Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[Matthew Strongin]

Beating up our bodies for years just doesn't seem to pay. Best of luck on clean repairs and healing fast DT.

This. I feel great for someone my age. But with a long list of injuries from a lifetime of sports, I'm sure things will go sideways at some point. DT, all the best on a speedy recovery.

[deano]

Our boy-o has hand, foot, and mouth syndrome. Supposed to be a minor virus thing, but the poor lad is miserable, with a fever and sores on his chin and hands; no one in the house is sleeping, including mi esposa who is almost in her third trimester. One of those weeks. No MTB rides, neither.

"Yeah, I got a rash man, I got a rash. But you know me, I can't complain!"

[Bobqzz]

Might I suggest go
Poke around their Youtube channel /website as they have a ton of stuff about pain/back pain.
Imaging is a pretty unreliable way of diagnosing pain.

[David Tollefson]

Muscle weakness in the entire posterior chain of the left leg/glute, extreme weakness on foot dorsiflexion, extreme pain and tightness of the left hamstring, transient numbness that begins in the upper calf and radiates up into the hamstring and down into the foot upon rising from sitting, inability to sit on a hard surface, inability to lie flat (stomach or back). Latest doc, after going through the muscular tests, stated that he could have come to the same general conclusions even if he hadn't seen the MRI results.

If it were actual back pain, I'd be less concerned.

[bcm119]

Muscle weakness in the entire posterior chain of the left leg/glute, extreme weakness on foot dorsiflexion, extreme pain and tightness of the left hamstring, transient numbness that begins in the upper calf and radiates up into the hamstring and down into the foot upon rising from sitting, inability to sit on a hard surface, inability to lie flat (stomach or back). Latest doc, after going through the muscular tests, stated that he could have come to the same general conclusions even if he hadn't seen the MRI results.

If it were actual back pain, I'd be less concerned.

I've been there, and it's really horrible. Sorry to hear you're in the thick of it now. I had a major L5/S1 rupture about a decade ago, and underwent surgery to remove the protruding disc material. The surgery helped immensely. There are a lot of people, and a lot of media content, that will make you question your doctors, your diagnosis, and even your perception of pain. I read it all. What I learned is that there are a lot of people suffering from back pain with vague causes, and another group of people who have physiological spinal issues that cause major nerve problems. I was in the latter group, but endured a lot of bad advice from the former group. If you have disc material impeding your nerve roots, causing unbearable leg pain and muscle weakness/atrophy, surgery might be your best bet. If you have muscular back pain, then go ahead and do all the new agey stuff you want. What really bugged me is the vague back pain crowd's judgement of my decision to use modern medical procedures to alleviate my symptoms. All of this is to say, if you have a reputable dr, listen to them. And best of luck.

[bigbill]

I've been there, and it's really horrible. Sorry to hear you're in the thick of it now. I had a major L5/S1 rupture about a decade ago, and underwent surgery to remove the protruding disc material. The surgery helped immensely. There are a lot of people, and a lot of media content, that will make you question your doctors, your diagnosis, and even your perception of pain. I read it all. What I learned is that there are a lot of people suffering from back pain with vague causes, and another group of people who have physiological spinal issues that cause major nerve problems. I was in the latter group, but endured a lot of bad advice from the former group. If you have disc material impeding your nerve roots, causing unbearable leg pain and muscle weakness/atrophy, surgery might be your best bet. If you have muscular back pain, then go ahead and do all the new agey stuff you want. What really bugged me is the vague back pain crowd's judgement of my decision to use modern medical procedures to alleviate my symptoms. All of this is to say, if you have a reputable dr, listen to them. And best of luck.

Spot on. Before my L5-S1 surgery, I had lost the ability to push down with my left foot. In the recovery room, I was pushing down on the surgeon's hand. I was walking the halls of the surgical center an hour after surgery and went home that evening. On day three I was walking around the block and after a week I was doing one hour walks. Six weeks later I was on my bike up to 90 minutes at a time. Surgery was right for me, I had done PT, four courses of prednisone, stretching, core stuff, etc. What it came down to was a herniated section of disc the size of a chick pea that was pressing my sciatic nerve.

[ides1056]

My aunt had spinal stenosis surgery done on her neck a few years ago. The doctor had done 750 similar surgeries, and installed a titanium lattice in her neck. Quick recovery without pain, and the symptoms abated.

Good luck.

[davids]

My long-time CEO retired at the end of July after a long and meaningful career of public service. Last night he died in hospice, barely a week after discovering cancer had metastasized from his pancreas to his liver.

Longtime Boston Housing Authority Administrator Bill McGonagle Dies | WBUR News

He was 67.

[ron l edmiston]

My long-time CEO retired at the end of July after a long and meaningful career of public service. Last night he died in hospice, barely a week after discovering cancer had metastasized from his pancreas to his liver.

Longtime Boston Housing Authority Administrator Bill McGonagle Dies | WBUR News

He was 67.

--- my heart is with you David..
doing my best to enjoy my family, help others and live my limited physical life..
-- sooo many within issues are now and no going back..
my best to your ladies and you..
ronnie

[Sbti]

What really bugged me is the vague back pain crowd's judgement of my decision to use modern medical procedures to alleviate my symptoms.

Yes, I had a L-4 L-5 Herniation. Back in the dark ages (1988) I couldn't walk and had to take the ambulance in to the hospital. Spent a week inpatient before surgery and a week after in the hospital. Probably would be one day overnight these days. No real problems since. But there were all these experts...."Whoa, I can't believe you didn't go to a chiropractor before going under the knife and letting the butchers cut you up." Hey, why don't you take a lap around my balls!!

[mmoore]

missed the mark on an exam by one mark. pisser offer, i thought i did alright.

(passing marks were 70%)

[zachateseverything]

I'm going to start this early this week.

Trek is opting not to warranty my cracked bike frame despite the failure being the result of a known design issue.

[Rich Beaudoin]

My boss decided to leave for another company (she has been great).
Unfortunately for me, an important change in my responsibilities which we had agreed to months ago will now be postponed at least six months - possibly indefinitely.

[bigbill]

My boss decided to leave for another company (she has been great).
Unfortunately for me, an important change in my responsibilities which we had agreed to months ago will now be postponed at least six months - possibly indefinitely.

There are times when I want to leave my job, find something else closer to civilization and all. But I also feel a sense of duty to finish what I started and make sure the people who've worked the hardest are rewarded. But at some point, I'm going to say "fuck it" and ride my bike.

[Octave]

I'm grumpy that France's system and culture for hunting means I feel constantly unsafe on my local roads and trails, even wearing hi-viz clothing with bright lights. This morning I heard two shots whizz over my head. I was on a public road which runs through a national park. The shots came from two hunters on the other side of the road (the south side) shooting at gibier (like pheasants) on the north side. They were hardly 500 meters away from the road. Yes, shooting OVER a PUBLIC ROAD in a NATIONAL PARK.

Every weekend this time of year I encounter hunters standing in the middle of DFCI (forest service access roads, like what we would call fire roads in the US) with shotguns at the ready. I basically can't ride in the woods and feel safe this time of year, and forget about camping entirely. There is no law prohibiting hunting in national parks, and no law designating that they have to be off the DFCI or significantly far from the road. And they're not hunting invasive species, just local fauna. I also find boar carcasses at least once every couple of weeks - shot and left in the woods. I understand hunting for sustenance or for the culling of invasive/damaging species, but I do not understand hunting for sport and certainly not within national parks.

To make it all more incredible, this national park also butts up against the campus where my lab is. So I can see men walking in the woods with guns, often with a bottle of liquor, from where I work.

[mjbabcock]

France sounds like central Pennsylvania

[JoB]

France sounds like central Pennsylvania

500 meters from the road? Don't think so...

[ides1056]

Maine, perhaps.

The Killing of Karen Wood | Yankee Classic - New England Today

[guido]

Maine, perhaps.

The Killing of Karen Wood | Yankee Classic - New England Today

That is so tragic. What a senseless waste.

[dashDustin]

it's that time of year again. sponsor requests, proposals, questions asked, questions answered, zero responses, being ghosted. unbelievably frustrating. "sorry, all of our support is being directed to our world tour team" is so much better than " ".