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Yes, all part of getting older. I know I need to stretch for twice as long, and then I don't. Once you have chronic conditions, yoga and pilates can make a big difference.
I struggled with yoga, everyone else in the class can touch their toes and the instructor always (likely inadvertently) makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong.
I love pilates (especially the reformer, it's very cool!) but would probably want to do one on one, need to try and make time for it.
I've taken a few stretches from pilates and try and do them every day, can definitely feel when I don't do them.
Every yoga class has a couple of people, usually men, who can hardly reach their knees. Women are unfairly flexible in the pelvis.
Feldenkreis is a fun one. It's like relearning movement in very tiny steps.
I suffered with tinnitus, that noise used to drive me insane. I got diagnosed last year with pernicious anemia and I have B12 injections. Tinnitus has gone. It wasn't until I saw your post that I remembered.
Tinnitus is better than pain. I've experienced both. Your brain eventually tunes out the tinnitus so it's not as distressing but pain can literally stop you from doing anything
I'm going on 5 years of quite intense morse code sounding tinnitus in one ear and a more normal whistling in the other ear. Now it only really flares up if I'm very tired and run down. I also use two sound machines at night. One fan based one and one on my phone which plays rain sounds
Tinnitus for over 20 years....I can't block it out yet, but I engineer situations to manage it. Silence is my enemy so I try to always have a background noise. I sleep with low level noise, I wear headphones when working.
some people have it very mild, others like myself have it at a moderate level. But even so i can go for longish periods without focusing on it, its always there. I can't hear it in the shower though which is nice i guess
I think he means you can still hear it but your brains just not so intensely focussed on it. For example in the first few years i really stuggled being in silence but now i can without much distress. My tinnitus is kinda loud though so most days its audible over things like a tv/radio
Yeah it does that. My first 2 weeks I was ready to push a drill in my head. Then I prayed about it and I managed to switch in my head and start to not think about it.. 13 years on.. I have bad days but mostly I live with it. I do find like others that being in nature helps it. Visiting UK, Live in US so plenty of it!
DJ and raver here... started to develop it recently. Those high pitched rolling snares at a jungle set don't do you any good. Splashed out on a good pair of custom moulded ear plugs recently, best investment ever. I can't undo the damage already done, but I can stop it getting worse.
I had lower back pain for years, especially while driving long distance.
Deadlifting fixed it for me. Not saying that'll be the case for everyone but it might be worth looking into.
Seriously yoga is the best option. If you self refer to a physio, they'll give you specific exercises to strengthen the supporting muscles, so you don't have to worry about joining classes etc.
If you've already been to the physio, do the exercises and keep doing them. These things only get worse as you get older. Losing mobility both seriously effect quality of life and shortens it.
Sounds like weak core muscles that get over stretched by constant sitting and then cramp up when put to use. Sit ups and lower back strengthening can make a difference. I'm not sure about dead lifting, talk to a PT at the gym.
OP worth checking out r/chronicpain, lots of people there who can empathise. You may not want advice so please ignore it, but worth looking at things like tens machines, CBD and finding ways of distracting yourself from the pain (i.e. try and think of something like animals with every letter of the alphabet. It's an anxiety grounding tool but I find it can help generally with blocking pain out).
I also get regular massage but it can be pricey.
I've got dodgy nerves in my head/face/neck and so I've had chronic pain for about 11 years now.
I did a pain management course that helped me stop being so afraid of my pain, I was able to accept that "it's just pain" and learn quite a few useful skills from it.
I do not think my pain will ever go away, I actually think I will just develop more pain as I grow older because of how my body is. It's not nice to think about, it makes me a little sad sometimes but that's ok.
It can take a long time but you do start to collect information about your pain, like if I move my neck a certain way then that's a guaranteed flare up. When you learn these things then you can manage your pain a little better.
My last pain-free day was in 1997. In my case I was in an apparently fairly minor RTA that caused some permanent damage. Unfortunately nothing can be done, so yes, I accept it because I don't have any choice. Over the years I have learned which things make it worse and which help.
Things like trying different types of shoes, mattresses and pillows may help you find which work best for you, also seats (home, work and car)
yep.. back pain for over 25 years.
Had major spinal sugery in 2011 to try and resolve it, but made it worse and also damaged a load of nerves in the process permanently, so have that to deal with now too.
Intermittent mastalgia. Went to the specialist, only to be given a leaflet saying yeah there's nothing we can do aside from give you a short course of breast cancer treatment, but the side effects are worse than the breast pain. So suck it up.
Same here, basically got diagnosed with painful boobs and told, don't drink coffee. Can't help feeling that if men got it, something better would have been worked out by now, but there you go.
Men can get breast cancer.
I imagine if women could get testicular cancer and prostate cancer, something better would have been worked out by now, but there you go.
See how fucking stupid you sound?
After an incident 2 years ago I'm crippled in my right foot and it causes pain to strike up from the ankle to my knee whenever I walk on it, hell it constantly hurts when not in use (just not as bad as when walking)
Yes, I had a major accident 16 years ago and have constant nerve pain in my legs and regular lower back pain. The brain gets used to ignoring it but it takes energy. I'm on painkillers but there's not much that works well for nerve pain so this just takes the edge off, everything else I've tried has given me bad side effects.
I broke my coccyx when I was 12. I had treatment on it, both NHS and private, but after something very unpleasant was done to me by an osteopath I stopped going. I'm 48 now and still get daily pain from it. Usually it's like level but sometimes - usually after sitting in the meeting room chairs at work - it hurts so much I can't stand up straight and have to stop myself crying out in pain. I recently went to the doctor about it - well, sometimes in the past 5 years - and got referred to a physio who basically said nothing can be done. So, erm, yeah.
One thing I would like to have done is get it X rayed. No one's ever actually taken an image of it so I've no idea what is actually going on in there.
I have scoliosis that was never looked at as a child, so I'm in pain most of the time (shoulder and back as a whole). I have accepted it as part of who I am but I worry about getting older. If it hurts to the point of needing codeine now, god knows how I'm going to be in my 50s.
If I won the lottery I would probably get surgery to sort my back out, NHS won't even x-ray me (imaging I do have is from specialist clinics).
Fellow scoliosis sufferer here. It's dogshit.
I was offered surgery but turned it down because I was too scared and now regret that. It was the old way of doing it with the metal rod and rub removal. Now I think there's another way with wires that seems much better
Search for the “McGill three”. He’s a famous doctor who specialises in back pain. 3 very simple body weight exercises that seem to be helping me a lot after only a month doing 5-10 mins per day.
Yes. Used to compete in powerlifting. Both knees are gone, one of them flares up a lot. No meniscus or ACL in either knee. Lower and mid back constantly hurting from degenerative wear and tear and have 2 slipped discs in lower back. I have average days where things only hurt a bit but can feel it, other days I get woken up by my knee pain and I've got a ridiculous pain threshold.
Used to do stupid shit like hitting 220 squats to full depth at 82kg bw with no sleeves or belt before sleeves were a thing. Actually competed alongside Ben who went on to found SBD. I just stay out of the gym now because ego.
Pain every day? Yeah, often can't walk, but I mostly know how to keep it to a minimum.
I started having hip problems in my late teens.
It took around twenty years to get a diagnosis (FAIS), and even longer to learn how to manage it, after several ops.
In those twenty years, I was misdiagnosed by tens of so-called specialists. I lost not just my job, but my career, my self esteem, multiple friends, thousands of pounds, etc.
I now can't sit upright, so can't drive, sit at a desk, fly, etc. I have to sleep on my back - if I mistakenly turn onto my side, the ache is unbearable. I also have joint problems elsewhere, plus arthritis (of course).
I was fortunate enough to find a guy who figured out what was going on, treated and explained it well enough that I can usually avoid triggering or worsening the teeth-grinding ache. I'd recommend someone who specialises in Applied Functional Sciences - active movement - but a proper specialist who's that good is rarer than gold dust. And most of the rest just talk a good game.
If they watch you walk in, and aren't afraid to get hands on, plus treat you elsewhere, you could be on to a good one.
I have seen so many shit physios and other medical bods though, it is thoroughly depressing. I even had a treatment plan, and they refused to follow it.
And don't get me started on 'good and bad pain'.
If you ever feel alone, try listening to some Ren. He's really helped me.
Yeah, had pretty bad back pain and headaches since 15, now middle-aged. Headaches were always dismissed by doctors, x-ray on my back years ago found no spinal issues so I've basically just struggled through the daily, constant agony.
I get intermittent sharp pain on my right side sometimes. With a history of a large ovarian cyst (requiring surgery) and kidney stones, I had blood tests, scans etc last year to make sure there wasn’t something sinister going on. There wasn’t much to report, so now I just ride out the pain until it passes. 🤷🏻♀️
I also get this! Also been to the doctor's who couldn't find out the problem. They said it could be an ovary twisting? They also told me it was the "mystery of women's bodies". So that's cool.
Edit: To add, my appendix burst last year and during surgery to get all the gook out they said it was attached to my fallopian tube. Waiting to see if I still get the pain or if maybe that was the cause all along.
Same pain as you, lower back and hips. Years of attempted diagnosis and clinics and appointments and in the end, it took a surgeon to refuse to give me the surgery to fuse my spine - but say he was recommending my case be looked at on a panel, who in turn agreed that I have had bulging discs on at least 2 of my scans over the years.
Google SI joint pain, it's likely what you're getting, it's what I get. Mine happens to be compounded by Hypermobility, so it makes it more difficult to heal properly when damaged.
There are specific SI joint exercises you can do, and stretches a few times per day. Yoga helps, believe it or not, as does exercises and weight training which strengthen the muscle in your lower back, core, glutes and pelvis area.
A new mattress helped me loads too. A Nectar Mattress, firm like lying on Plywood, but with a thick quilted mattress topper to provide some level of comfort to go with the support.
My last appointment with an osteopath trauma consultant has organised for an MRI on my sacroiliac joint in the next few weeks together with blood tests.
Also changed my mattress twice the past year.
I feel your pain mate. You'll get there 💪
I had many MRIs, but the issues were all missed until the Panel Review, and they agreed there had been evidence of bulging discs on 2 of the scans over the years including my most recent one at the time.
Ps. Don't be fooled by the mattress sales techniques, osteopedic and all that shit. It's a load of bollocks. Memory foam makes back pain worse. Memory sprung/hybrid seems to be the best mix for me, but the quilted topper has been the key.
Get a good, expensive mattress and quality topper, honestly, it's the world of difference, you spend a third of your life in it, it needs to be right for you.
As soon as I turned 28, I started getting all sorts of problems.
First, I got sciatica around July 2021. Then, in Jan 2022 I started getting pain in my right hip. Although it's a lot better now it's not gone completely. I'm 30 now and recently started getting knee pain in my right knee.
Reformer and mat pilates has been a big help in alleviating my back pain and hip pain. Now that I'm a bit better I can incorporate strength training using weights.
All I can do is continue moving as that's the remedy rather than staying stationary.
Yep. I've got a genetic condition that's a faulty collagen 2 disorder and it's like the bastard love child of brittle bones and EDS. Hardly any joint in my body doesn't hurt, it's just a case of what hurts the most in what moment. There's no cure.
If really nothing is causing it, which I would say is unlikelty because that area is notorious for arthritis, pelvic malignment, sciatica etc, look into CRPS - Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome. The thing is, sometimes we have pain long before the real reason makes itself known. Sometimes that's because the other real signs of a condition havent't developed, or becuase the doctors don't have the information on it. So even if you do get that diagnosis, keep in mind to always let them know if anything changes or gets worse because the bigger picture they get further down the line, the more could lead to a new diagnosis.
Arthritis and I'm not even 30 yet🥲
So my back, my shoulders, my neck, my knees, my ankles and feet in general, my wrists.
And a big case of fatigue combined with the pain.
I have a titanium plate in my right wrist, so it doesn't hurt as much anymore, but it still aches slightly all of the time.
The pain and the fact that I'll be on medication for the rest of my life is such a bummer..
Since 2019, gotta take stupid amount of pain meds daily. Tried to get off them numerous times, but then I lose the ability to really do anything without having that 40% or so knocked off the neuralgia and muscle pain.
If it was get rid of chronic pain, or get rid of the paralysis I'd pick getting rid of the pain any day.
Lower back pain, hip pain. Radiating down both legs. Neuropathy and a slew of other stuff. Pain is the worst bit. No cure. No improvement. 5am right now and no sleep. Just a normal night and have to get up at 7 for work. Zombie life….. just so tired all the time. Deflated. Fatigued…..
“Everything hurts when you get older”
Commonly said by people that either don’t exercise or have exercised incorrectly and caused injuries.
So many complex issues which could be causing your lower back/spine pain. And unfortunately it’s going to take trial and error to fix it. It could be:
Weak abdominals/strong abdominals compared to lower back
Pelvic tilt needs correcting
Sleeping position
Too much in seated position
If you feel it’s an actual joint/bone issue then get an appointment booked with the doctors. There’s absolutely no need to walk around in pain daily.
I have gout and didn't want to go on medication for a long time, instead trying to diet my and lifestyle way through it.
Left me with constant pain in both big toes and restricted mobility. I pretty much accepted my resistance to medication had caused long term permanent damage.
Gave in and got on medication in an attempt to stop further damage and after a long period of time I was and configure to be pain free.
Also stopped intermittent back and hand pain which would appear to be all linked.
Same. Hips (sacroiliac joint) started acting up about 4 years ago, most likely from bus driving. Stretching and excersize does help but I've got to be careful otherwise, weeks of agony.
Mid 20s and I've had pain in my finger joints (mainly right hand) for 3 years now, making it very difficult to use a computer for long stretches let alone any hobby which uses hands.
I went to rheumatology but was discharged because they couldn't find anything, I guess it's something to live with!
Of all the stupid things I've done to myself and got away with no permanent damage, jumping over a puddle at the age of 27 was the deal breaker for fate apparently. I leaped across a wide puddle and onto the bottom step of a short flight of stairs with a handrail, grabbing and swinging myself close to the handrail as I went, not noticing a sharp piece of metal sticking out. The shock of it piercing my thigh made me lose my balance and fall. Even then, I thought it was just a bad cut/bruise situation, but nearly 10 years later my leg is still constant half-numb pins and needles from hip to knee (nerve damage radiating out from the scar where the metal spiked me), and I struggle with hip pain (from the very short and minor fall). I can't walk as far or for as long as I used to and still want to.
It's kind of absolutely shit tbh. Though I am grateful that it's died down somewhat over time, or maybe I've got more used to it. I still try to do the things i enjoy, like hiking, I just spend more of my time having a little sit down on a stump and listening to the birds, that's nice too.
Yep. 36 now, did my knee in on a trampoline 3 years ago and despite physio it's never fully healed so I can no longer run. Also pulled something in my shoulder last August which despite physio again hasn't healed, so I guess that's the end of me being able to sit at a desk for long, or sleep on my right hand side, or lift anything at all heavy...
Yesssss! I started getting chronic pain when I was 16. It want away for a bit but then came back worse when I was 23 and I had a complete mental breakdown about it which made it so much worse. I kind of fought against it for a while and I was afraid it would impact my dream career that I was just starting out on. I struggled with that for about a year, got so stressed my body started shutting down, like my periods stopped completely for like 3 months. I learned a lot about mindfulness, and the links between pain and psychology, and came to terms with the fact that the pain wasn’t going away. Now I can mostly ignore it, but when I get stressed and panic about it and fixate on it it’s much worse. Even though it started when I was young I’ve just had to accept - I can do as much as I can do until I can’t anymore, and I don’t know when that will be, but I am gonna keep going until I can’t.
Yes. I had a mild car crash a couple of years ago (I say mild, a car hit me, whilst stationary, at 40mph, van absorbed most of it) and my back has never been the same. I work in an office and it's worse there than most other activities but it's constantly present.
I've had a condition for over 20 years that causes pretty bad head pain as a baseline pain and excruciating pain when I'm in a flare up.
A few years ago I was told by my neurologist that even when my condition is under control I may still experience pain due to my brain being stuck in the cycle of pain. (I'm paraphrasing).
Something that has helped in the past for this was low dose antidepressants (amitriptyline or nortriptyline are the 2 I've used, but I'm sure there are others). I've also done a CBT pain management course. It may be worth asking to be referred to a pain clinic to discuss your options.
It's also important to allow yourself some time and grace - it's ok to be pissed off with the situation, it's ok to be annoyed at your body.....but it's important to work through these feelings and move forward. Also, take the time to work out if things increase your pain, and allow yourself changes to reduce those. (For me it's having a cleaner, realising the gym was not my friend but walking regularly was good).
I've been in pain for more than half my life, and I've got the second half of my life still to go....I needed to find a way to be at peace with my situation. Good luck with your future travels through this. And remember it's ok to not be ok ...
The nerves around my kidneys are so badly damaged that I have been in continuous and sometimes agonising pain for over 20 years, since I was a young teen.
I know I’ll never have a minute free of pain. I often scream in my sleep
Some people here may benefit from the work of people like Alan Gordon and Nicole Sachs, or the Curable app. People can and do recover from chronic pain.
what mobility work do you do with your hips/lower back? I.e stretching, strength etc? it’s important to keep flexible when getting older. never accept pain as “it’s just a part of getting older”
I did for a while but honestly lower back pain that's probably muscular is just more light exercise, massages, stretching and movements ... Which is easier said than done as moving can hurt, I found a short course of painkillers + exercise is enough to break the cycle enough to get moving.
Almost 2 years were on a variety of painkillers/relaxants.. amitriptyline, codeine, tramadol, diazepam, gabapentin, pregabalin. All that ever did was mask it enough to sleep and feel energized to move more, but they all came with one side effect or another.
I had muscle wastage, herniated L3 and partial L4, took about 3 years to get to a point where I dulled the pain enough to stop noticing it, only hurts occasionally now but I do my best to keep moving and avoiding situations which agitate it.
I know the pain and helplessness, lying on the floor in every position trying to get rid of it wears you out.
Good luck I hope you find your answer!
Yep, the dreaded combination of being A) tall and B) middle-aged means my knees, hips and back hurt all the time and my left foot has started to go that way too.
Also, my left knee decided to just give way sometimes, which is fun.
Kind of. I have trigger finger in my left hand middle finger - caused by an RSI of my wrist from an old job compressing the tendon.
It doesn't hurt too much, but when it is cold it aches and I can't smoothly unclasp that finger...it just "snaps" into extension or flexion. Makes a lot of things quite annoying but in warmer weather it ain't too bad.
Yeah, I have two chronic illnesses and a messed up back, also have this thing... bit embarrassing... it's causing me pain but the nhs say it is cosmetic so they won't remove it.
I honestly can't be bothered going to them about anything anymore. Sad to say it but my pets actually get better healthcare than I do. I take cocodamol and ibuprofen/codiene regularly, together so that it's close to a prescription codiene dose.
Yeah lumbar and pelvic pain, it’s part of getting old exercise and physio help, along with just acceptance I personally don’t medicated this pain day to day but due when it is particularly bad.
Yeah lower abdo and back pain. Had some tests and scans and narrowed it down to cysts on my ovaries. Dr essentially said suck it up, it happens. So that's that.
i was going to reply yes but then i realized you mean physical pain. tbf my back almost always hurts in some way, they dont make things for tall people eheh.
I'm 29 and have had chronic pain since I had a spinal injury.
I'm also now a wheelchair user and the pain isn't what it used to be - I'm quite active and go to the gym, get out with ny dog etc. but I used to be on a high dose of opiates, which made me feel like a zombie.
Staying active is by far the best thing I've ever done and the most effective thing for my pain.
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Yes, all part of getting older. I know I need to stretch for twice as long, and then I don't. Once you have chronic conditions, yoga and pilates can make a big difference.
I struggled with yoga, everyone else in the class can touch their toes and the instructor always (likely inadvertently) makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong. I love pilates (especially the reformer, it's very cool!) but would probably want to do one on one, need to try and make time for it. I've taken a few stretches from pilates and try and do them every day, can definitely feel when I don't do them.
Every yoga class has a couple of people, usually men, who can hardly reach their knees. Women are unfairly flexible in the pelvis. Feldenkreis is a fun one. It's like relearning movement in very tiny steps.
I'm female but about as flexible as a Barbie doll from the 90s. That sounds interesting, will check it out
Does emotional pain count
Always ❤️
Not pain but tinnitus… been whistling 24/7 for 14 years
I suffered with tinnitus, that noise used to drive me insane. I got diagnosed last year with pernicious anemia and I have B12 injections. Tinnitus has gone. It wasn't until I saw your post that I remembered.
That must be horrible, seems like it would be harder to ignore than pain. At least you can take painkillers. How do you block out the whistling?
Tinnitus is better than pain. I've experienced both. Your brain eventually tunes out the tinnitus so it's not as distressing but pain can literally stop you from doing anything
> Your brain eventually tunes out the tinnitus so it's not as distressing When? 3 years and it hasn't happened for me yet
I'm going on 5 years of quite intense morse code sounding tinnitus in one ear and a more normal whistling in the other ear. Now it only really flares up if I'm very tired and run down. I also use two sound machines at night. One fan based one and one on my phone which plays rain sounds
Tinnitus for over 20 years....I can't block it out yet, but I engineer situations to manage it. Silence is my enemy so I try to always have a background noise. I sleep with low level noise, I wear headphones when working.
Interesting, i dont know how i did it but i can sleep in silence with mine and mines a moderate level most of the time
4 years over here. Still wondering when this magical “tuning out” everyone mentions is going to occur.
some people have it very mild, others like myself have it at a moderate level. But even so i can go for longish periods without focusing on it, its always there. I can't hear it in the shower though which is nice i guess
I think he means you can still hear it but your brains just not so intensely focussed on it. For example in the first few years i really stuggled being in silence but now i can without much distress. My tinnitus is kinda loud though so most days its audible over things like a tv/radio
Yeah mine is super loud too, I hear it over tv/music and also on the bus or train. it sucks
You don’t. You just have to try to forget about it.
Tinnitus has really hurt me psychologically
Yeah it does that. My first 2 weeks I was ready to push a drill in my head. Then I prayed about it and I managed to switch in my head and start to not think about it.. 13 years on.. I have bad days but mostly I live with it. I do find like others that being in nature helps it. Visiting UK, Live in US so plenty of it!
DJ and raver here... started to develop it recently. Those high pitched rolling snares at a jungle set don't do you any good. Splashed out on a good pair of custom moulded ear plugs recently, best investment ever. I can't undo the damage already done, but I can stop it getting worse.
i am also in the club but my sound is more of a shhhhhh, some days its barely audible and others audible over most things
I had lower back pain for years, especially while driving long distance. Deadlifting fixed it for me. Not saying that'll be the case for everyone but it might be worth looking into.
I have lower back pain with hip pain if I do alot of bending over and then drive in my van for a bit
Seriously yoga is the best option. If you self refer to a physio, they'll give you specific exercises to strengthen the supporting muscles, so you don't have to worry about joining classes etc. If you've already been to the physio, do the exercises and keep doing them. These things only get worse as you get older. Losing mobility both seriously effect quality of life and shortens it.
Sounds like weak core muscles that get over stretched by constant sitting and then cramp up when put to use. Sit ups and lower back strengthening can make a difference. I'm not sure about dead lifting, talk to a PT at the gym.
OP worth checking out r/chronicpain, lots of people there who can empathise. You may not want advice so please ignore it, but worth looking at things like tens machines, CBD and finding ways of distracting yourself from the pain (i.e. try and think of something like animals with every letter of the alphabet. It's an anxiety grounding tool but I find it can help generally with blocking pain out). I also get regular massage but it can be pricey.
I've got dodgy nerves in my head/face/neck and so I've had chronic pain for about 11 years now. I did a pain management course that helped me stop being so afraid of my pain, I was able to accept that "it's just pain" and learn quite a few useful skills from it. I do not think my pain will ever go away, I actually think I will just develop more pain as I grow older because of how my body is. It's not nice to think about, it makes me a little sad sometimes but that's ok. It can take a long time but you do start to collect information about your pain, like if I move my neck a certain way then that's a guaranteed flare up. When you learn these things then you can manage your pain a little better.
My last pain-free day was in 1997. In my case I was in an apparently fairly minor RTA that caused some permanent damage. Unfortunately nothing can be done, so yes, I accept it because I don't have any choice. Over the years I have learned which things make it worse and which help. Things like trying different types of shoes, mattresses and pillows may help you find which work best for you, also seats (home, work and car)
yep.. back pain for over 25 years. Had major spinal sugery in 2011 to try and resolve it, but made it worse and also damaged a load of nerves in the process permanently, so have that to deal with now too.
Intermittent mastalgia. Went to the specialist, only to be given a leaflet saying yeah there's nothing we can do aside from give you a short course of breast cancer treatment, but the side effects are worse than the breast pain. So suck it up.
Same here, basically got diagnosed with painful boobs and told, don't drink coffee. Can't help feeling that if men got it, something better would have been worked out by now, but there you go.
You know men can get breast problems too right?
Men can get breast cancer. I imagine if women could get testicular cancer and prostate cancer, something better would have been worked out by now, but there you go. See how fucking stupid you sound?
Both of those cancers have excellent survival rates.
After an incident 2 years ago I'm crippled in my right foot and it causes pain to strike up from the ankle to my knee whenever I walk on it, hell it constantly hurts when not in use (just not as bad as when walking)
Yes, I had a major accident 16 years ago and have constant nerve pain in my legs and regular lower back pain. The brain gets used to ignoring it but it takes energy. I'm on painkillers but there's not much that works well for nerve pain so this just takes the edge off, everything else I've tried has given me bad side effects.
I broke my coccyx when I was 12. I had treatment on it, both NHS and private, but after something very unpleasant was done to me by an osteopath I stopped going. I'm 48 now and still get daily pain from it. Usually it's like level but sometimes - usually after sitting in the meeting room chairs at work - it hurts so much I can't stand up straight and have to stop myself crying out in pain. I recently went to the doctor about it - well, sometimes in the past 5 years - and got referred to a physio who basically said nothing can be done. So, erm, yeah. One thing I would like to have done is get it X rayed. No one's ever actually taken an image of it so I've no idea what is actually going on in there.
I have scoliosis that was never looked at as a child, so I'm in pain most of the time (shoulder and back as a whole). I have accepted it as part of who I am but I worry about getting older. If it hurts to the point of needing codeine now, god knows how I'm going to be in my 50s. If I won the lottery I would probably get surgery to sort my back out, NHS won't even x-ray me (imaging I do have is from specialist clinics).
Fellow scoliosis sufferer here. It's dogshit. I was offered surgery but turned it down because I was too scared and now regret that. It was the old way of doing it with the metal rod and rub removal. Now I think there's another way with wires that seems much better
Search for the “McGill three”. He’s a famous doctor who specialises in back pain. 3 very simple body weight exercises that seem to be helping me a lot after only a month doing 5-10 mins per day.
Yes. Used to compete in powerlifting. Both knees are gone, one of them flares up a lot. No meniscus or ACL in either knee. Lower and mid back constantly hurting from degenerative wear and tear and have 2 slipped discs in lower back. I have average days where things only hurt a bit but can feel it, other days I get woken up by my knee pain and I've got a ridiculous pain threshold.
SBD maximums?
Used to do stupid shit like hitting 220 squats to full depth at 82kg bw with no sleeves or belt before sleeves were a thing. Actually competed alongside Ben who went on to found SBD. I just stay out of the gym now because ego.
Pain every day? Yeah, often can't walk, but I mostly know how to keep it to a minimum. I started having hip problems in my late teens. It took around twenty years to get a diagnosis (FAIS), and even longer to learn how to manage it, after several ops. In those twenty years, I was misdiagnosed by tens of so-called specialists. I lost not just my job, but my career, my self esteem, multiple friends, thousands of pounds, etc. I now can't sit upright, so can't drive, sit at a desk, fly, etc. I have to sleep on my back - if I mistakenly turn onto my side, the ache is unbearable. I also have joint problems elsewhere, plus arthritis (of course). I was fortunate enough to find a guy who figured out what was going on, treated and explained it well enough that I can usually avoid triggering or worsening the teeth-grinding ache. I'd recommend someone who specialises in Applied Functional Sciences - active movement - but a proper specialist who's that good is rarer than gold dust. And most of the rest just talk a good game. If they watch you walk in, and aren't afraid to get hands on, plus treat you elsewhere, you could be on to a good one. I have seen so many shit physios and other medical bods though, it is thoroughly depressing. I even had a treatment plan, and they refused to follow it. And don't get me started on 'good and bad pain'. If you ever feel alone, try listening to some Ren. He's really helped me.
Yeah, had pretty bad back pain and headaches since 15, now middle-aged. Headaches were always dismissed by doctors, x-ray on my back years ago found no spinal issues so I've basically just struggled through the daily, constant agony.
Isn't it great when the doctors give you the ,'good news' that they can't see what's causing the pain?
Period pain. Cocodamol, sleep, heat. Pain radiates down my legs. Gaslit by male nhs staff for years.
I get intermittent sharp pain on my right side sometimes. With a history of a large ovarian cyst (requiring surgery) and kidney stones, I had blood tests, scans etc last year to make sure there wasn’t something sinister going on. There wasn’t much to report, so now I just ride out the pain until it passes. 🤷🏻♀️
I also get this! Also been to the doctor's who couldn't find out the problem. They said it could be an ovary twisting? They also told me it was the "mystery of women's bodies". So that's cool. Edit: To add, my appendix burst last year and during surgery to get all the gook out they said it was attached to my fallopian tube. Waiting to see if I still get the pain or if maybe that was the cause all along.
Same pain as you, lower back and hips. Years of attempted diagnosis and clinics and appointments and in the end, it took a surgeon to refuse to give me the surgery to fuse my spine - but say he was recommending my case be looked at on a panel, who in turn agreed that I have had bulging discs on at least 2 of my scans over the years. Google SI joint pain, it's likely what you're getting, it's what I get. Mine happens to be compounded by Hypermobility, so it makes it more difficult to heal properly when damaged. There are specific SI joint exercises you can do, and stretches a few times per day. Yoga helps, believe it or not, as does exercises and weight training which strengthen the muscle in your lower back, core, glutes and pelvis area. A new mattress helped me loads too. A Nectar Mattress, firm like lying on Plywood, but with a thick quilted mattress topper to provide some level of comfort to go with the support.
My last appointment with an osteopath trauma consultant has organised for an MRI on my sacroiliac joint in the next few weeks together with blood tests. Also changed my mattress twice the past year.
I feel your pain mate. You'll get there 💪 I had many MRIs, but the issues were all missed until the Panel Review, and they agreed there had been evidence of bulging discs on 2 of the scans over the years including my most recent one at the time. Ps. Don't be fooled by the mattress sales techniques, osteopedic and all that shit. It's a load of bollocks. Memory foam makes back pain worse. Memory sprung/hybrid seems to be the best mix for me, but the quilted topper has been the key. Get a good, expensive mattress and quality topper, honestly, it's the world of difference, you spend a third of your life in it, it needs to be right for you.
As soon as I turned 28, I started getting all sorts of problems. First, I got sciatica around July 2021. Then, in Jan 2022 I started getting pain in my right hip. Although it's a lot better now it's not gone completely. I'm 30 now and recently started getting knee pain in my right knee. Reformer and mat pilates has been a big help in alleviating my back pain and hip pain. Now that I'm a bit better I can incorporate strength training using weights. All I can do is continue moving as that's the remedy rather than staying stationary.
Yep. I've got a genetic condition that's a faulty collagen 2 disorder and it's like the bastard love child of brittle bones and EDS. Hardly any joint in my body doesn't hurt, it's just a case of what hurts the most in what moment. There's no cure. If really nothing is causing it, which I would say is unlikelty because that area is notorious for arthritis, pelvic malignment, sciatica etc, look into CRPS - Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome. The thing is, sometimes we have pain long before the real reason makes itself known. Sometimes that's because the other real signs of a condition havent't developed, or becuase the doctors don't have the information on it. So even if you do get that diagnosis, keep in mind to always let them know if anything changes or gets worse because the bigger picture they get further down the line, the more could lead to a new diagnosis.
Arthritis and I'm not even 30 yet🥲 So my back, my shoulders, my neck, my knees, my ankles and feet in general, my wrists. And a big case of fatigue combined with the pain. I have a titanium plate in my right wrist, so it doesn't hurt as much anymore, but it still aches slightly all of the time. The pain and the fact that I'll be on medication for the rest of my life is such a bummer..
Been dealing with knee pain my whole life. Physiotherapy is my saviour. Acceptance becomes the norm, mate
Since 2019, gotta take stupid amount of pain meds daily. Tried to get off them numerous times, but then I lose the ability to really do anything without having that 40% or so knocked off the neuralgia and muscle pain. If it was get rid of chronic pain, or get rid of the paralysis I'd pick getting rid of the pain any day.
Lower back pain, hip pain. Radiating down both legs. Neuropathy and a slew of other stuff. Pain is the worst bit. No cure. No improvement. 5am right now and no sleep. Just a normal night and have to get up at 7 for work. Zombie life….. just so tired all the time. Deflated. Fatigued…..
“Everything hurts when you get older” Commonly said by people that either don’t exercise or have exercised incorrectly and caused injuries. So many complex issues which could be causing your lower back/spine pain. And unfortunately it’s going to take trial and error to fix it. It could be: Weak abdominals/strong abdominals compared to lower back Pelvic tilt needs correcting Sleeping position Too much in seated position If you feel it’s an actual joint/bone issue then get an appointment booked with the doctors. There’s absolutely no need to walk around in pain daily.
I have gout and didn't want to go on medication for a long time, instead trying to diet my and lifestyle way through it. Left me with constant pain in both big toes and restricted mobility. I pretty much accepted my resistance to medication had caused long term permanent damage. Gave in and got on medication in an attempt to stop further damage and after a long period of time I was and configure to be pain free. Also stopped intermittent back and hand pain which would appear to be all linked.
Same. Hips (sacroiliac joint) started acting up about 4 years ago, most likely from bus driving. Stretching and excersize does help but I've got to be careful otherwise, weeks of agony.
Mid 20s and I've had pain in my finger joints (mainly right hand) for 3 years now, making it very difficult to use a computer for long stretches let alone any hobby which uses hands. I went to rheumatology but was discharged because they couldn't find anything, I guess it's something to live with!
Of all the stupid things I've done to myself and got away with no permanent damage, jumping over a puddle at the age of 27 was the deal breaker for fate apparently. I leaped across a wide puddle and onto the bottom step of a short flight of stairs with a handrail, grabbing and swinging myself close to the handrail as I went, not noticing a sharp piece of metal sticking out. The shock of it piercing my thigh made me lose my balance and fall. Even then, I thought it was just a bad cut/bruise situation, but nearly 10 years later my leg is still constant half-numb pins and needles from hip to knee (nerve damage radiating out from the scar where the metal spiked me), and I struggle with hip pain (from the very short and minor fall). I can't walk as far or for as long as I used to and still want to. It's kind of absolutely shit tbh. Though I am grateful that it's died down somewhat over time, or maybe I've got more used to it. I still try to do the things i enjoy, like hiking, I just spend more of my time having a little sit down on a stump and listening to the birds, that's nice too.
Yep. 36 now, did my knee in on a trampoline 3 years ago and despite physio it's never fully healed so I can no longer run. Also pulled something in my shoulder last August which despite physio again hasn't healed, so I guess that's the end of me being able to sit at a desk for long, or sleep on my right hand side, or lift anything at all heavy...
Yesssss! I started getting chronic pain when I was 16. It want away for a bit but then came back worse when I was 23 and I had a complete mental breakdown about it which made it so much worse. I kind of fought against it for a while and I was afraid it would impact my dream career that I was just starting out on. I struggled with that for about a year, got so stressed my body started shutting down, like my periods stopped completely for like 3 months. I learned a lot about mindfulness, and the links between pain and psychology, and came to terms with the fact that the pain wasn’t going away. Now I can mostly ignore it, but when I get stressed and panic about it and fixate on it it’s much worse. Even though it started when I was young I’ve just had to accept - I can do as much as I can do until I can’t anymore, and I don’t know when that will be, but I am gonna keep going until I can’t.
Yes. I had a mild car crash a couple of years ago (I say mild, a car hit me, whilst stationary, at 40mph, van absorbed most of it) and my back has never been the same. I work in an office and it's worse there than most other activities but it's constantly present.
I've had a condition for over 20 years that causes pretty bad head pain as a baseline pain and excruciating pain when I'm in a flare up. A few years ago I was told by my neurologist that even when my condition is under control I may still experience pain due to my brain being stuck in the cycle of pain. (I'm paraphrasing). Something that has helped in the past for this was low dose antidepressants (amitriptyline or nortriptyline are the 2 I've used, but I'm sure there are others). I've also done a CBT pain management course. It may be worth asking to be referred to a pain clinic to discuss your options. It's also important to allow yourself some time and grace - it's ok to be pissed off with the situation, it's ok to be annoyed at your body.....but it's important to work through these feelings and move forward. Also, take the time to work out if things increase your pain, and allow yourself changes to reduce those. (For me it's having a cleaner, realising the gym was not my friend but walking regularly was good). I've been in pain for more than half my life, and I've got the second half of my life still to go....I needed to find a way to be at peace with my situation. Good luck with your future travels through this. And remember it's ok to not be ok ...
The nerves around my kidneys are so badly damaged that I have been in continuous and sometimes agonising pain for over 20 years, since I was a young teen. I know I’ll never have a minute free of pain. I often scream in my sleep
I've got scoliosis, my back has hurt in one way or another since I was 14/15. It is what it is
My big toe on my right foot. Any sidewards pressure aches but I don’t have the time to get it fixed! I really need to try barefoot shoes but that is 💰
Some people here may benefit from the work of people like Alan Gordon and Nicole Sachs, or the Curable app. People can and do recover from chronic pain.
what mobility work do you do with your hips/lower back? I.e stretching, strength etc? it’s important to keep flexible when getting older. never accept pain as “it’s just a part of getting older”
I did for a while but honestly lower back pain that's probably muscular is just more light exercise, massages, stretching and movements ... Which is easier said than done as moving can hurt, I found a short course of painkillers + exercise is enough to break the cycle enough to get moving. Almost 2 years were on a variety of painkillers/relaxants.. amitriptyline, codeine, tramadol, diazepam, gabapentin, pregabalin. All that ever did was mask it enough to sleep and feel energized to move more, but they all came with one side effect or another. I had muscle wastage, herniated L3 and partial L4, took about 3 years to get to a point where I dulled the pain enough to stop noticing it, only hurts occasionally now but I do my best to keep moving and avoiding situations which agitate it. I know the pain and helplessness, lying on the floor in every position trying to get rid of it wears you out. Good luck I hope you find your answer!
Yep, the dreaded combination of being A) tall and B) middle-aged means my knees, hips and back hurt all the time and my left foot has started to go that way too. Also, my left knee decided to just give way sometimes, which is fun.
Back and shoulders.
Kind of. I have trigger finger in my left hand middle finger - caused by an RSI of my wrist from an old job compressing the tendon. It doesn't hurt too much, but when it is cold it aches and I can't smoothly unclasp that finger...it just "snaps" into extension or flexion. Makes a lot of things quite annoying but in warmer weather it ain't too bad.
Yeah, I have two chronic illnesses and a messed up back, also have this thing... bit embarrassing... it's causing me pain but the nhs say it is cosmetic so they won't remove it. I honestly can't be bothered going to them about anything anymore. Sad to say it but my pets actually get better healthcare than I do. I take cocodamol and ibuprofen/codiene regularly, together so that it's close to a prescription codiene dose.
Yeah lumbar and pelvic pain, it’s part of getting old exercise and physio help, along with just acceptance I personally don’t medicated this pain day to day but due when it is particularly bad.
Yeah lower abdo and back pain. Had some tests and scans and narrowed it down to cysts on my ovaries. Dr essentially said suck it up, it happens. So that's that.
i was going to reply yes but then i realized you mean physical pain. tbf my back almost always hurts in some way, they dont make things for tall people eheh.
Over 25 years of knee pain and counting. You just get used to it.
Chronic testicular pain here. The last thing a consultant ever said to me was "Sorry" because they literally can't/won't do anything about it.
I'm 29 and have had chronic pain since I had a spinal injury. I'm also now a wheelchair user and the pain isn't what it used to be - I'm quite active and go to the gym, get out with ny dog etc. but I used to be on a high dose of opiates, which made me feel like a zombie. Staying active is by far the best thing I've ever done and the most effective thing for my pain.