I’m tall and long waisted. I have to bend at nearly every table or counter at just enough bend to hurt like heck. When we built the house I made my counter tops 3 inches higher to eliminate that slight bend at my mid-section.
I truly believe it was genius on my part. 
HaHaHa, I had the exact reverse done in my kitchen! Trying to chop or mix on a counter that’s up too high is brutal in the neck and shoulders. My side counter is exactly the right height for me to comfortably chop, knead, whatever. It IS genius. It should be a standard upgrade for every kitchen rehab, one surface at tailor made counter height, LOVE mine!
I’ve been working long hours at my new worksite. On my feet on a concrete floor for eleven hours at a stretch. My feet are killing me until I can get home and take my shoes off. It didn’t used to be like this.
I remember being young, allergies and tight hamstrings were my only known problems. But, we suspected I had scoliosis and it turns out we were right. Stemming from slightly twisted hips. Dysplasia, I think is the word. Hard to believe I once ran distance. The displaysia and lack of doing anything about it when I was a wee baby has resulted in the aforementioned scoliosis, severe sciatica, bad knees, etc. I need to see a specialist but I can’t decide which one I need to see first.
Suggestions welcome.
The GP just tells me to lose weight. Well, it would be easier if I could exercise without excruciating pain.
I remember the absolute befuddlement when an older acquaintance in Albuquerque learned I did not keep even aspirin in my home. Simply didn’t need it. In my early 30s, even my hangovers were relatively mild. Those were the days.
Ow, VOW, that must hurt and how!
Pain specialists are da bomb. (I like outdated terms.) They’re literally lifesavers, as I think chronic pain is bad for the entire body. So there’s nothing to do for the pinched nerve? Can’t they unpinch it somehow? Maybe lure the vertebrae with candy so it lets go?
I’m so sorry for everyone’s pain. I have back pain that I think is age-related. All my other joint pains are from lupus. I used to say lupus was practice for old age. 
elbows, I hear you on the strains involved with being short. I’ve always had to stand on tiptoe when chopping vegetables.
To clarify: chopping vegetables that are on the kitchen counter. I don’t have to stand on tiptoe to get eye-to-eye with a potato.
I’m in a state of chronic mild-to-medium pain, stemming largely from life-long scoliosis, and it’s been getting oh-so-gradually worse over the years. I’ve been able to keep it controlled to a generally tolerable level by chowing down on ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
But to keep (relatively) comfortable, I have had to cut way down on physical activities. This is what really gets me down – all the activities that I can’t comfortably do any more.
Oh, to be sure, I could still do most of the recreational stuff I’ve always done (even if just barely). But I get really sore really fast, and that just takes all the fun out of things. So one of my biggest beefs is that I just can’t enjoy a lot of things any more.
As an added insult, that also includes some kinds of exercise. I used to me big into hiking. That, in turn, kept me in good cardiovascular condition. As I had to give that up mostly, I’ve become increasingly sedentary, to the point to being nearly downright sessile. I’ve lost all my cardio fitness, and it’s now an exhausting hike to get from my bedroom to the bathroom sometimes. These days, I spend most of my time sitting in front of my computer, reading stuff on-line, including the Dope.
Pile on some arthritis and chronic bronchitis and a touch of asthma on top of that.
Can you imagine if you took your 16 year old self and plugged it in to your “now” body and said: “Here you go kiddo, this is what is in store for you in 30 or 40 years.”
Your younger self would be freaking the fuck out.
dont you love people who think the answer to all physical problems is “lose some weight”?
The cherry on top is when your Primary Care Provider says, “I don’t believe in weight loss surgery.”
Let me add: your SKINNY Primary Care Provider…
~VOW
Except for a brief period in my late twenties (when I had decided to “do something” about my weight and managed to lose about fifty pounds in less than a year and then promptly put it all back on) I’ve been overweight since college. Just about every time I had a physical my doctor would suggest that I really should lose weight, primarily because I had knee problems. However, they never pressed the issue because my blood pressure was consistently 120/80 and my weight never really affected my ability to get around.
Of course, that’s changed now. Although the primary reason for me to lose weight is because of my liver and borderline diabetes. My blood pressure is still fine; in fact, after my stents were installed I was put on blood pressure medication, but then taken off it because my blood pressure was getting dangerously low.
To be fair to the “lose some weight” crowd. They are right. It would be less stress on our joints if we could lose weight. But when you can’t exercise, and I do mean ‘can’t’, the options are, umm, slim. There’s starve yourself or you can starve yourself. Admittedly, if I could move around more, I would probably eat less. It’s a dilemma.
Sadly, eating less is the surest way to lose weight. It ain’t easy.
And it’s largely why they press now, BEFORE you become unable to change your weight because you can no longer really exercise.
Almost as much as the “reduce stress!” assholes. Doncha just love 'em?
Wound up at a doctor’s office years ago because my stomach problems were so bad. That was their first suggestion. Their second suggestion really shoulda been where I could hide the body of whoever made the first one.
Dude. Unless you’re handing me a magic wand along with that “ya oughta be less stressed out!!” suggestion - or if you want to be helpful, the number of a really good assassin, who also works for free, or hell just one helluva winning lottery ticket - you’re pretty much simply adding on to the pile.
Gentle hugs, maybe some CBD ointment, and a nice, hot cuppa tea for everyone all around!
No Tylenol, some of our livers can’t take the abuse. No aspirin, some of our stomachs can’t take the abuse.
Can everyone here still enjoy a communal round of Advil? Maybe we’ll pass around an ibuprofen bottle, the way we used to pass around something else.
Too late!
Which is why if I had the chance to pass a message to my younger self it would be “The all-you-can-eat meals at the student cafeteria are not a personal challenge. And it wouldn’t hurt to get into the habit of exercising regularly.”
Maybe a separate topic… What is the “normal” age for pain stuff to start? I’m not there - yet. But, it may be in the not too distant future.
I heard that ibuprofen was implicated in worsening COVID19 symptoms and scared me off it. Lots of aches and pains I just have to ignore now. Anyone else hear this rumor? True? Crazy?