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was born with a propensity [genetic] for back issues, they run in my family. have a 20mm+ leg length discrepancy which lead to 15 degree thoracic scoliosis [untreated for too long] and dodgy hip joints, and my weak ankles turning on me with no warning doesn't help things, either. had arthritis in my spine early on. the arthritis in my SI joints happened in my 30s and my lumbar and thoracic a bit later. came to a head in my early 50s after severe bike accident that shattered my left elbow and left bone chips/contusions all over, that probably traumatically dislodged a few lumbar joints as well but was not dx'ed due to me being on morphine and not noticing until a few years later when riding my unsuspended recumbent trike finished it off and crippled me for a summer and fall. dx'ed finally with the aforementioned grade 2 spondy and lumbar arthritis/ruptured disc/s. I experience daily pain, at the height of my injuries a 9 out of 10, I was bent over like an old man supported on two canes and having to move about with the help of an electric scooter. left sciatic leg dragged behind me like a useless appendage. violent joint crepitations [CLICK! POP! THUNK!] and twinges that would bring me to my knees in agony. still, damned bloodsucking insurance company would not pay for $200k back surgery [SI/lumbar/thoracic plasty/fusion] which would likely have left me bedridden for a year. so I don't exactly feel bad about that, other than that American medical insurance companies are bloodsucking capitalist pigs in general. damned insurance would not even cover physical therapy beyond 5 sessions so I had to become my own doctor and nurse and therapist and gather info off the web to learn how to treat myself. core strengthening and lumbar traction was the key, about 100# of traction once per night, 10 minutes worth, has enabled me to mostly function, even though I will never lift anything with my back ever again. it is mostly occasional moderate twinges and stiffness now, occasional crepitation of joints.

Jeez that is a lot to deal with, fair play. I think I would be a very unhappy person if I had to experience those levels of daily discomfort, continual pain wears a person down. I am so very glad to live in a part of the world with a non privatized medical model for those who can not afford insurance.
I think when the basic social infrastructures are privatized, people suffer because of the business model approach to fundamental services. I very much wish that your situation was different Auntblabby.

Perhaps another person on this thread might be able to better relate to you than I am.

you did well enough thanks for listening to me

If you don't mind, I'll send you some ((((Hugs)))), just because I want to!

~~~~~~~~~~

Just back from 'full contact' seven a side rugby training, I might be hooked, and have found an outlet for a particular type of physical energy release. Its ok... I might be releasing some pent up anger but they are all much bigger than me, so I think its fair, besides some of them seem a little bit angry too .

^^^
awwww that is sweet of you
sounds like you found yourself a way to get your excess oomph out of you in a socially productive way in America, they have the roller derby that a lot of women find useful for a similar purpose. lots of elbows and shoving.

Roller derby would send my coordination and spatial challenges into meltdown, lol, looks like fun even if my coccyx twinged at the thought of it.

^^^
yeh, I would guess it had too much lower-back and hip twisting to be prudent. but those women's faces told a tale of sheer joy and abandon as they careened and caromed and jostled and elbowed and shoved to beat the band

and if it were me running the show, all participants would be encouraged to wear "bum-per" guards to protect their coccyxes from harm from the inevitable spills onto that hard rink floor.

^^^ Rofl, very funny image.

if I was more of an entrepreneur I would market it.

So, just to catch up... I did 17.5 miles on thursday and friday, rested saturday and did 17.5 miles on sunday and monday.

Today, I did about 8 miles before getting rained out. I think I'll try for another ride this afternoon when the weather breaks. It looks like it might be my last chance to ride for a while, thanks to tropical storm Bill.

I tried to readjust my pedals last week. I moved them up one notch (to gain about .5 inches on my crank length). Unfortunately, it was .5 inches TOO FAR. After 3 excruciating rides I surrendered to the pain and put them back where they started.

It's really frustrating because a standard crankset is 170mm (6.75 inches) and I can only handle about 90mm (3.5 inches)--that's A LOT of lost leverage/torque.

Very much so auntblabby, as I've mentioned when I post how much weight I can do especially on the shoulder press I tore the right rotator cuff of my shoulder girdle over twenty years ago and it never healed properly. My shoulder aches all the time so I don't do much more than 40# on a good day on the shoulder press.

And the doctors have told me my blood tests negative for rheumatoid arthritis, but I expect I have osteoarthritis anyway. My diet has never been rich in calcium, and my joints do ache pretty much all the time. I blame the long-term corticosteroid medicine I use for asthma treatment as much as anything else for that.

When it comes to back issues, I have a little bit and have only recently begun to experience some sciatica. But hubby has a congenital spondylolisthesis at L3-L4 (the disks are between, so the poster who said it was the disk at L2 or L3 it's probably the L2-L3 disk. The disk is the soft tissue padding between each pair of vertebrae, similar to the meniscus in the knee, and not part of the vertebra itself. Please pardon me, anatomy is a Special Interest), so sometimes the disk there bulges hugely and guess who gets to rub it out. I've been told by many I have magical massage hands, better than any professional masseuse any of my in-laws have ever paid for a massage.

I went to the gym with a head cold last night--that was interesting.

I did no weight resistance whatsoever and took it easy on the treadmill, stair-climber and stationary bike. One hour, five floors and 35 minutes, respectively. Real slow on the treadmill and I was facebooking at the same time, so while I burned a few calories it wasn't as tiring as a regular workout would be. Better than nothing, I hope, and that + fighting off this head-cold I kind of feel wiped.

Called in sick to work this morning, and I do think the extra four hours' sleep helped. Jesus Freak meeting tonight, maybe I go back to gym Wednesday or Thursday. Maybe head-cold will be gone by then (yes Lord, healing please thank you Jesus).

One more thing: I have the skills for roller derby, but lack the aggression. I am not at all competitive and completely pain-avoidant, so that would be a non-starter. I love inline skating though.

WooHOO!

I got another 17 (trike) miles in during the only two dry hours of the day!! !

Oh, and I decided to take a pic of the prairie restoration area in the park before all the wild flowers died. Maybe next year I'll do it on a sunny day...

just got through mowing the grass on my pothole-ridden irregular terrain yard around the tin can. that was a sweaty workout.

wow you have quite a high pain tolerance

Got up extra early and did my triking before the rain came in.

I'm still losing weight too. I think I'm gonna dust off my power blocks and start doing a bit of weight training. I DON'T want to lose weight in my arms and shoulders. I'll probably start doing dips too. I tried to do a chin-up a while back (I used to do chin-ups like a maniac) but it caused some huge pain in my back (which is mostly fused now...) so I won't be doing any more of that.