Thread: Losing Mobility

You can do a lot with a proper exercise plan and some anti inflammatories and pain killers. Normally I don’t think much of physios but mine got me from where I could only walk 50m with strong knee/ankle/hip pain to being able to walk a couple of kmwith just mild knee pain and very mild hip/ankle pain. Your exercise program should be specific to your condition and will benefit you greatly if and when you need surgery. It should also suit you. My physio said to swim but I’m not a water person and I know I wouldn’t do it so the physio set me up with a walking and exercise bike routine.Take pain killers etc with the aim of just reducing rather than eliminating pain which they won’t do anyway. Yesterday I walked the dogs for 6km, ok I was sore afterwards but I did sleep well. Thing is not to try to do too much at the start and keep at it consistently. When you do get mobile again try to pace yourself. Take regular breaks etc. I know it’s hard to stop for breaks but it better to do this than have another breakdown.

I’m at the milling yard at the moment taking a coffee break👍😀

For stuff like this the Physio is my first port of call and it has never failed me. As for the hand there is a sub branch of Physios that deal exclusively with hands and the hand physio that treated me did a good job.

Thanks for the reply Bob. I hear what you are saying so will keep being active. I have just come in from cutting 5 or 6 barrow loads of firewood at a mate's place. Bending over to pick the blocks up was painful because it pulls the tendons in my calves. But the whole exercise was OK.

Changing "work habits" is the hardest thing to get my brain around. The brain keeps telling me to "just do it" while the body says "not anymore". I have a number of logs/limbs that need to be sorted/converted to slabs/firewood so it will be a chance to do battle with the brain.

At the moment I think that a 200 metre walk would be the maximum due to being sore and stiff. "Little bites" will be the order of the day

This week, I had an excruciating experience.

I've had my left knee replaced three times. (X-Ray upon request) By the second go, you understand how and when to use Opioids. At worst the post surgery pain was a 4 or 5 in the hospital and at home only annoying. As for the number (BTSOM) I'm guessing a 1 or 2.

Sunday night, Monday morning I had the worst pain I had ever experienced in my hand and wrist. At urgent care I expressed it as a 9.5 on the scale 1-10. The diagnosis was inflamed tendons. They gave me a shot to effect immediate pain relief and instructions to use Voltaren and to stop typing. The stuff is incredible. It has helped a lot.

Originally Posted by chambezio

Thanks for the reply Bob. I hear what you are saying so will keep being active. I have just come in from cutting 5 or 6 barrow loads of firewood at a mate's place. Bending over to pick the blocks up was painful because it pulls the tendons in my calves. But the whole exercise was OK.

I forgot to add in my previous post that I think you might have sciatica. I've had it for the first time a few times in the last couple of months. The pain went from my lower back to my right ankle and teh last time I had a similar pain I had a thrombosis in my calf muscle so I went straight to the doctor. Fortunately the subsequent times it hasn't been as bad or maybe now that I know what it is that mitigates the pain. Painkillers do nothing for it.

I've had two falls this year - both over bloody dogs in the dark while stumbling to the loo. The older border collie is the culprit - she's almost all black so its hard to see her if she is curled up in the middle of the passage where she like to sleep. The first time I landed hard on my hip and thought - this is it I've done my hip! so I just lay there but the pain eased a bit after a couple of minutes and I was able to get up and limp to teh bed. I had a purple bruise from my hip down to my ankle. The doc said If Isurvved that my hips are probably OK. The other fall I landed on my good (left) knew and rolled over which sort of blunted teh fall but I was hobbling for a few days.

Working at the milling yard I have to be really careful because its basically a cluttered OHS mess. There's dangerous stuff everywhere and things that might appear lightweight might not be. This morning I was milling a short pine log and after cutting the first slab I thought - "this is pine, should be light" NO WAY, green pine is surpassingly heavy and I went and got the forklift.

This forklift is a little beauty - it's not a conventional a forklift but an articulated loader that can fit buckets, forks and grapples attached to the front end. The forks can be tipped a long way above and below level which enables logs to positioned easily and accurately. I've been driving it on and off since 2007 so am fairly adept at using it. I basically end up parking the forks a few mm below slab level and if the slabs are light enough I slide them straight off the log onto the forks. If they are two heavy I use a crow bar to lift each end of the slab and slide pieces of 50 x 75 into the gaps. Then I use the forklift from there. You might well as why am I telling you all this? Well climbing up and down onto the loader (about 3 ladder steps) is probably what tires me out more than anything else

No Bob its not sciatica, I have had it before. It gave a heavy pain right down the middle of my leg from my bum to the ankle. This pain is just the length of my thigh and on top of it. When I put socks and boots on I can't do it easily like I used to. I have now come inside after unloading the trailer and stacking the firewood at the front door ready for the night. I surprised myself by busting up 6 blocks of tight dry Box with the block buster. I may be paying for it tomorrow.

G'day Rod, I have had and continue mobility issues for the past 10 - 12 years.
I couldn't stand still for more than a couple of minutes before the back locked up along with the pain it caused.
So after seeing the physio I've been doing Deep Water Hydrotherapy in a heated pool twice a week for an hour which has helped with pain management and mobility.
The Deep Water Hydrotherapy program allows me to run in the water with a half vest and do the specific exercise program without impact.
That's what's worked for me sir.
Cheers, Peter

As a couple of others have said, go to a good physiotherapist. You may be eligible for a treatment plan that your doctor can do, that allows 5 physio sessions, I can't remember if they're free or inexpensive, and also not sure if the age is 65+ or 70+.
I'm fortunate in having an excellent physio, and he has done wonders for my knee and back. You may need to do continuous exercises, though.

Thanks Peter and Alex for your suggestions. I will be seeing my Podiatrist next week and I plan to ask him about a that may be good. The GP seemed uninterested. I have been doing some reading and Podiatry is important for part of any treatment. I see the Podiatrist with Govt scheme so I think I may be eligible for the Physiotherapist. But if the treatment will get me moving better I will just have to pay.

I am sorry If I have come across as "just another whinger" but for the mobility loss in such a short time has me worried. I have had visions of all my tools and gear to be heaped together and sold because I can't manage it any longer. Actually that alone is an incentive to find help

Thanks fellas for your input

Good luck Rod........ Hope things start coming better.

Jim

Originally Posted by chambezio

Thanks Peter and Alex for your suggestions. I will be seeing my Podiatrist next week and I plan to ask him about a that may be good. The GP seemed uninterested. I have been doing some reading and Podiatry is important for part of any treatment. I see the Podiatrist with Govt scheme so I think I may be eligible for the Physiotherapist. But if the treatment will get me moving better I will just have to pay.

I am sorry If I have come across as "just another whinger" but for the mobility loss in such a short time has me worried. I have had visions of all my tools and gear to be heaped together and sold because I can't manage it any longer. Actually that alone is an incentive to find help

Thanks fellas for your input

Everything starts with the feet. I had some orthotics 3D printed recently at a huge cost and they have helped to rectify foot problems brought on by a lifelong habit of not wearing footwear unless I was forced to. Now I have to wear shoes some of the time or suffer because I don't.

I’m with the others re finding a good physiotherapist. The guy I go to is a sports physio and has worked wonders with my aging body.

Chambezio, you're certainly not coming across as a whinger. Little things can have big consequences. When my knee gave up as a consequence of a 50 year old injury, I thought I'd never be able to walk again, and was very depressed. A doctor who knew the system and a good physio made all the difference. A month later I did the Three Capes walk in Tassie. Things can get better.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Everything starts with the feet. I had some orthotics 3D printed recently at a huge cost and they have helped to rectify foot problems brought on by a lifelong habit of not wearing footwear unless I was forced to. Now I have to wear shoes some of the time or suffer because I don't.

I agree. Feet have been my problem for about 15 years and am convinced they contributed to my right knee problems. I wore orthotics in my work shoes which I also used to walk to work but when I retired about 8 years back I either wore no footwear, or a greater variety of stuff footwear (thongs, sandals, Uggs, Crocs) that did not contain orthotics. I threw the thongs away and started wearing decent (Brookes) walking shoes with orthotics and put orthotic support in my work boots and this really helps.

It's not just orthotics though, the whole piece of footwear has to provide support and the problem is we usually try to eek out the last bit of wear from our footwear long after they provide any sort of support and are just flopping about on our feet. I really notice this when I buy new shoes and boots and remind myself that I should have replaced them earlier.

Which reminds me, the elastic side of my right foot steel cap has "gorne" and I need to get new ones.