The Age of Permanent Injuries: We're Animals Now!

[TromboneAl]

Recently I was pulling a heavy post out of the ground.

Five minutes later, I had flashes in my vision, and it turned out I had PVD. One doc thought it was coincidence, another, no.

Although not serious, I will probably have annoying floaters in my vision for the rest of my life.

I hurt my knee in January in a kayak entry malfunction. I thought for a while that it would never get better (I was wrong, happily).

I'm wondering whether at this age, the injuries that we have a greater likelihood of being permanent. It makes us more like animals, perhaps (if a leopard breaks his leg, it's a death sentence, so he's extra careful).

Perhaps we have to give more thought to things like pulling heavy posts out of the ground.

 

[dtbach]

Well, yes we are animals (mammals to be more specific, genus Homo to be even more specific). We were not built to pull heavy posts out of the ground or getting into kayaks. In other words, we have not evolved too far from our Cro-Magnon ancestors and so getting injured in these kinds of actions should be expected.

 

[Dtail]

Minor ligament tear in my shoulder just pulling a stuck bag off the shelf. Probably will take 3 months to heal.

 

[athena53]

I fell while ice skating a year ago and badly tore something in my left shoulder. Given my $6,000 deductible and the fact that it wasn't getting any worse, I chose to self-treat. I still used the upper-body workout machines in the gym but if the pain was worse than garden-variety I stopped. It's one thing to break up scar tissue. It's another to make the damage worse. I'm back to the point that I've increased the weight load and number of reps beyond what they were before the fall and I've got ALMOST full range of motion back. Scary that it took that long. I skipped the church annual ice skating outing this year.

My grandmother used to live in fear of a broken hip- every time one of her friends broke a hip it was the beginning of the end. Her fear of going any place with steps bordered on a phobia. She eventually died quietly shortly after entering a nursing home, with her hip bones intact.

 

[Ronstar]

I hope that our injuries as we age are not permanent. But they certainly seem to be permanent at times. I recently had knee pain from running last nearly a year before it went away. It just takes too long to recover. So I’m being overly careful to avoid any injury that may take a while to recover from.

 

[NW-Bound]

... We were not built to pull heavy posts out of the ground or getting into kayaks. In other words, we have not evolved too far from our Cro-Magnon ancestors and so getting injured in these kinds of actions should be expected.

People nowadays are built to sit in recliners watching TV while drinking beer, to surf the Web, read magazines, etc...

Same were the Cro-Magnons, but they were not fortunate to have the stuff we do. Needless to say, their brutish life was short.

 

[Nemo2]

Don't worry, you'll be dead before they're permanent.

 

[LOL!]

My neighbor pulled a heavy post out of the ground. Unfortunately, it brought up one-half of a broken gas main with it.

I had ankle surgery last year. From start to finish it didn't cost me a dime because my wife had already met the family high deductible for her eyes. It was always amazing to check out at the physician's office, hospital, wherever and be cheerfully told, "No charge! Have a niche day!"

 

[Clone]

My grandmother used to live in fear of a broken hip- every time one of her friends broke a hip it was the beginning of the end.

It may sound odd, but my doctor (a number of years ago) told me that the % of people that die shortly after a broken hip is quite large. It is a huge shock to the system, and some older folks just don't have enough reserve to recover from it.

I bought some land from a woman that was 90 years old. We talked and negotiated for a few months. She finally called me and wanted to close the deal. She was having a knee replacement (or maybe it was a hip replacement) and said that the doctor had told her that there were risks at her age. Several months after the surgery, she died. I don't know if it was directly related, but she had the premonition that she might not make it.

 

[W2R]

Recently I was pulling a heavy post out of the ground.

Five minutes later, I had flashes in my vision, and it turned out I had PVD. One doc thought it was coincidence, another, no.

Although not serious, I will probably have annoying floaters in my vision for the rest of my life.

I hurt my knee in January in a kayak entry malfunction. I thought for a while that it would never get better (I was wrong, happily).

I'm wondering whether at this age, the injuries that we have a greater likelihood of being permanent. It makes us more like animals, perhaps (if a leopard breaks his leg, it's a death sentence, so he's extra careful).

Perhaps we have to give more thought to things like pulling heavy posts out of the ground.

Aw, Al! I am so sorry to read about your floaters. I never had them very badly but I hope you can get used to them, if they won't go away.

For me, it does seem to take longer to recover from injuries the older I get. I have had to be much more careful and to put some thought into arranging my home with injury avoidance in mind (making sure there is nothing placed so that I might trip on it, for example). I don't climb ladders any more either, and so on. I hire a handyman to do physically challenging stuff that needs to be done.

Life is still grand, and I don't feel at all like an animal. I just don't "bounce" like a rubber ball any more, at my age, the way kids seem to do when they fall or hit something.

 

[shortstop14]

Probably something I need to think harder about, doing permanent injury to myself playing sports. Injuries definitely seem to hang around longer in my early 60s. I'm used to working around minor stuff, but there's always the chance of doing something serious. Broken a bone in my hand, broken an ankle - but fully recovered from those.

Yet doing the sports is what pushes me to try to stay in somewhat reasonable shape. And the age group sports are getting more common, so there's always a place to play. I've never been much for just working out with no competitive payoff. I'll need to change that mindset eventually. Or do something like hiking where injury is less likely.

But I think I'll avoid tasks like pulling posts.

 

[braumeister]

No question that any activity is more dangerous as we age, but I continually remind myself (if DW doesn't beat me to it) that I have to be a lot more careful at my age.

The more important thing to keep in mind IMHO is that I'm very lucky just to be able to do activities that could result in an injury. I know so many younger folks who can't.

 

[bUU]

I am recovering from a nasty sinus infection and have developed tinnitus, which may very well be permanent. Getting older is not for the faint of heart.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Recently I was pulling a heavy post out of the ground.

I would be curious which post that was, presumably from this forum, can you send me the link? LOL (Just kidding).

I had lots of floaters and ended up getting a vitrectomy on each eye last year. They are 100% better.

I hope you get better soon. Also I personally take a little more care as I get older than I used to for the reasons you mention.

 

[Red Badger]

I gave up jogging in 2016 after incurring a pulled hamstring and achilles tendonitis. I walk 4-5 miles most days, and at about the 1 mile mark I can feel both injuries. I'm at the beach now - and I don't feel the heel as much.

 

[LOL!]

For a sense of balance, how long do you stand on one leg every day?

Because of my ankle surgery, I have had to learn how to do that again. So now whenever I am using the microwave, I stand and balance on one foot. Once I am good with my bad foot/ankle, I will alternate left and right. I intend to do this every day for the rest of my life.

 

[folivier]

But on the bright side, 35 years ago I had a knee injury that resulted in my meniscus being removed. I had pain and problems with it for 30 years. But since I retired 8 years ago it's never felt better! I get an occasional pain but am a bit more active. On the other hand I am like everybody else with a pretty worn out body. Occasion bouts of vertigo (managed well with Blair System Chiropractor), torn disc (managed with nerve ablation), and latest is a surgical incision that after 4 1/2 months still hasn't fully healed!
Getting old ain't for sissies, as they say.

 

[donheff]

Yeah Al, we are getting more fragile. After breaking my shoulder and hip in bike crashes over the last few years I have become much more cautious. I suspect those crashes would have resulted in bruises and road rash 30 years ago. After sliding down the side walk (and miraculously remaining upright) after a recent freezing rain I am considering buying a pair of street crampons for my 70th birthday.

 

[Car-Guy]

No doubt that "minor" injuries I get now seem much worse than when I was younger. Some seem to drag on for a very long time.

 

[athena53]

For a sense of balance, how long do you stand on one leg every day?

Because of my ankle surgery, I have had to learn how to do that again. So now whenever I am using the microwave, I stand and balance on one foot. Once I am good with my bad foot/ankle, I will alternate left and right. I intend to do this every day for the rest of my life.

Thanks for the microwave idea. My mother once told me that you should do everything you can to keep your sense of balance or one day you'll wake up and it will be gone. She never had a bad fall but DH fell on ice years ago, bonked his head and ended up with a subdural hematoma. After that he always had a bit of a balance problem and another fall down steps about 5 years later (and another subdural hematoma) made things worse.

It was a vicious cycle: the first fall led to poor sense of balance which put him at risk for more falls. I remember walking the city walls of Dubrovnik with him before he'd fully recovered from the second fall. I was behind him on the uphills and ahead of him on the downhills, just in case. He was up for a kayak trip around the city walls (one of the best excursions in all of our travels) but the guide and another strong male had to help him in and out of the kayak. I'm just grateful he was always willing to live life to the fullest given whatever limitations his body imposed on him.

 

[kcowan]

It may sound odd, but my doctor (a number of years ago) told me that the % of people that die shortly after a broken hip is quite large. It is a huge shock to the system, and some older folks just don't have enough reserve to recover from it.

Yes Dad died at 94.8 after a fall and breaking his hip in his bedroom.

...After sliding down the side walk (and miraculously remaining upright) after a recent freezing rain I am considering buying a pair of street crampons for my 70th birthday.

I think I saw you on youtube!

 

[RAE]

Yeah, I know what you mean, Al. It definitely takes me longer to heal now (I'm in my early 60s) than it used to, and a few problems do seem to be permanent (fortunately, they are relatively minor). I try to stay physically active, but I have pretty much given up some things I used to do - climbing up very high on ladders is one of them. I've seen too many people injured seriously falling from ladders. Moving extremely heavy things around is another one that I am leery of now. I wrecked my back a couple years ago trying to move a large wooden post around (I was trying to construct a gate). And I'm pretty careful when walking on ice now - gotta go a little slower than I used to, and use more snowmelt on the walkway, etc..

 

[MRG]

People nowadays are built to sit in recliners watching TV while drinking beer, to surf the Web, read magazines, etc...

Same were the Cro-Magnons, but they were not fortunate to have the stuff we do. Needless to say, their brutish life was short.

We were snowshoeing yesterday and there was a fellow sitting in a lawn chair with a cooler of beer in the cold watching.

 

[H2ODude]

Not an injury but Thursday ran in the woods first time in a long time and man I feel that now! But as far as injury, am far more careful running around roots, have slowed mtn biking down, but most importantly do not use ladders for anything but the quickest and lowest level of effort.

 

[MRG]

Thanks for the microwave idea. My mother once told me that you should do everything you can to keep your sense of balance or one day you'll wake up and it will be gone. She never had a bad fall but DH fell on ice years ago, bonked his head and ended up with a subdural hematoma. After that he always had a bit of a balance problem and another fall down steps about 5 years later (and another subdural hematoma) made things worse.

It was a vicious cycle: the first fall led to poor sense of balance which put him at risk for more falls. I remember walking the city walls of Dubrovnik with him before he'd fully recovered from the second fall. I was behind him on the uphills and ahead of him on the downhills, just in case. He was up for a kayak trip around the city walls (one of the best excursions in all of our travels) but the guide and another strong male had to help him in and out of the kayak. I'm just grateful he was always willing to live life to the fullest given whatever limitations his body imposed on him.

Balance is one of the most underrated skills. I struggled with it for a couple years. My older sister mentioned the one footed standing exercise. She does it in line at the grocery store, has the cart to touch in case she has an issue.

You can add difficulty to any balance exercise by closing your eyes. Be careful, it really makes a difference. It's good to have a spotter or do it in a corner.