been a bit of a couch potato (see Paul, I didn't put the "e" on the end of that) and have made it a priority lately to start getting off my butt. So I started walking a three mile circuit about half a year ago that has some down hill and up hill three times a week using my heavy hand weights (from the '80s) for some upper body exercise. I have to admit I can tell the difference. I've been retired for 17 years now & have nobody to blame for my stints of couchdom but myself. I guess I'd say we should all look for opportunities to get out and do what we can to do what our bodies were desinged for. You're all a great bunch of fellas, & i'm wishing you all the best.

[cabmandone]

Marv,
I messed my back up back around 2005 and had a herniated disc a few years ago so it's no really fair for me to blame turning 50... but it's easier than saying "man I wish I hadn't done that stupid stuff when I was younger" I know what I need to do to avoid these episodes but I'm just not as vigilant as I should be. I know that doing stretches and core exercise each day will keep this problem from happening but I wait till it happens then complain!

Congrats on your good health at 79. Hope it stays that way for ya!

[Evans, Marv]

Thanks Nick, but there are no guarantees in life. I think Sup's advice was something to consider. I've found every time I avoid exercise for a period of time and get going again, I notice the difference in how I feel & wonder why I let myself lapse. I think part of the problem is the feeling better becomes the norm, & you tend to forget how you felt before. I can tell you with age things don't get better on their own, and you don't appreciate avoiding physical problems any less as you get older.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

Sorry to hear about your trials & tribulations with getting older, Nick & you other guys. I lurked here for a while & joined when I was 59 years old & turned 79 on my last birthday. When I read about some of the problems with others here, I feel more lucky as time goes by. So far I (mostly & luckily) don't have problems described by some you guys. I obviously have age related things I'd rather not have, but have had luck on my side - I guess. I must admit I 've been a bit of a couch potato (see Paul, I didn't put the "e" on the end of that) and have made it a priority lately to start getting off my butt. So I started walking a three mile circuit about half a year ago that has some down hill and up hill three times a week using my heavy hand weights (from the '80s) for some upper body exercise. I have to admit I can tell the difference. I've been retired for 17 years now & have nobody to blame for my stints of couchdom but myself. I guess I'd say we should all look for opportunities to get out and do what we can to do what our bodies were desinged for. You're all a great bunch of fellas, & i'm wishing you all the best.

TBH - I injured my back in 1998 in the gym (ironically) being healthy and working out.

I was warming up on a hack squat rack, I had 90 lbs on it, which was nothing for me back then, I was usually squatting 400+ on a squat rack. I moved wrong being sloppy and not paying attention to my form, best I could tell I rotated my hips while coming up and felt a pop in my back.

No pain, but I knew immediately I was screwed.

Called my Chiropractor and went straight there, xrays did not run any problem up, but I was in a huge amount of pain at this point and starting to lose the use of my left leg.

MRI was ordered, turned up to be a bulging disk. A Therapy plan was put in place and he nursed me back in shape. I remember as I was approaching being mended one thing the doc said to me and it stuck with me. He patted my flat tummy and said "this needs to stay like that, no beer belly, your core strength is vital from here on out"

He is right, I never have problems unless I let myself go a little, the moment I do, my back reminds me to get my crap together.

[Aurel]

I have managed lower back pain since my twenties, due to bad discs. I am pretty sure L5 S1 is gone. As I get older, my hope is that pain becomes the same as others, or maybe lower due to all the stretching and maintenance I have done. I watch disc replacement surgery videos, but not ready for that yet…

One stretching that works very well is to wear a strong leather belt, lay on your stomach, place both hands on your hips under the belt, and push down your hips with your arms. It will decompress the spine, while also giving a good workout to your arms.

I also like the yoga cobra pose, It has gotten rid of pinched nerve that cause sciatica sometimes.

Back muscles need to be relaxed too, I like using foam rollers. I have a set of chirp wheels, Google
that.

Finally exercise and losing weight does help. I took back running and I was afraid it would made the back pain worse, but the opposite happened.

[TimT]

As someone who suffers from scoliosis, arthritis, and compression of L4-L5 I have pretty chronic back pain..sciatica, and all those wonderful things..stretching and developing core strength help,, as does chiropractic, and massage..

Ty and fit some of the exercises and stretches demonstrated in this video into your routine..it helps

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

He is right, I never have problems unless I let myself go a little, the moment I do, my back reminds me to get my crap together.

Yep. Funny how the body will tell you "hey lazy ass... get back to exercising"

[dw1]

This pretty much sums up the general topic of this thread:

[dw1]

Yes, it does suck getting old. Every so often my back "goes out" - kind of like a bad cramped muscle or "charlie horse" - forcing me to walk with a cane for a few days. Pain killers help, but I have found the most consistently effective treatment is muscle relaxant taken internally in the form of brownish-colored liquid made in Kentucky or Tennessee.

Not long ago, I had arthroscopic surgery for rotator cuff repair. I am convinced the rear suspension bolts on my 911 had something to do with that. Word to the wise: ignore the use of torque multipliers and/or long pipe cheaters at your own risk. Like with back injuries, the first rule in avoiding muscle injuries is to avoid being stupid.

Now I am awaiting insurance approval for neurosurgery to (hopefully) repair a dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVF). Hearing your pulse loudly in one ear 24/7 is disconcerting to say the least, as is the bruise-like pain on the side of my head. It looks like my days of exploring high lateral g-forces and/or being able to put on a driving helmet are over for awhile.

[cabmandone]

Avoid being stupid? You must not know me. If I could avoid being stupid, I wouldn't have been running my 911 hard, missed a shift, and now I'm having the top end rebuilt.

Don't get me wrong, It's solid advice. But I find that advice virtually impossible to follow.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by TimT

As someone who suffers from scoliosis, arthritis, and compression of L4-L5 I have pretty chronic back pain..sciatica, and all those wonderful things..stretching and developing core strength help,, as does chiropractic, and massage..

I am about 1/2 way through.

Excellent!

I missed the second hip replacement due to CV and I am back in line.

The keys to this are losing weight, diet that works, core work outs (planking works for me), stretching, constant movement and daily exercises...I have a modified stair climber and a recumbent Nordic Track I bought off CL since my running days and other high impact routines are for the most part over.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by dw1

This pretty much sums up the general topic of this thread:

True, my injury in the gym may not have even been from the gym. My wild antics as a teen and into my 20's may have caught up with me.

We did some crazy stuff growing up. I have a good friend, who was my first employee what lived a wild Jackass (MTV show) style life, emulating this morons.

He was always busted up from skateboarding stunts, he once wrecked a crotch rocket motorcycle at 70 mpg with no protective gear on other an a helmet. He body was covered in road rash.

He just sent me a picture of his latest surgery to fix things he broke when he was a kid, he is in his late 30's now and all busted up, all the injuries are coming back to haunt him as he ages. I warned him when he was in his late teens to back it down a little he would regret it.

Anyone looked into stem cell therapy? I am about to start looking into it. I have heard some good things about the results from it and I want to explore if it will work with me, I am making an appt with my Chiropractor first and seeing what he thinks about it.