Not aviation, but at the time I wished I was an angel and could fly lol! and this is Hangar Chat which is kind of like AVSIM's bar and speakeasy.. My tale is lengthy, but I've endeavoured to use punctuation and paragraphs! 

I've not been active on AVSIM for the past week (Hurrah! I hear some of you shouting at the back! )  Last Sunday I was over at my daughter's house helping her to unpack a couple of deliveries which had come to us before she finalised settling in to her new rental - her first home! 

I'd successfully brought the new microwave oven into the house being careful how I did so as they are not the lightest package to move around when one has had a dodgy back for years (AHA!! all the doctors now say 🍻). I had no warning signs or twinges to tell me I'd done something wrong. She had another far lighter box which I'd set on the floor and was knelt over it to open it.. I grabbed the top of the box and wrenched the tape apart.... you may as well have plugged me into mains electricity! I've had my back go out and put me on my knees in the past, but this time it was far more pain than I could imagine. I could at least crawl around on previous occasions. This time I could only roll onto my back on the floor and scream. I honestly think I would have been less scared if I could not have felt my legs at all... the implication being that I'd not feel pain either 

She called for an ambulance and my wife drove up to her house so she could wait with me. 5 HOURS later and still no ambulance... no updates either. During that time, my wife called to enquire about an update. It appears that the emergency services "call centre" operations? I'm sure there's a proper term, doesn't log an incident into the system so that a person can update the situation. The operator went through my predicament again rather than saying "Oh yes. Patient at X address we have the details, what's happening?" If there is a logging system (I'm sure there has to be!) then it certainly wasn't apparent from my point of view (flat on the floor, scared to move..).

Before anyone lectures me about the current pandemic, beleaguered National Health Service etc. I AM FULLY AWARE of what TRIAGE means, thank you and why it is a necessary thing. This is not an anti- free healthcare rant! I appreciate the fact that, for now at least in the UK we can visit A and E for free and get treatment. I fully expected a wait because I was fully conscious and all my body parts were firmly attached with no leakage! However, given that it was not a Friday night and there were no big accidents on the local motorways I thought that this is getting a bit much given that my local Accident and Emergency departments (ER's in the USA) are within 20 miles. I'm thinking surely there cannot be only one ambulance in the whole of Lancashire? There is more than one, but give the guy in acute pain a break ok? 

Fortunately, or so I thought.. the pain was easing to a point where I could manage to make it to the bathroom and back before collapsing. I thus reasoned that, after a suitable wait, I could make it out to my wife's car a few yards down the street and we could cancel the ambulance. I've got prescription painkillers at home... and my bed! I'll phone my doctor's in the morning for a telephone consultation.

I didn't make it to the car...  I collapsed again..the street was cold and dark but at least it wasn't raining. Flat on my back I could see quite a few stars (not ones in my head!) a nice view ordinarily. Well, this is a bit embarrassing I thought! A lovely lady driving by who happened to be a first aider happened to have some foam mats in the back of her car which I managed to use to insulate me from the pavement (good job I didn't collapse in the road!). My family got some blankets to wrap me up with (picture an unfortunate homeless person and you get the idea). After about a further half hour the ambulance arrived. The Paramedics were AMAZING and professional, thank you. I was trying to put a brave face on and be light hearted about the whole situation despite the pain. Not their fault I'd been on my back for hours! No sense in getting nasty with misguided anger. One of the guys was a scouser and ex- Army so you can imagine some of the banter he was coming out with! Don't make me laugh, it hurts  The other guy was in a flying club at Blackpool - has a PPL and flies a Piper Warrior. Given the short time it took to get to the hospital (about 15 minutes) we never got chance to discuss any hobbies the young lady paramedic might have had  (old farts talking planes..)

Yes, it took me a few more hours to be seen (Triage, remember?), but I was on a trolley in the hospital , warm, dry, wishing I could move properly lol. The young doctor who saw me was great. She handed me a leaflet on dealing with lower back pain which gave me even more pain as we were laughing about the advert on the back of the leaflet sponsored by firm of solicitors "Had an accident? Not your fault?" 

I did feel that I was kicked out a little too soon, dosed with some more painkillers (took me ages to get off the trolley and into a wheelchair and a while to get into my wife's car), but I guess they needed the space once it was decided that I did not require a scan. (Again, not a rant) I got home at about 4am Monday morning. My first collapse was 13:30 Sunday.

Too Long Didn't Read - I've got the contact number for NHS physiotherapy whom I shall be phoning, but have you guys got any tips for strengthening a lower back without slipping a disc whilst trying any exercises?  I have no desire to give myself another relapse (or even a prolapse for that matter! 

On the bright side, work has shut down for Christmas, so I only need to think about going back in the new year.

Thanks.

Sorry to hear about your woes, but appreciate your sense of humor. Hope you get back on track soon.  Missed you on the screenshot forum.

John

Well what can I say. I feel  your pain. LITERRALY! 

I have a herniated disc too. L4 L5. Injured it 30 years ago would you believe, laying a patio. Then injured it again lifting my daughter out of the car in a baby seat. My doctor sent me to a physiotherapist who injured it even further. 

12 months later before I got an appointment at the orthopaedic hospital. They whacked in some injections that did nothing.  

As I sit here now typing this to you, I am very aware that my back is warning me that the sitting limit is close, and I will have to move. When I drive I have a huge purpose made cushion as a lumbar support and when I sit down to watch TV, I do so on the floor, on cushions, with the edge of the seat cushion as support.

I don't do too badly, I have been able to manage it carefully over the years, and avoid doing anything that aggravates it.

So yes, sorry you have strained your disc again, I know what its like, not pleasant at all. IT's literally agony when you first injure them, going into spasms and doing all manner of horrible things.

These days they are getting very good at slicing the naughty bit off the disc. And stem cell therapy shows promise. 

Quote

but have you guys got any tips for strengthening a lower back without slipping a disc whilst trying any exercises?  I have no desire to give myself another relapse (or even a prolapse for that matter! 

 

Sitting down! It takes discipline, lots of it. You MUST sit with your back in the proper curve, all the time, not flexing the back forward, no touching your toes. The vertebrae are hinged at the back, so when we bend forwards we are actually squashing the discs. Maintain that curve in your back when you sit, bend down, all the time. Don't do anything that you know will aggravate it. I've managed to keep mine under control the majority of the time with this strategy for 30 years. Yes, there are times when it goes bonkers, and it takes a week or so to recover, but with the right attitude you can keep it under control. 

Walk on a regular basis, walking is good for your back. 

Edited December 19, 20205 yr by martin-w

1 hour ago, HighBypass said:

have you guys got any tips for strengthening a lower back without slipping a disc whilst trying any exercises?

Always with a view to being careful with advice people offer when not necessarily familiar with a particular injury, I will at least offer this: I've had a few issues with back pain over the years and occasionally it has impacted on work, so I've been to see specialists on occasion at both the local hospital and some private practitioners too. Two things I've kept from all that were the following exercises I'll mention in a moment. I do these pretty regularly and used to lie on the belt loaders at the airport when waiting for planes to come in on occasion! If I feel a hint that my back is going to start giving me trouble, I do these two things a little bit more frequently and it usually averts the problem. So, here goes.

First one:

Lie flat on your back with your hands clasped behind your head as if you are going to start doing sit ups, keep your back as flat to the floor as you can, then bring your knees up whilst keeping your feet flat on the floor, so your knees are bent to roughly ninety degrees. This is your start position. From there, keep your back and @rse on the floor as much as you can, then tilt your legs over first to the left slowly and then back up and then to the right. Do this a few times. The objective here is to try and keep your @rse and your back flat to the floor whilst you rock your legs over to one side.

What this does: With no pressure on your vertebrae from being stood up, rocking your lower back from side to side can free up trapped nerves, slipped out discs and such. Go easy with it and if it hurts to do it, then don't push it, but with luck, it can frequently click things back in place if they are threatening to depart from where they should be, so it is a good one to try if you feel a problem 'coming on'.

Second one:

Stand in an open door frame and then let yourself fall sideways so that you are stopped by your shoulder coming up against the door frame. Do this a few times.

What this does: If something has slipped out sideways from your back, doing this will open up the gaps in the side of your vertabrae, allowing things to have the room to 'pop' back into place. So if you feel a pain on a particular side of your lower back, that's the side you should 'fall' toward in the doorframe as it will open up  the gaps in your vertabrae on that side.

If you try either of these. And they should make you feel better or even more luckily, you feel something get corrected, be careful to take it very easy for a couple of hours at least, because the thing which was out of place which popped back will possibly have been a bit compressed and possibly inflamed when it was trapped (that's why it hurts), so it will need a bit of time to expand back to normal when it has gone back to the place where it belongs. 

Doing this sort of thing whilst taking some anti-inflammatory tablets (such as Ibuprofen) can also help, since when it reduces inflation, it means there is more free room for things to slot back into position.

Keep in mind that this is just general advice. Without knowing exactly what the problem is, a specialist will be able to offer individual advice specific to your problem, but generally speaking, the ones I've mentioned should not do any harm so long as you don't 'go mental' with them.

When all is (hopefully) well again. I'd recommend doing Tai Chi as a great means of avoid problems again. And by Tai Chi, I don't mean that poncy nonsense in classes run by middle class new age twonks, I mean with a genuine Chinese master who understands what it is really about, where you practice contact stuff and combat (if so inclined). It's great exercise for your back, and as an added benefit, you will be able to wipe the floor with anyone in a fight lol.

 

Edited December 19, 20205 yr by Chock

I'd agree with Chock's advice. Except to say that pressing the back flat on the floor is dodgy. Dodgy because it eliminates  the natural curve in the back and actually compreses the offending disc. That compression can push the disc further into the nerve. I would say yes, it's a good exercise, one I've done myself, but I do it with the natural curve in the lower back retained.

The natural lordotic curve should be retained!

58 minutes ago, Chock said:

and as an added benefit, you will be able to wipe the floor with anyone in a fight lol.

A slow motion fight, I presume?  Not knocking the ancient martial art! I quite like the idea of some Tai Chi in the future - never even thought of doing that. I suspect there are too many new age twonks and there may not be any Chinese masters in my local area.

 

21 minutes ago, martin-w said:

The natural lordotic curve should be retained

Well all I can say is Good Lordotic, it bloody hurt at the time! 

Thank you for the advice, gents! General only, no specifics and certainly nothing remotely litigious coming from me if I do myself a further mischief. 🍻 It's a sad state of modern society when one has to think of putting a disclaimer in comments on a virtual toy plane forum. I know you guys are talking common sense and in now way was this personally directed. Again, thank you.

All week I've been dosing on my prescription Naproxens and Di-hydrocodeines. I've tried moving about rather than just lying in bed all day, within reason. It's been almost as though I've had a 5 minute timer running from when I stand up - enough time to hobble downstairs, make myself a cuppa then get back upstairs & lie down before the pain kicked in. Things have improved over the past three days or so. Managed to have a shower and not do myself in, even when using the towel afterwards 

Even today's AVSIM session sitting at my computer chair is good. Some discomfort, but I've been able to stand up and move about.

Jeez, this sounds like I'm making a farcebook post of my day LOL! 

9 minutes ago, HighBypass said:

I've tried moving about rather than just lying in bed all day, within reason

 

 

 

Yep, research has shown time and time again that moving as much as possible, without aggravating the injury further, is very beneficial. Remaining immobilised is not good. 

Edited December 19, 20205 yr by martin-w

1 hour ago, HighBypass said:

A slow motion fight, I presume?  Not knocking the ancient martial art! I quite like the idea of some Tai Chi in the future - never even thought of doing that.

That's the thing everyone fails to get with Tai Chi - you practice it slowly so that you absolutely perfect the movement and balance, in this way when you need to use it at speed, your muscle memory for how you move is perfected and your reaction is very fast because it is ingrained in you. 

Watch Tai Chi's forms being practiced and you will realise that it is indeed a slow motion sequence of blocking moves and blows, which is really quite balletic if someone is good at it; the other thing to notice is that stance is frequently geared toward any force coming against you being directed into the ground to help to root you to the floor instead of you being knocked down. This part is what makes it good for your back amongst other things.

I can tell you from the experience of two pillocks trying to assault me in the street late one night as I walked home from Stockport after an evening in the pub (big mistake on both their parts) that this theory does work; you block attacks almost without thinking about it as an automatic reaction, and then of course the attacker, having been blocked rapidly, is then wide open for a counter-attack, so you can knock someone on their word not allowed and end things pretty quickly. 

If you are interested in medieval weapons, as a martial art Tai Chi has a interesting crossover with forms of Kung Fu, where you can use a number of swords, including the Jian and the Dao, one being an infantry sword whereas the other is more typically a cavalry sword although it was used dismounted too, as well as some polearms and such.

Of course one of the other nice things about Tai Chi is that it is often a fairly sociable thing, so you should definitely check it out.

 

Cheers, Al ! I note that Tai Chi can also be an appropriate socially distant thing too - everyone appears to have their own space 

😆  Sorry but Tai Chi as a martial art is utter... I guess this is where the word not allowed is inserted. 

There is a principle in excercise science callad specific adaption to imposed demands. You get what you train for. And that includes speed. Just practicing various moves (many of which deserve another word not allowed) at super slow speed is useless.

You never saw my old pal Bruce practicing slow, on the contrary, if you want speed you train for speed.

 

Edited December 19, 20205 yr by martin-w

I fear that Bruce had more fighting ability in the nail of his little finger than I ever will, especially as I'm old and decrepit! 

I'd like accuracy (speed is nothing without it), some core strength and the idea of a more relaxed lifestyle, not to be a geriatric 10th Dan... (waaaahh!)  So ,no I'm not looking for speed in that sense.

Each to their own opinion - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_chi appears to be a genuine martial art. Recent events may have exposed liars in many countries, but I very much doubt that 15th century China was, or is, fake. 🍻 If Tai Chi is historically referred to as a martial art, then IMO it is, however strange the concept may be. Oriental culture is strange to us westeners! One doesn't fly an RC helicopter flat out on the first attempt - muscle memory is slowly built up until one punches full collective to send a Raptor 30 hurtling around the field doing stall turns, loops and rolls, hurtling to a dead stop a few inches off the ground as if dropping into a hot LZ.. 

  

54 minutes ago, martin-w said:

😆  Sorry but Tai Chi as a martial art is utter... I guess this is where the word not allowed is inserted. 

There is a principle in excercise science callad specific adaption to imposed demands. You get what you train for. And that includes speed. Just practicing various moves (many of which deserve another word not allowed) at super slow speed is useless.

You never saw my old pal Bruce practicing slow, on the contrary, if you want speed you train for speed.

 

You clearly know nothing about how neural pathways can be enhanced by repeated cycles. Practicing at high speed has its uses too, but first you need to practice slowly to build up accurate neuro-transmitters. If you forgo this stage and just go for speed, all this achieves is to allow you to make mistakes at a higher speed. And not just in martial arts either...

Any half-decent musician will tell you this; if you practice at breakneck speed, you start adding inaccuracy to the mix, whereas if you practice slowly and accurately, the muscle memory retains the accurate path of movement, and you can then speed this up. When you've got that down, sure, you can train faster as well but if you skip it, it's nigh on impossible to train it out without massively back-tracking to try to override the incorrect and sloppy neural pathways you have erroneously built up.

All of this is one of the reasons why army and special forces training puts a lot of store in the phrase: 'slow is smooth, smooth is fast'. They know this is true. But if none of this is good enough for you, here's the science to back it up: Read up on neural pathways (aka muscle memory), this MIT study is a good place to start.

And if you think Tai Chi is of no use, then you quite clearly know absolutely bugger all about it, not least in noting that I never said we don't also practice it at speed - what do you think the contact fighting part of it is all about? I merely advised someone on what that slow practice stuff was all about and how it is important in the formation of muscle memory.

And if you actually do read Bruce Lee's recommendations on training and observe what he did, you will know that he was very big on alternating speed in his training, not just going at full tilt, and that was so he would be accurate. Not only this, he was big on meditation and Chi, which you will note is pretty much half of what Tai Chi is about, which if you do it properly, shares much with Kung Fu. There's a bit of clue in the name.

Try reading up on all this instead of embarrassing yourself with your obvious lack of knowledge on the subject.

Edited December 19, 20205 yr by Chock

A double-shot of whisky!  Best cure there is! 🥃  Hope you are feeling better soon!

6 minutes ago, charliearon said:

A double-shot of whisky!  Best cure there is! 🥃  Hope you are feeling better soon!

Well, there is that too. 🙂