Aches & Pains...And Learning To Live With Them

[SiouzQ.]

It has come to my own attention that I spend a lot of time focusing on physical pain. A lot of it for good reason due to still recovering from my foot injury this summer. But it's my knees too, and all other parts of my body that are stiff and sore from daily living and from working a physically demanding job. I've been going to the gym and getting back into my exercise program so I can build up my strength and stamina. I am going to be 54 on Friday and I would really like to figure out how to deal with the ol' body just in general having a lot more aches and pains from arthritis, overuse, whatever.

So how do you do it? I need to learn to zip my lips and not focus on it or my age - I work around a lot of young people and hearing myself say these things makes me feel OLD! It seems very unbecoming and I don't want to be THAT old person always complaining wryly about "getting old!" I have plenty of time for that later; 54 isn't even THAT old, really!

Mental tips, suggestions, anyone?

[SteveinMN]

I'm facing the same thing, and think it's only tangentially related to my knee surgery.

What I do is (in no particular order):
- ignore it (being busy helps even if it contributes to some pain in the short run);
- remember that "motion is lotion" -- moving now, even if it hurts, is better for me than not moving now and suffering the consequences when I'm old;
- aspirin or ibuprofen as necessary (acetominophen doesn't really do it for me and I never think about naproxen). I don't make a habit of this, but on the big days (like the ones I'm moving boxes of meat for Second Harvest for hours), I sometimes will take some before the work.
- eating more foods with "joint-friendly" ingredients. Turmeric, garlic, foods containing high levels of Omega-3 acids, dark leafy greens, and hot peppers all have anti-inflammatory/pain-relieving properties. I've been toying with the idea of either adding some glucosamine/chondroitin to my diet but I probably would be better trying to bump up the frequency of the food ingredients -- or avoiding ingredients said to make inflammation worse (much easier said than done). The problem there is that I'm not the only one eating in this house so now we're looking at parallel meal prep....

[Float On]

- ignore it (being busy helps even if it contributes to some pain in the short run);
- remember that "motion is lotion" -- moving now, even if it hurts, is better for me than not moving now and suffering the consequences when I'm old;

All your advice was great Steve, but these 2 are key for me. Last year I barely had any pain in my ankle but I was back to trail running and spending a lot of time being active and exercising. This year I added another sedentary job and lost my trail running time. I'm back to feeling stiffness and pain in the ankle. So I just changed up my 2nd jobs again and will have more active time. I'm looking forward to getting back to the point I was at last year this same time.

[pinkytoe]

As I am dealing with an uncomfortable and undiagnosed health situation, I have decided my body has a "pain memory". If I obsess on it, the pain is there and some days I can't determine if it's in my head or actually there - does that make sense? For me then, the key is staying active and distracted so that I don't have the mental space to think about it. Also, I notice that my pain lessens when I minimize stress. The happiest elders I have known were those that had aches and pains but chose not to talk about them with others. As you said, many tend to fixate on their health and like you, I don't want to be one of those. Maybe you need to seriously consider a less physical source of income?

[Teacher Terry]

I take a long walk everyday & walk at least a total of 10,000/steps in a day. I have a lot of back/neck pain from being in 7 car accidents. I see a Chiropractor at least monthly which helps a lot. I know have arthritis in my little finger & it can really hurt. My hubby at 56 has developed pain in 3 different locations. I have decided I am going to be like my Mom. If I mention it at all it will be in passing & then on to other things. That was the way her Mom dealt with it too. It might be helpful as someone mentioned to try & find a less physical job if you can.

[SiouzQ.]

Well, I just made it through my first eight hour shift since I've been back at work. I really went very well until my last break - when I got up to finish out the night I really felt fatigued, but all in all, it was a good day.

Lots of great suggestions and insights: the worst part of the day for me is upon waking and trying to get down the steps to make coffee. I probably look like I am eighty the way I go so slowly and gingerly, each step down my knees, ankles and feet are wracked with pain. It takes the first few hours of the day to get "warmed up." I do agree that distraction is a great thing; if I can get involved with something so I don't focus on all the pains, it really helps.

Now about the job: in some ways it has been very good for me to be so active these past few years - I've lost weight and did build up a lot of stamina that I didn't know I had. It's amazing how quickly you lose it when sidelined by an injury and how long it takes to rebuild. But I am doing it. I do wonder just how long I will be able to do this kind of work; for now, I think I will be all right but who knows in five years it may prove to be too much for me. Then the dreaded "what do I do now" will come again and I'll freak out. All I really know how to do is retail which means being on your feet for endless hours....I need to figure out how to retire soon!

[Radicchio]

This is a very interesting thread you've started. Just in the past six months I seem to have developed faiirly chronic pain in knees and back---the knee pain is intermittent but the back pain predictably becomes worse around the time I'm making dinner and is pretty painful by bedtime. Strangely, though, I find that while I'm active through the day and basically try to forget or ignore the pain it really starts getting worse in the early evening and is bad enough by bedtime to interfere with sleep. Yet when I wake in the morning I'm much improved and the whole cycle repeats. It seems my pain pattern is the opposite of what everyone else here is describing, which confuses me.

Anyway, I don't have anything particularly constructive to offer, as I'm still in the denial and ignore stage for as much of the day as I can handle it. I do think heat helps my back in the evening, at least providing some relief of pain allowing me to relax a little. I will be watching to see what other ideas people offer. Totally agree I don't want to become someone who sits around with friends comparing aches and pains.

[Gardenarian]

Using a foam roller is a great way to work out all the kinks, sore muscles, and trigger point pain. Foam rollers are inexpensive, and for me are more effective than PT. Like having a massage every day! There are lots of blogs and videos about foam rolling, just google.

I have a massage chair (thanks Craigslist!) That helps a lot too.

Stretching helps - I do yoga. I just have to be careful not to push myself too hard.

Alternating things helps - I can sit or stand at work; somedays I go for a bike ride or a swim instead of walking a lot.

Still, I can't do everything I'd like to do, and am woken most nights with some pain or other. I try to limit pain killers but ibuprofen can be a godsend. It's a lot easier to cope when I'm well-rested, but I get rebound effects from ibuprofen (headaches mostly.)

I am considering an anti-inflammatory diet, like Steve's on, but I really dislike coooking.

I found reading the books of Dr. John Sarno helpful; he explores the psychogenic roots of pain. There's no blaming-the-victim mentality, just good sense and advice.

[Gardenarian]

And, have a very happy birthday!

[lessisbest]

Inflammation is a symptom, not just about "getting old", or wear-and-tear from use - and you don't have to just live with it. If it's from getting old -- then suffering with chronic arthritis since I was 13 means I was "old" at a very young age. I was able to eliminate nearly all of my inflammation by removing wheat/gluten from my diet almost 3-years ago. So, inflammation can be from diet (and food allergies), poor digestion (IBS and other gut issues), lifestyle, bad habits (smoking, being sedentary), chronic stress, even hormone replacement therapy can be a cause. "Studies have found that otherwise healthy women taking hormone replacement medications have significantly more inflammatory chemicals in their blood than women who do not use hormones".