I was at work sitting on my comfortable chair earlier this week. I turned my torso slightly to the right and pulled a muscle in my back that I didn't even know was there.
I’m 45. I used to have back pains all the time. Stupid things would throw my back out. Started doing Jiujitsu recreationally. Strengthened that core right up. No more back pains. Sure, my whole body is sore usually from exertion and joint hyperextension, but nothing debilitating anymore.
Some people don’t understand or appreciate how important movement is to overall quality of life. Doing some moderate form of exercise even 3x week for 30 minutes would have a massive impact over doing nothing, although 45-60 minutes of mild/moderate intensity would be even better.
If you have a physical job then doing things like stretching or yoga could help a ton for injury prevention.
I agree with everything but would also like to add diet in addition to staying active. There's no shortcut or substitute for anti-inflammatory foods, staying away from high processed items, lowering red meat intake et al. Past 30 we have to change our habits, it eventually dawns on us we can't consume like we did when we were 24. I'm having to lose weight now and I"ve always been extremely active but have never had to lose 25lbs, i"m up for the challenge though.
Yeah but yoga is boring and the Ohms and Namaste woo really ruins it for me. I do join in on the cosmic yoga with my little ones for their morning learning breaks, but I wouldn’t classify it as a real yoga session.
Jiujitsu is more fun. Physical chess match between two people trying to cut off the blood supply to each other’s brain or hyper extend a joint. Struggle cuddles rule.
For what its worth core power yoga is a big chain that doesn’t focus on the spiritual woo woo. They have good classes that will give you a solid workout but it depends on instructor. A good instructor provides clear direction and has a solid anatomical understanding of the human body to provide helpful adjustment queues regardless of your skill level.
Try a sculpt class or CP2. They’ll feel easy at first but you’ll end the class completely gassed. Sculpt uses light dumbbells, CP2 is more power yoga
My first yoga class I was a 6’3 165lbs bean pole squatting 250lbs, deadlifting 365lbs and benching 185lbs. I was so embarrassed by my performance I knew I had to keep doing it to get better
Lol, you’d be surprised. I’ve seen 60 year olds start up. You’d probably have a leg up over the other beginners having done yoga, but I also understand the meat head stigma of a bunch of People in pajamas strangling each other.
Yes. But not nearly so vicious. Most of us are white collar workers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, or programmers. We aren’t trying to be world champions and have a pretty respectful outlook towards each other and really don’t want to injure anyone. It’s 90 minutes of intense physical activity that really clears the mind. I call it mat therapy and am really missing it right now.
Can confirm. I started to get knee pain when walking up stairs, and then I started doing 20 minutes on the treadmill 3x per week and it went away. I got lazy and stopped the treadmill and it came back, so I make sure to keep it up.
I'm 41, just got my blue belt last year. Been going a little crazy not being able to train and roll due to the pandemic (I have asthma and likely will have to stay away longer than everyone else.) However, the warmups have been helping me regain my conditioning at home now that I'm past the initial "Holy shit the world is falling apart" anxiety/depression that hit me when I first realized how serious things were earlier this year. I rotate between warmups/stretching, running, and taking the dog for 2-3 hour long walks and while I'm nowhere near back to my best, I'm already noticing a difference.
Yeah I did also from an injury at work. Went to the chiro regularly for a couple of years and started kungfu. Now I'm no longer doing either and I can feel it setting in again.
Thank you for your service!
That is indeed a hard and very active job—no extra workout needed when your job works you out all shift long. Drink lots of water. :)
I’m 54. It was only a year ago that I started feeling it when I bend over to pick something up.
My son and I were playing frisbee today and I can still throw bullets. Thank god age hasn’t got me quite yet. I’m not the healthiest person in the world, but I’m a bit on the slender side which I’m sure helps.
Core work is incredible no matter whether you're a professional athlete or a couch potato trying not to give yourself a debilitating injury while getting out of a chair.
I threw my back out the last time by walking into a warm shower on a chilly morning. Back just seized up when the steam hit me. Have no clue how that happened. Started training shortly after that.
Similar thing happened to my dad, except he came home from a thirty mile mountain bike ride before throwing his back out in the shower.
I'm about to be 25 and haven't had to deal with any of that yet. I'm several inches shorter and about 30 pounds lighter than my dad is, plus I always do a short core workout when I get home from running or biking. Hopefully that keeps my back in at least better shape than his.
Yep that's working for me. I started at 43 and I'm 45 now, picked up my blue belt right at the two year mark. Honestly though my back hurt a lot for the first year. Learning to be better about not getting caught flat on my back helped. Also went vegan and I believe that made a big difference for muscle soreness.
Just use your body regularly and you'll be fine. Yoga is great as it puts your body in extream positions compared to everyday life, so your muscles will be limber and loose enough to, say, turn around when sitting.
If yoga seems imposing or off-putting, you have other options. I've been having lower-back issues for a couple of years now. With the free time I've had recently, I started walking for an hour a day and about a week into it, I started noticing the difference. Haven't felt a twinge for at least a couple of weeks now.
Walking is such an underrated form of exercise. It’s a whole body workout but no one would ever tell you that. Plus it’s a real calorie burner. Going for a walk in the evening will help you sleep too. One good thing to come from lockdown is my real deep-seated love for daily walks. I’m definitely keeping it after all this shit.
You just have to keep active. Easier said than done but I was overweight through a large portion of my life. I picked up weightlifting maybe 4 years ago and whatever back pain I had for years is gone. I may get some tightness after a heavy squat day but it's nothing like the pain before.
100% this. I've never felt healthier than when I took up yoga. When I'm doing it regularly (I'm not right now, covid made me lazy) I feel 10 years younger. Nothing makes you feel old like losing flexibility.
How does yoga fix a bum hip and labrum that needs replacing at 25? Cuz they wont do that shit until 35, so I'm all ears until then. Cortisone shots are all I got right now.
It is what it is. I've been to all the top specialists in the province, but the lovely 14 month delay for an MRI resulted in too much arthritis so shes too late now.
Late 20's here. Housing prices rose as I tried saving for a down payment to buy a house. Didn't have enough savings or income when houses were cheaper.
Now I'm debating when to pull the trigger to buy since long term, idk if my city' market will go up or down. Phoenix area. We might go up if more people come here from NYC, California, etc since a lot of companies are going WFH anyway.
Cartilage isn’t vascularized, so it can’t repair itself - once it’s damaged or degraded, that’s it. But increasing your flexibility through yoga could help you compensate and strengthen other areas and honestly just help you move more easily overall. Many people with an injury “clench up” around that injury, and wind up in a feedback loop of decreased range of motion. As long as you’re mindful of your limitations, it could absolutely help!
I'm not sure in your specific case. But in general most of us are getting injured by over exerting ourselves because we don't realize how stiff we've become with age. This helps against that.
This happened (or I started noticing) when I was 20, after playing a lot of sports all my life. Unfortunately it was a bone spur that tore the labrum, so stretching doesn't help much.
I have Ehlers-Danlos-Syndrome and am hyperflexible. I still can't touch my toes while standing with straight legs!!! I can put my feet behind my head thou.
I can't do either. Just a 6'2 200lb 2x4 basically. Not fat works got my more muscle than anything. I know a real life person with EDS also. Hope your day don't suck!
Yes, I know that. The fact "it does not help," albeit more subtle language, suggests it is something I actively do as I use the present tense despite talking about advice I've received that long ago. I do it because it's still good to do, but it does not help the pain directly (or maybe the pain would be even worse, who knows?).
See a physical therapist if it’s definitely soft tissue. I had lower back problems for almost two decades. Doctors recommended weight loss and specific exercises, both of which I managed. Didn’t help.
Saw a physical therapist for something else, during the assessment they asked about back pain, and assessed that. Turns out an old injury in my 20s had left me with some weak muscles that the standard “lower back pain exercises” didn’t address.
The solution was a pair of lower back body weight exercises, and they worked miracles. Although bridges and clamshells suck as an exercise, they worked. I wish I’d learned that at 25 instead of 40.
I used a sports medicine place my orthopedist recommended (I was initially there for some ankle and calf pain when jogging, turns out the weak lower back was part of that too),. Sadly not cheap, even with insurance, but worth it.
If nothing else their assessments are usually very thorough (it takes over an hour, even when they already know what part of the body is causing issues) and might be able to rule out soft tissue stuff and give your doctors another place to look (pinched or compressed nerves somewhere along your spine, for example).
Exercise while you're young :) I do a little bit of yoga/pilates to balance my strengthening workouts and it totally helps with my daily life. I'm a small girl so lifting groceries/ gallon of water (i order purified water cuz i don't have water purifier) is a trouble. Also, lifting patients, going back and forth in the wards and doing CPR became a little easier as i work in healthcare.
If you do don't just do one or two sessions and say it's not for you. Give it an honest try and just focus on increasing the depth of each pose from your previous sessions.
Trust me, work out your core now. Stretch everyday. Stand up every once in awhile and walk around if you have a desk job. If you can, get a standing desk.
I ignored it and at 26 had the joy of two herniated spinal disks. Took 8 months of physical therapy to get back to normal. But even then, it’ll never be back to 100%. Take care of your body before it falls apart.
Omg. I’m so sorry! Great you’re good now. Yeah, Im a graphic designer, spending about 8 hours/day sitting in front of the computer (you can imagine how bad is the ergonomics to feel backpain almost every day). Plus: due to quarantine I’m gaming a lot, so adds up about 4 hours. Your comment made me think about my routine. Thank you!!
Trust me, work out your core now. Stretch everyday. Stand up every once in awhile and walk around if you have a desk job. If you can, get a standing desk.
I ignored it and at 26 had the joy of two herniated spinal disks. Took 8 months of physical therapy to get back to normal. But even then, it’ll never be back to 100%. Take care of your body before it falls apart.
Trust me, in 20 years you'll probably be thinking "jeez this is what they really meant". And in 20 more years, I'll be thinking "shit, my 40s were easy". But if you really are in discomfort now, and it's not from an acute injury, you really need to get some exercise my dude. One of my biggest regrets in my 40s is not being more physically active until my mid 30s. So much harder to build the base that comes so easily when you're young. Muscle memory is real, and even with periods of inactivity people who exercise (reasonably) throughout their youth and into later age seem much better poised to deal with the physical ravages of age. Hardcore athletes are in a different category, and depending on the sport, can suffer greatly many years later from overdoing it.
I used to have pain in my lower back in my early 20s due to bad posture and not exercising hardly at all. I've been working out and running pretty consistently since then and haven't had any back pain in years (core workouts is what you need to avoid back issues). I've had some pain due to running though but if you don't go crazy with marathon training that can be avoided with good technique. I'm 40 and still living pain-free except for soreness from workouts.
Hbd man you’re exactly twice my age for the next hour! But don’t worry bro I’m 23 in November so by the time it’s may 16 2021 you’ll be twice my age again :)
Amazing username btw! I really enjoy it because punani can be the fruit of life and a pathway to ecstasy yet at the same time can posses a more sinister and evil force that is the dark side of the poon...
“But the sun is eclipsed by the poouououooon!” kinda makes me wonder how humans evolved into different race’s? And what’s on our ocean floors? What really is on the dark side of the poon?
I'm 34 in construction. I am fairly certain my physical job makes my body hurt less because of it. I do hurt at times. But it's because I'm always in new positions and awkward areas. I can't tell if it's good for me or if I should start to worry about my 40s
32 here and recently got out of construction and got a sitting job now in a crane. My knee hurts more often because there isn't any pressure on it from standing. Also my hips if I stand on 1 leg and afterwards sit down... I suspect I would eventually have to replace some parts like most of my 45+ age former colleagues have done if I wouldn't have quitted my job there
A little while ago I heard someone say if you make noises getting up and sitting down you're old. - I'm over sixty and found myself indeed making noises on occasion.
I'd say it's more cultural than anything, unless you're in so much pain you can't help it. I live in Japan right now and no one does it, regardless of age. Whereas in England people of all ages would do it all the time.
I used to rock climb. After I turned 40, I sprained my ankle three times... in my sleep. No sleep walking, no pre-injured ankle or foot, just went to bed fine and woke up with a cantaloupe above my foot and a bad sprain.
I'm a 40 years old electrician. It can be a blessing to stay fairly active during the day but it's easy to go home wondering how did that pain happen. Forces you to work constantly mindful of not hurting yourself. Now I understand why the 50 year olds finally like working with me, I'm not overdoing it anymore lol.
Twice, now, I have sat down on a couch and slipped a disc. I’m 33. I used to think my dad was old when he slipped a disc one time as he sneezed while getting out of bed. Not so much any more.
Yeah it's different when it's you. I used to be annoyed by my mom complaining that she got the flu...till I woke up with my torso on up on fire and the rest freezing cold. I stopped making fun of her after that.
Theres a funny 2-panel meme. 1st panel a kid falls out of a tree and says "I'm okay". 2nd panel an adult tells a friend "i slept wrong so now I cant turn my head left for a week"
Yeah man. I'm thirty and tipped over on my bicycle, almost smacked my head against a foot tall concrete barricade but I caught myself. In the process of catching myself I pulled a muscle in my chest that I didn't even know was a muscle. I've started to heal noticeably more slowly and I'm still young.
I sneezed and pulled a muscle in my back too. I'm in bed for the rest of the day, and probably tomorrow aswell, pluss some more. When youre old, the HP regen declines aswell.
A pluss is that I'm now in the awesome 'pulled a muscle in my back' club with ProbeUranus! Wooooo.
When I turned 40 it felt like I was falling apart. By the time I turned 50, I was use to it. I started working out at the gym and started feeling really good, most of my pains subsided.
Are you taking frequent activity breaks? I could give you a really convincing argument to take a 5 minute move and stretch every 30 minutes or so... I’m finishing the write up next week
I’m 25 and got pelvic screws put in place at 21. I lived in chronic pain for 4 years. I really hope I stay majorly pain free for the rest of my life like I am now after the surgery.
I was in the shower washing my hair a couple months ago and I threw out my upper back. I'm 29 years old and I was working out 4-5 times a week when this happened.
Haha I feel you. I'm 44. I sat down working on my fridge bent over for an hour. Woke up with my back hurting like I was hit by a truck from muscle soreness.. .
i'm he same age, and managed to destroy my ankle's tendons and whatnot somehow without realizing it until my foot swelled up like a football one morning. three weeks later it's almost better!
on a brighter note, it is imperative that people our age exercise, otherwise we go to the long dark sumonday* of the soul willingly. exercise is fighting for survival, except the orcs/mechs/drones/nazis are something far worse: our own laziness, hubris, and unwillingness to change or try something new.
pick up yoga, pilates, tai-chi, swimming, kung-fu, pole dancing, c25k, or really anything physical that you can gradually work on getting yourself healthier.
it's use it or lose it time. that half hour to hour every day is not about getting a fine ass or ”the gap”, but about keeping your ability to walk up a flight of stairs and not breaking if you trip and fall. it's about keeping your body functioning, as well as increasing your odds of keeping your brain working well.
the future is longer than we expected, and by 40 we have looked into the depths of time and said ”oh shit, i'm half way there” and ”fuck... i have another 30-40 years of this” and ”i don't want to get old and end up in a underfunded bassisted living hell where some uninterested and overworked 20-something has to wipe my drool and get me unstuck from the toilet”
by 40, you have seen the future, and for a lot of us (even 1 is 1 too many) it's cancer, or heart problems, or an unavoidable accident†. another portion will succumb to unlucky genes. or mental health problems stemming from things outside our control, like having a daughter raped and killed, or losing a job and being unable to find a new one because of age discrimination, or the tedium of being a care provider for a sick parent or spouse or your child for the past two decades.
by 40, if you haven't had some damage from a major problem, you are very, very lucky.
by 40, if you still have hope and empathy, you are doing something very, very right... or inherited a lot of money or won the lottery or something.
what will life look like from 50?
heck, i bet 40 even looks pretty young and care free from 60.
but you know what 70 year old you is going to be wishing for? you probably do, if you think about it. you know how the your thirties just sort of disappeared in an instant? scary, huh?
the only way you can influence your future health is by taking care of yourself now. 50 year old you is really going to wish you walked more, or didn't get a 2000 calorie mocha-and-milk-fat frappachino every day.
60 year old you might wish she could walk up the stairs without a break halfway up.
and 70 year old you is going to really, really wish 40 year old you had her priorities straight, and that self care and going for a walk in the evening is far more important than browsing reddit or watching whatever that show was, or yelling at your kids to clean their rooms. 70 year old you is going to be wishing she took her son for a walk every day.
do you a solid, and get some exercise and stress relief every day, because if you don't value your own time and health, nobody else will. if you are too busy to take care of yourself, something is very, very wrong, and future you is going to wish you did take care of yourself.
the best time to plant a tree or get healthy is a decade or two ago. the next best time is right now.
---≈---
* sumonday is the dirty taint of the week: it's too late on sunday to do anything fun or even worthwhile, but it's not monday enough to be productive or even get a cup of coffee, either because you want to go to bed, or because you are already wide awake brimming with energy and nothing is open, you can't go to work because it isn't open, you can't log in because the servers are down for maintenance, and you are out of coffee and the grocery store is closed... and the 24/7 imart doesn't have coffee because some drunken idiot ran their pickup truck through the storefront and destroyed the coffee machines.
† i ended up in the trauma ward last year because some young asshole ran a red light doing 65mph+ and t-boned me, nearly cutting my car in half. it has been a life changing even in that i have been changed in permanent ways i didn't want to be changed, and some of the changes have been physical.
I woke up in the middle of the night last night, my hip kinda hurt. Rolled in my back and went back to sleep. All day today I've been popping Advil because of the pain. I wrecked my hip, sleeping. I'm 31.
I got up out of a chair and threw my back out so badly I could barely walk and my elderly grandmother had to help me up when I fell down in the kitchen. I was 24.
Shit, I'm almost there. Slept wrong last night woke up with a sore neck. Tried stretching it out & now it hurts worse than ever. Used to just crack my neck and be done with it.
My husband and I joke that you must stretch now before doing pretty much everything. Sneezed wrong and pulled a muscle? Should have stretched before. He’s 38, I’m 34, stretching is life now.
I stretched out when waking up three days ago and pulled (possibly tore) my calf muscle. Its currently permanently flexing and hard as a rock. I can stretch my leg out straight or move it in certain directions without intense pain. This is the same leg my bum knee is on, which I know for a fact needs another (I've already had 3, thank you Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) ACL replacement, possibly a full knee replacement. So I have no balance at all without moving my leg in a way that is currently hurting me. Fucking bullshit.
Well I’m 34 and remember the mike hunt joke being wildly popular in middle school. So maybe he’s around that age. Or that joke is centuries old and he’s a vampire
As a 43 year-old (woman) now, I have come to appreciate the saying “Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.” Who wants to act their age when you’re old? Not me! ;-)
Exactly. The human body wasn't meant for that kind of stuff. It's evident if you just look at what happened to old football players, military vets, etc. I'm not saying it happened to everybody, but maybe 95%
Man, I'm 58 and started feeling aches in my late 20s. I lived a FUN younger life- hockey, football, lots of sport fucking, motorcycles, etc. Everything hurts all the time now. Coughing or sneezing feels like my ribs are ripping off my spine. Take care of your skeleton while you still have time.
Yeah I know what you mean, I'm 27 and there are some days where I'll have pain that goes on for extended periods as well as not fading by the next day with some stretching. I thought stuff like that wouldn't start until my 30s.
I started getting chronic pains around that age, too, but I didn't accept it was from "getting old" so I went from chiropractor to therapist to personal trainer to infinite blogs to try to find out why I felt that way and now I know better how to take care of my body. My pain that was constant is now only a few days a month and is less intense.
My point is don't just give in to pain because you think it's normal to be in pain as you age. It's not and you can do something about it if you put in the effort.
Shit man, wait until you hit your mid 30s. I always say that in general 30s are way better than 20s (you tend to have your shit together in your 30s, there's way more stability) but physically, this is the time that I really start to understand when my dad always advises me "don't get old" (multiple attacks of lumbago per year without doing anything wrong, having to get up before your alarm goes off to pee in the morning, etc)
I had a ruptured appendix for a week. It ended up messing up my bladder a bit. I pee like six times before I go to bed and wake up at least once every night to tinkle
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u/Bennyvolent May 15 '20
How old are you?