I took a fall from a horse last August - over a year ago. It was a typical fall - we were doing exercises, got my horse into a canter, and being the graceful thoroughbred that he is, he tripped on air, went one way, and I went the other. I landed on my rear end and apparently damaged the nerves in my right leg. I went through physical therapy (which made it WORSE - I understand that physical therapy will hurt, but it shouldn’t make me limp out crying after a session), and we’ve tried steroids and all kinds of things. I’m so sick of taking pills for this injury that I could scream.
So I go back to my doctor today. We talk about it. He suggests physical therapy and as soon as he sees the tears well up in my eyes, discards that notion. Turns out none of my NYC doctors ever did an MRI, so he’s sending me for that. Yippee. I’m also back on steroids, which means I can eat an entire grocery store in one sitting - just what I need when I’m trying to make sure I fit into my wedding dress.
I’m 28 fucking years old! I should not be hobbling around like my grandma after hip surgery! A day at Disney World should not make my leg ache so badly that I’m up half the night writhing in pain. I should be able to ride a horse for longer than half an hour without my leg freezing up on me and aching so badly that I have to get off. And I SHOULD be able to have sex without stopping the middle because of a leg cramp - yeah, it’s annoying as fuck.
I’m sick and fucking tired of taking steroids, pain pills, muscle relaxers, etc. I’m sick of practically being unable to walk on the days that it’s hurting badly.
I’m getting to the point where I’m ready to try acupuncture, herbal remedies, or even just a freakin’ healer. This should NOT hurt like this. Get better, you piece of shit! I am not going to coddle you for the rest of my life. Shape up and pull your weight around here!
Some advice to you, from one who’s had severe hip pain/problems since age 14 (I’m 24 now) (thanks, ballet!): Get massage. Yes, it feels good. It’s also good for your muscles and can help relax them without having to take lots of drugs. Your insurance may cover it, under the same proviso as PT. If your insurance won’t cover it, look into a clinic run by a local massage therapy school. It will probably be staffed by 3rd-year students, and it will cost significantly less than regular massage therapy. Make sure to do your homework before you decide on a place (get recommendations, visit the place, etc.) Also, you might want to look into acupuncture (I’ve written about my experiences on this board before) or biofeedback. Maybe even trained relaxation. Have you tried doing some gentle swimming? That can be relaxing on muscles, plus you can go in the hot tub afterward
PT does hurt. My mom had a condition called frozen shoulder a couple of years ago, and she went through a year of PT. She says she cried every time, but it did make things better, and she didn’t end up needing surgery.
I can sympathize (and empathize) with waking up in pain; it happened to me for years. It finally stopped happening about 3 years after I quit ballet, and I still have pain sometimes. Chronic pain sucks. I hope yours goes away soon.
mlerose, I’ve considered the swimming - I think it would actually help. I belong to a gym right now, but I’m moving next month, so I may not be able to go much longer, so I may as well take advantage of it while I can. I was also told to start riding again because it would strengthen my muscles, but unfortunately, it just doesn’t seem to do it.
I did my whole course of PT and unfortunately, I’m worse off than when I started - I think that’s what bothered me so much about it.
However, the massage is an excellent idea. I will definitely look into that!
Thanks for the input. I trust my doc to get to the bottom of it - he’s good - but the longer it goes on, the more it bothers me.
Swimming VERY GOOD. Puts no strain on the leg itself (or the hips). SWIMMING GOOD.
Good. Now that we got that out of the way…
I feel your pain about feeling like an old lady. I’m 24 and I currently am trying to get rid of a nifty case of pericarditis. I have chest pains. I feel like an old woman clutching her chest going “oooh, my heaaaart…”
I can’t wait until this clears up. Meanwhile, lno and friends continually make fun of me and tease me about being too old to do heavy lifting or cardiovascular exercise.
I’m in a similar situation. I took a fall this past summer, landed wrong and had a compression fracture on the tibia at the knee joint. It was (thankfully) just short of the displacement where they would have pushed for surgical correction.
Anyway, I didn’t have access to a pool, but I did to a stationary bike - one of the recumbent (sp?) types where you sit in what basically is a chair and the pedals are out in front of you. The first week or so was not much fun, but after that the leg felt so much better after a half-hour of cycling that I was doing it 2 or 3 times a day (shhh…don’t tell my doc). Anyway, I returned to school for this semester and tried swimming in the pool at the apartment complex - I highly recommend it. It’s hundreds of times better than anything I’ve done.
Seriously, the beginning of the regiment was painful, but it’s really worth it. I basically don’t notice the leg much now (almost 7 months later) except if I’m climbing more than 4 or 5 flights of stairs. It will get better!!!
I’ve prolly told the Saga of my Bad Knee a few times already on this board – to shortify it, an injury when I was eleven or twelve resulted in a condition which normally goes away on its own but in my case didn’t. It resisted every attempt my orthopedist made to encourage it to heal – PT, anti-inflammatory drug regimens, immobilization, even this little electrical thingumbob that was supposed to stimulate bone growth.
So yeah, for my sixteenth birthday I finally got the cane I had been asking my parents for. I was happy at the time but now when I think back it’s kinda depressing. Had surgery when I was 19 and the knee’s a lot better now, but the weather of late has been causing it to hurt so bad I’ve gotten out the cane again.
It does suck having a bum leg. I hope yours gets better soon.
My wife fell of her horse a couple months ago and severly bruised the area around her hip (a hematoma). It wasn’t so bad that she would have needed physical therapy or anything (no real bone/muscle damage), but the pain was intense. They gave her muscle relaxers and she spent time in a hottub, and tried strecthing etc, but the pain wouldn’t go away. After her second trip to the doctor, they gave her this stuff called vioxx (anti-inflamatory) to try. In one day she went from being unable to sit or stand without help, to practically running around the house (and was back on the horse a couple days after that).
I don’t know if it will help in your situation, but you may want to try it out, it wouldn’t help directly with the nerve damage, but it might help with any inflamation in the joints or muscles that may be aggrivating the nerve.
Argh. I completely emphathize with you. It really sucks when your body fails you and you end up feeling like some poor old granny.
I shattered my right fibula and cracked my talus (the rounded ankle bone on the inside) completely in two on my birthday this year, resulting in surgery and 9 weeks of healing (crutches and/or wheelchair) before I could completely walk again.
It sucks, though I’m not as young as you are. I’m 44, but before the accident I was still very active, energetic and healthy.
I don’t know what to say other than “hang in there” and sympathy hugs from someone who’s also been there.
Thanks, folks. Swimming is definitely going to happen - I’ve already got my suit packed for the gym this afternoon. And I’ll try the stationary bike, too - at this point, nothing can hurt it worse than it already is, right?
stick monkey, I’m assuming vioxx is prescription? I’ll check with my doctor about it next week.
I’m just hoping I don’t have to have surgery. Depending on what the MRI says, I may need it, which will make two surgeries in the next six months (the other is a laparascopy for my endometriosis). I’m just very, very tired of this.
I hope those of you who are in pain feel better. I used to be one of those who wondered what all the fuss was about when someone said they had chronic joint pain or chronic pain from an injury - now I understand and take it completely seriously.
Well, if it helps any, although it still hurts and sometimes (at the end of a long day) hurts a lot…one does get “used to it” and can move on fairly well. Good luck with the swimming and vioxx!!!
I feel for you. Swimming, walking (or other light exercise,) and stretching can all help. I’m only a couple years older than you, and I know what it feels like to be too young to be limping around… in my case with a cane. Despite years of daily 3 mile runs without incident, my knee gave out while sprinting to catch a connection in the Denver airport. There simply isn’t a worse time or place. I had some fluid accumulate in the joint as a side effect of a recent illness, and pffft… next thing I know I’m having a cane sent in FedEx so I can hobble about for the next few weeks.
