old age and old injuries

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gwells
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old age and old injuries

Post by gwells » Mon Apr 17, 2017 7:57 pm

and recently being active are a bad combination.

played soccer last fall for the first time in 7-8 years. just in the goal, but was a lot of fun after all this time. my shoulders ached for days after every game, but recovered before the next week's game.

of course, i separated both shoulders a couple of times in my 20s. i've always had some issues. well, after the season, they just didn't stop aching. and then things like tucking the tail of my shirt in or reaching up with any weight or pretty much anything that involved rotating my shoulder with it moving up or back started to be anywhere from annoying to excruciating.

tried physical therapy, it only got worse.

so last week i had MRIs on both shoulders (fun!). this morning, i got the news. no rotator cuff tears, but tendinosis in 3 of 4 muscles of the cuff on one shoulder and 2 of 4 on the other. labral tears on both shoulders (one worse than the other), subluxation in both shoulders (not surprising with the separation history), glenoid cartridge deterioration, and bicyps tendon issues.

need to schedule an orthopedic consult.

i've been looking at my MRIs for a few days (brought home a CD, yay technology) and kinda figured a few of these things out by watching youtube videos by orthopedic surgeons. but this description i just read of tendinosis is spot on:

"Most of you with rotator cuff tendinosis have severe pain on the side of your arm. Reaching into the back seat of your car is brutal. Rotator cuff tendinosis also causes severe night pain in the shoulder and leads to many sleepless nights."

so many things about getting older are actually pretty cool. but this part of it blows. *sigh* youth is wasted on the young.

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toxicavenger
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by toxicavenger » Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:03 pm


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gwells
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by gwells » Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:08 pm

that's agonizingly painful just to think about.

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jtbenson
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by jtbenson » Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:11 pm

used to play tennis for hours every day.
now, i'm lucky to get two days a week in and still be able to climb stairs.
getting old sucks, no doubt about it.
the will is still there, the ability to recover quickly, not so much...
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59yukon01
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by 59yukon01 » Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:17 pm

Mentally I'll always be 21, but sadly when physically acting that way my body always reminds me I'm 50+ the next day. Yep recovery time is so much slower. I'm going down fighting though.

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mellonb1
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by mellonb1 » Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:21 pm

Sucks getting old. Airrosti treatment is big in Texas. Many swear by it and it doesn't require surgery.

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BBK357
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old age and old injuries

Post by BBK357 » Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:27 pm

The cure? Girls in their early to mid 20's. Run through as many as you can. It's the fountain of youth.

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CGSshorty
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by CGSshorty » Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:41 pm

I'm in the same boat, Greg. My right shoulder is a mess. The fact that I enjoy Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit don't help the situation.
"It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever."
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Sidheguitarist
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by Sidheguitarist » Mon Apr 17, 2017 11:23 pm

All you can do is all you can do. I just got back from almost 2 hours of bjj practice. I will be very creaky tomorrow. The benefit of being a lot closer to 50 than 40. Drink way more water than beer, but drink plenty of beer. JMO. Sorry about your shoulders.

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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by R@cerx » Tue Apr 18, 2017 4:32 am

CGSshorty wrote:
Mon Apr 17, 2017 8:41 pm
I'm in the same boat, Greg. My right shoulder is a mess. The fact that I enjoy Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit don't help the situation.
Same here, but different injuries. But for me, the juice is worth the squeeze, so I live with the pain.

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dnslater
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by dnslater » Tue Apr 18, 2017 4:58 am

Try cutting out sugar and carbs for a few weeks. I'm dead serious. Leads to a lot of inflammation for some.

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BBK357
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old age and old injuries

Post by BBK357 » Tue Apr 18, 2017 7:09 am

Besides my earlier suggestion- I agree w the low carb diet. Up the protein too- when I had my jaw bashed open the Dr could not believe how fast I recovered. with my mouth wired shut i was literally drinking protein shakes 4-5 times a day.. I've torn some muscles including bicep and others- it's horrible but increasing my protein has always helped me heal faster. And due to me trying to lift heavy when I was younger I have some nerve and arthritis issues in my shoulders- and I'm 33.
Good luck finding a solution.

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DenverBuff
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by DenverBuff » Tue Apr 18, 2017 10:04 am

Man, does this thread hit home.

I tore my right quad tendon last fall CHASING MY GODDAMN COCKER SPANIEL. It suuuucks. Look it up. My orthopedic surgeon told me that this injury happens to 2 groups of people: 1. Young jocks on steroids and 2. Middle aged guys screwing around.

I am firmly in Group 2. Rehab is a stone-cold bitch. And it's still going on.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

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streetracer101
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by streetracer101 » Tue Apr 18, 2017 11:56 am

I didn't realize how many elderly folk we have here.

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CGSshorty
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by CGSshorty » Tue Apr 18, 2017 12:47 pm

streetracer101 wrote:I didn't realize how many elderly folk we have here.

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jad3703
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by jad3703 » Tue Apr 18, 2017 1:39 pm

I am just starting to reap the results of being a soldier for over 31 years ... with 5 to go. No regrets and I still train and work hard, play with my boys, and live a good life, but I also almost never drink, I eat well (low carbs, low sugars, high proteins and fibres), and I drink boat-loads of purfied water. But I felt it today, doing my annual PT test. Passed and did well (no age bracketing for us anymore), but I am not 25 anymore ...

I really try to take care of myself, largely for my kids (became a father later in life), but also because I fully intend to be active and engaged in life into my 80s and fully intend to collect the munificent pension that I will have spent over 35 years earning.

Life is not a spectator sport but it is always good to look after yourself and be smart.

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River Rat
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by River Rat » Tue Apr 18, 2017 2:05 pm

Does suck getting old. My right elbow will get a throbbing pain every now and then due to it's the arm I used a lot when working on a city tree crew would be in a boom truck with a 60ft boom holding a chain saw with one hand did that for years also had tendinitis in the same arm when working. One thing I do every day is walk 2-3 miles a day if weather permits to keep me when I really get older from using a walker hell no am I going to use one of those. Hope every thing works out on your shoulders.

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Ryeguy
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by Ryeguy » Tue Apr 18, 2017 2:05 pm

I also suffer from chronic shoulder pain, but I am slowly recovering.

I've had MRI's and done some PT. I know I have some micro tears and certainly impingement leading to bursitis and tendonitis. My right shoulder crunches when I raise my arm even with no weight.

My personal diagnosis (non-physician so take it with a grain of salt):
Cause of shoulder pain: historic poor weightlifting practices combined with poor posture while working behind a desk and lots of driving. Back when I was a kid, we seemed to always focus on bench pressing. "How much can you bench?" was probably the first question we asked each other at the gym. Putting 350+ lbs. on a bar and laying on a narrow bench puts a ton of stress on your shoulder joints.

Focusing heavily on pec development resulted in the shoulders rolling forward as the pec muscles overpower your traps and rear delts. The rolling forward of the shoulders reduces the clearances in the shoulder joint, resulting in the impingement. Throwing a football with my son and paddling my surfboard became so painful I would be eating Aleve /NSAID's like Pez after the event.

I've been focusing on the following:
- No more bench. Push-Ups (and lots of them) work and I think they actually push the shoulder ball back into the socket.
- Focus on posture - shoulders back and shoulder blades pulled back and low. KT tape can help train you in this posture. What is important is to maintain this posture even while extending the arm. If I forget my posture and extend my arm, my shoulder pops and cracks. When I maintain my posture, my shoulder rotates without popping or feeling tendons rolling over each other. A good way to quickly check your posture is to look at yourself in a full length mirror standing normally. If your thumbs face toward each other when your hands are at your side, your shoulders are rolled forward. If your thumbs face forward, your shoulders are in the correct position.

To support my efforts at posture I concentrate on a number of rear delt / trap and rotator cuff exercises (especially external rotations). You have got to hit those muscles high up on your back so you have a balance between your pecs and your back. Chin ups alone don't hit high enough. You have to almost do a reverse push up, pulling yourself up to a horizontal bar. I actually have an exercise band looped over the door handle of my car so I can do external rotations while I drive. Think light weight and lots of reps (sets of 25 - 50 reps.) Scarecrows are another good exercise to get those rotator cuff muscles strengthened up.

If (and "if" is the operative word) I can maintain my posture, I can surf and paddle through big waves without being in too much pain the next day. If my posture goes south, I pay for it. Little league season is about to start and I coach, so I'll be throwing a ton of balls very shortly. I'm hopeful my winter's exercise and focus will allow me to avoid surgery.

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aikiman44
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by aikiman44 » Tue Apr 18, 2017 2:57 pm

Sigh, as this 62 year old triathlete sits here with a mild case of pneumonia, I know recovery takes a lot longer than it used to.
I ruminate on aging and athletics on my office blog. Here a couple things I've learned. I'm sure you'll recognize one or two.

Sometimes you have to let things calm down a while. This can take weeks or months, during which you'll have to omit a particular exercise that you may think held the whole room together. There are other exercises that you can add, until whatever ails you calms down.

I tell patients that sometimes you have to leave out 5% of your workout to get through the other 95%.

To age and continue to be active you have to adapt. This is key. Sometimes you'll have to leave a particular exercise behind because you just won't heal whatever body part has been damaged, either repeatedly in small amounts over the years or acutely. After I twisted a knee, the orthopod told me no more squats (or activities producing a torque on the knee - okay, I could live without Zumba, tennis and basketball). I used to love (body weight) squats, particularly single leg squats. They held everything together, how could I leave them out? I did, found substitutes and am fine.

I agree with the thoughts above: good diet, deserts only on weekends. Current research shows that excess sugar/carbs results in an inflammatory diet which can cause diabetes, hypertension, dementia, stroke, some types of cancer, etc. Subscribe to the Gabe Mirkin newsletter, which is an excellent, up to date source for all things health, fitness, diet, etc.

And core, core, core. These invisible muscles are our injury prevention/stabilization muscles. Planks, side planks, etc. are not glamorous and always hurt. They're the best, though. I place all athletes I treat on core exercises. They directly affect the feet.

Olympic weight lifting? Lifters I know all suffer significant arthritic and neurologic injuries. This is a sport in which these injuries are unavoidable, IMO. This is last century's activity. If you must, light weights/high reps are healthier.

The guys I look up to? The ones who are ten years older than me and fly by me in races. They're my role models.

Finally, recovery days are when you reap the benefits of your workout the previous day.

Carry on, gentlemen!
Last edited by aikiman44 on Tue Apr 18, 2017 3:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"We'd better synchronize our watches."

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Tallguy
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old age and old injuries

Post by Tallguy » Tue Apr 18, 2017 3:12 pm

LCHF diet does go a long way towards minimizing inflammation in the entire body, among other health benefits.


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Last edited by Tallguy on Tue Apr 18, 2017 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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aikiman44
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Re: old age and old injuries

Post by aikiman44 » Tue Apr 18, 2017 3:23 pm

Two tough dudes.
"We'd better synchronize our watches."

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