So I fell down icy stairs and probably sprained/hyperextended my knee...

[The Good Reverend Roger]

WTF?  IT'S GONE!   

THAT WAS THE BESTEST LITTLE SCAT/SPATULA PRON EVER!

[Sister Fracture]

Awww.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

That makes my bad knee ache just thinking about it.

And then right out of the fucking blue, A GIANT POST BY MANGROVE!!! Good stuff.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

WTF?  IT'S GONE!   

THAT WAS THE BESTEST LITTLE SCAT/SPATULA PRON EVER!

Please rectify this situation.

[Jasper]

Spatula? 

Oh also, now the second hit for climacophiliac on google is this thread.

[Don Coyote]

WTF?  IT'S GONE!   

THAT WAS THE BESTEST LITTLE SCAT/SPATULA PRON EVER!

I OVERWHELMED IT PURE.........

[Telarus]

  Sorry to hear of your  injury Suu. Hope you feel better soon.

[Suu]

Don't push it too hard yet.

I know. There's a reason why I've already had both ankles worked on and possibly need knee replacements at the age of 28. That reason is volleyball, mostly. The other reasons are Tae Kwon Do and stupidity.

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY! WE CAN REBUILD!!

6 BILLION* DOLLAR BIONIC BATTLE NUN!!




*due to inflation.

Incidentally, your long-running ankle/knee problems are likely contributors to your sore back.

Probably. When I'm actually in-shape they tend to be fine, but if I let myself go like I have for the past year, I start having problems. According to my last Orthopedic doctor before I lost my insurance, my left knee is held together by scar tissue.  

Ouch. Still, getting some work on your knees (and perhaps, getting in shape too) would compensate (to a degree) to the damage you've acquired. Keep in mind that your typical orthopedist doesn't think much outside of:
              a) Can I fix it with a cast?
              b) Can I fix it with a scalpel!?

I kind of wish Doctors wouldn't say shit like 'you're held together with scar tissue' because it creates a glass ceiling for a person's healing process and tends to give them psychologically sticky descriptors that people tend to bond with and use for self-definition eg: "I'm BILL WITH THE BAD NECK"

One of my clients who I've been working with for about 2 years was making excellent progress but then, few months ago, lost his balance, fell down some stairs and put a fracture in his tibia. He went to physical therapy and was told 'Ahh...your leg gives out because of a damaged ligament.' He came back to me and I did the orthopedic check for knee ligament stability. The knee was fine. Not only was his knee fine, the PT didn't bother to check his assessment with a test. Instead he just spouted something and that stuck in my client's brain. (His legs give out from time to time because he's neurologically impaired and because of birth defects, will never gait normally. Sometimes his muscles don't fire smoothly and he missteps.)

It took me some time to explain to him that the PT was, on this occasion, wrong. I get shit wrong too and I miss stuff but I would stake my life on the fact that this dude doesn't know what he's talking about. He compounds the issue by not paying attention to what the client is complaining of - which is that getting into and out of low seating hurts the back of his knee. My attitude is 'Ok...that's muscular, we can work on that' while the PT is saying 'Why don't you use a walker more?'

I'm trying to help this client, the PT is trying to make him 'disabled'. ARGHRGH. 

There really isn't that much wrong with his knee, the trouble that myself and my acupuncturist colleague are having is, that the fall down the stairs and the interaction with the PT has dented his confidence. Before this happened he was happy with the fact that his ungainly staggering about was significantly better than being in a wheelchair (Which is why his mom brought him to us in the first place - to rehabilitate him from an earlier accident and the fact that he didn't want to end up on wheels.)

I blame surgery. My knees never gave out before that.

It's hip to be disabled for some people, these days. (Not you, Charley. You're immortal anyway.) But I don't plan to become that way...I mean, my dad has every right on the damn world to be disabled. He had polio as a child and has no muscle from his right hip down his leg and STILL walks on it...kinda. He should have a cane or a wheelchair. He's "disabled" in the truest sense of the world, but he still works, he collects no SSI or DI, but DOES have a nifty handicap parking pass we often steal when we go to the mall.

I've seen x-rays and MRIs of my legs. I KNOW they're not in the best shape, but I walk normally with no pain as long as I don't do something stupid like fall down icy stairs. My last PT told me my doctor was full of shit about surgery, but since I haven't been able to afford PT (healthcare bill?! What healthcare bill?!?!?!), I know my muscles backpedaled, which is probably why I developed plantar fascitis (That and waiting tables in flats...my own damn fault.)

Today I'm sore. The knee is bending just fine with no pain, it's standing straight and walking that get's twitchy, which is why I figure it was a nice hyperextension. I'm sure it'll be fine in a week or so, so I'm just taking it easy, popping Advil and icing when necessary.

[Precious Moments Zalgo]

It's hip to be disabled for some people, these days. (Not you, Charley. You're immortal anyway.) But I don't plan to become that way...I mean, my dad has every right on the damn world to be disabled. He had polio as a child and has no muscle from his right hip down his leg and STILL walks on it...kinda. He should have a cane or a wheelchair. He's "disabled" in the truest sense of the world, but he still works, he collects no SSI or DI, but DOES have a nifty handicap parking pass we often steal when we go to the mall.

I've seen x-rays and MRIs of my legs. I KNOW they're not in the best shape, but I walk normally with no pain as long as I don't do something stupid like fall down icy stairs. My last PT told me my doctor was full of shit about surgery, but since I haven't been able to afford PT (healthcare bill?! What healthcare bill?!?!?!), I know my muscles backpedaled, which is probably why I developed plantar fascitis (That and waiting tables in flats...my own damn fault.)

Today I'm sore. The knee is bending just fine with no pain, it's standing straight and walking that get's twitchy, which is why I figure it was a nice hyperextension. I'm sure it'll be fine in a week or so, so I'm just taking it easy, popping Advil and icing when necessary.

I'm glad to hear the part I bolded.  I hope your knee is all better soon.

[Suu]

It's creaky, but there's nothing I can do but keep it movin'. Right now I have a brace on it and my coat over my legs to keep it warm in the office. It's going to snow again tonight. 

[Adios]

Thanks Suu, it's not hip, it's fucking miserable. After shoveling snow last evening hurt so bad it is difficult to even move today.

I miss being active and full of piss and vinegar, going to jail once a year and joking with the officers about how much fun I had getting there. Off roading, hunting, fishing, ah hell. Fuck it.

[Suu]

Meanwhile, my neighbors in Providence claimed "permanent disability" on mental duress after having her kid taken away by the state. She is now collecting a comfortable amount of money from SSI, welfare, and SNAP.

W.T.F.

[Adios]

I am pretty sure I want to hurt your neighbor.

[Suu]

That should at least give you a good idea of what kind of neighborhood I live in. I think 90% of the tenants in my building pay by section 8 voucher, which is why my landlord is always on my ass for the cashola.

[Mangrove]

Suu,

Your dad exemplifies what I'm talking about. The client I have had some gnarly birth defects that were neurological and structural. His mother received a litany of 'your son will NEVER XYZ, so why bother?' She said 'bollocks to that' (because she's English) and persisted so that her son could walk, speak and read. My client (and your dad) embody a spirit that, for me, transcends physical limitations and says 'Fuck it - life goes on!'. It's a tremendously powerful thing and I think it's something that a lot of practitioners in the medical field need to be more mindful of. It's something that should be encouraged and not scared away.

As for your plantar fascitis, there's 2 relatively inexpensive things you could do that might alleviate some of the trouble, especially if you're on your feet a lot.

 a) Daily stretching out of the calf muscles. Use a towel, belt, strap or whatever to loop over your foot, bend the foot back, push out with the heel and streeeee---etch! Mrs Mang was getting loads of problems with PF until she started doing this exercise every morning. Keep in mind that the plantar fascia is, in fact, a continuation of your calf muscles. Basically:

 Gastrocnemius & Soleus muscles (the 'calf') merge to form the Achilles tendon. The Achilles tendon flattens out to form the under surface of the foot.

b) You can get these hard plastic 'spikey' balls - about the size of a golf ball. These are made & sold specifically to treat PF. We've sold a few of them at work, I'll speak to the boss and find out where she gets them. You just put it on the floor, roll your foot over it and loosen up the fasciae.

These things are easy & cheap to do and might save you some suffering until the schmucks in Washington sort out the health care fiasco. Also, if you do this, you have to be super vigilant about it. Has to be every day without fail for a few days, even weeks before you start getting some changes and you must continue even when symptoms subside. Mrs Mang' cured her PF but it flares when she goes 'rogue' with her footwear and starts trying shoes that are 'cute' but she knows, deep down inside, will destroy her feet in an afternoon.

Actually, that might be something else to consider. She finds that some brands of shoes she can beat to death without problems and others will do her feet & knees in a matter of hours. She finds that Ryka and White Mountain brand shoes work best. Depends on what kinda feet you have.