is this what getting old is like?

[Torn Mind]

When I was 28 or 29 I was scraping thin ice off my windshield. Something happened between my shoulder blades and I couldn't turn my neck to back out of the parking lots. It hurt for weeks.

3 years ago I picked up my clothes basket and hurt something in my lower back. That night my knee started hurting just as bad. The pain was so bad I had to pull a chair over and take breaks when I made my coffee in the morning. I literally changed my sleep position because of that incident.

It's likely a muscle and fixable if you know what to do and it isn't some difficult muscle like the quadratus lumborum.

Some DIY trigger point therapy can help. It's simple to describe. Apply pressure to an tense muscle at a tender point with something like a thumb, finger, ball, etc. As the pressure is apply, the muscle can react, sometimes violently, and releases its tension.

 

[highland145]

I pulled a lower back muscle during my workout yesterday. Even quit early because I knew I was in danger of overdoing it, but didn’t realize I’d be hobbling around like a 90-year old today. I lifted a lot more than I do now throughout my 20s with no issues ... now 31 and I’ve done this twice in the last year.

Lol keep at it. Tore my acl before you were born. 57 now and it adds up. My last 4 surgeries were for degenerative crap. Not that I follow my own advice but...what has already been said above.

 

[balloonshark]

It's likely a muscle and fixable if you know what to do and it isn't some difficult muscle like the quadratus lumborum.

Some DIY trigger point therapy can help. It's simple to describe. Apply pressure to an tense muscle at a tender point with something like a thumb, finger, ball, etc. As the pressure is apply, the muscle can react, sometimes violently, and releases its tension.

I tried heat and self massage. I often wonder if it was sciatica since my knee was also hurting. Time was the only thing that helped heal the pain. I'm sure therapy would have helped but don't think it was an option with my insurance.

 

[highland145]

I tried heat and self massage. I often wonder if it was sciatica since my knee was also hurting. Time was the only thing that helped heal the pain. I'm sure therapy would have helped but don't think it was an option with my insurance.

Ice, not heat.

 

[lxskllr]

My back might go out if I sneeze. If I'm not sitting, I try to bend over to sneeze. Right shoulder's been sore more than a month now. Not sure exactly when it started cause something always hurts, so I don't pay close attention. Not sure what's up with that. Back went out a couple weeks ago, and I could barely move. The previous two days, my forearms hurt. Felt like some kind of tendon thing. Climbed a pin oak yesterday, and got some of the dead wood out. Kinda kicked my ass, but I woke up today feeling pretty good; just a bit sore. Shoulder still hurts though :^/

 

[highland145]

My back might go out if I sneeze. If I'm not sitting, I try to bend over to sneeze. Right shoulder's been sore more than a month now. Not sure exactly when it started cause something always hurts, so I don't pay close attention. Not sure what's up with that. Back went out a couple weeks ago, and I could barely move. The previous two days, my forearms hurt. Felt like some kind of tendon thing. Climbed a pin oak yesterday, and got some of the dead wood out. Kinda kicked my ass, but I woke up today feeling pretty good; just a bit sore. Shoulder still hurts though :^/

Lol 70 and still kicking ass. You and my bro..."What's wrong with working 15 hours a day?" No way I can keep up with him or you. Heck, I'm thinking grab bars by the toilet since the last knee surgery...

 

[lxskllr]

I hope it never comes to surgery. A couple times a year my knees will really start to throb, usually when walking on hills. Oh, and my hip gets wonky sometimes. I'm thinking stretching might help that, but I need to do it, and not just think about it.

Good luck with the knees! I think that's one of the more reliable surgeries, but it might take awhile to really get going again.

 

[repoman0]

Lol keep at it. Tore my acl before you were born. 57 now and it adds up. My last 4 surgeries were for degenerative crap. Not that I follow my own advice but...what has already been said above.

lol, 31 isn’t seeming so bad anymore. Sure I managed to pull a muscle so bad I could barely stand two days ago, and certainly couldn’t stand straight upright, but today I could have done my usual workout if I felt like pushing my luck. A few years ago I would have.

Ice, not heat.

Can confirm

 

[Captante]

Based on cursory glances of hockey players' production, middle age starts around the age of 33.

Yep ... sounds about right for the first real twinges of age-pain!

Boomer isn't exaggerating in any way ... it really IS all downhill from here!

lol, 31 isn’t seeming so bad anymore. Sure I managed to pull a muscle so bad I could barely stand two days ago, and certainly couldn’t stand straight upright, but today I could have done my usual workout if I felt like pushing my luck. A few years ago I would have.

In your early-mid 30's you still heal somewhat like a kid.

40's however are a whole new ballgame.

 

[highland145]

Yep ... sounds about right for the first real twinges of age-pain!

Boomer isn't exaggerating in any way ... it really IS all downhill from here!

Well that douche better grade his yard right cause here we come.

 

[BoomerD]

Ice, not heat.

While that's usually true, for some injuries, alternating between moist heat and ice can be much better.

 

[highland145]

While that's usually true, for some injuries, alternating between moist heat and ice can be much better.

No. That's dementia.

 

[BoomerD]

No. That's dementia.

Out of all the things I've lost in life...I miss my mind the.........POTATO!

 

[MtnMan]

Old age is not for wimps.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

When a simple sneeze makes your wrist, knee and back hurt AND pushes out a shart .....

 

[Geekbabe]

LOL, the stories this 64 yr old could tell you! I pray for just a month without pain

 

[Fritzo]

I just turned 50 and I'm doing everything in my power to avoid all of that. I'm working out during lunch 4-5 times a week, I'm doing intermittent fasting and cutting processed grains/sugar/starches to keep the fat off. Seems to be working- still feel like I'm 25 and can hop around really well. Wondering how long this is going last though

 

[MrSquished]

Various aches and pains at 45 but you just keep trucking. Get on a bike, it's low impact and good exercise. I joined a cycling club on a trial basis and went on a group ride around all of Manhattan the other weekend. So that's about 32 miles, plus with getting to and from the start point, another 12 miles. At 45 I was the youngest in the group ride. Everyone there seemed to be 60+ besides one other woman and one other guy. The whole group rode a steady clip too. Be active now, stay active later.

 

[brianmanahan]

wow, i've felt like i was 50 or 60 since i was 27!

 

[nakedfrog]

In my early/mid-30s I was older than I am now. Dropped some weight, started stretching, and added daily planks. Now I'm not sure when the last time my back hurt was, and my sciatica flare-ups are pretty darn rare.

 

[brianmanahan]

In my early/mid-30s I was older than I am now. Dropped some weight, started stretching, and added daily planks. Now I'm not sure when the last time my back hurt was, and my sciatica flare-ups are pretty darn rare.

what kind of stretching do you do?

i need to do that - somehow i managed to pull my back this morning doing almost nothing at all

 

[VashHT]

what kind of stretching do you do?

i need to do that - somehow i managed to pull my back this morning doing almost nothing at all

Have you tried a heating pad? When my back gets tweaked I loosen it up with a heating pad and stretch and it gets better. Sometimes takes a lot longer than was I was younger but hasn't really failed me yet.

 

[MtnMan]

LOL, the stories this 64 yr old could tell you! I pray for just a month without pain

Just wait young'en, you ain't even got warmed up yet.

 

[nakedfrog]

what kind of stretching do you do?

i need to do that - somehow i managed to pull my back this morning doing almost nothing at all

I don't necessarily follow a specific regimen now, just general stretching.
This is more or less what I did starting out: http://www.fitnessbypatty.com/sciatica-stretches/

 

[DAPUNISHER]

a nice soak in a epson salt bath does wonders. whats funny is i strained lower back doing work out yesterday too hah, but it was because i did zero warm up and was running around the house doing 5 things at once supersetting benchpress and curls

Preach it.

Now in my mid 50s, I don't mess around with trying to cheese warm ups anymore. For combat sports and Shotokan, I have always warmed up. But weights I used to cheese hard when I felt rushed. No way I could get away with that now.