Well, I finally fell
 

Our yard is a complete mud slick. Yesterday morning I took the German shepherd puppy out and foolishly decided to throw the ball a few times. My feet went out from under me and I came down hard on my tailbone and elbows. I was laughing so hard I wished someone had seen it, it must have been ridiculous. I came in so thickly covered in mud it had gone through my coat,nightgown, long underwear, and panties to the skin, I had to shower it off.

I have feared such a fall for years with my poor balance, clumsiness, and high center of gravity. I am a big girl and this was a hard fall, but the ground was soft. There was not pain at the time, but as the day worse on I felt it more and more, with soreness from extending the muscles to catch myself and back pain from the impact. I am also having sciatica which I am all too familiar with. Most sensations are muffled from my pain medications, but I really feel it when they get close to wearing off. I was very stiff and painful when I woke up.

I am trying to rest as much as possible, using ice, but I am not sure I should go to the doctor since they seem to always feel that all my conditions are degenerative and there is no point in further tests. I guess time will tell.
Any suggestions on what I should do? My arms and legs as well as my back are involved in the pain flare. Thanks!

I am so sorry about your fall!!:grouphug:

When I need really good healing from muscle pain, I use my infrared heating pad. It is so great. I have that and an infrared dome that is wonderful also.

Sorry to hear of your fall. It's good that nothing is broken anyway even though there is plenty of pain. We have ice now and I am really, really careful as far as that goes. If I fell, and it can happen anywhere even without ice, and even if I really wasn't hurt, I could never get up anymore by myself. Get well soon.

Oh, that is terrible. But I totally understand.

Don't forget your magnesium lotion! It can really help, with the reactive strains from the fall.

I hope your tailbone is okay... ????

I am so sorry. I hope it is just soreness.

I am hopeful that it will wear off in a few days. It is funny, this was one of the consequences of heavy pain meds we were talking about with the doctor- not having a clear sense of how serious an injury is, especially combined with the loss of sensation.

It does remind me of the danger of falls, and how careful we all have to be. It is so easy to underestimate what can happen.

Thank you for your input!
Susanne

Hi Susanne, Sorry to hear about your fall. A hard knock to the tailbone can take sometime to recover from. I know this from experience. I slipped and fell on my back in mud many years ago and was a sight for sore eyes. Witnessed by a passer-by, who had to help me get back up again. I remember laughing at first, also. Hoping that you see some relief soon! However, if the stiffness and pain persists it probably would not hurt to have yourself checked out. Wishing you a speedy recovery. CeCe.

Oh I am so sorry!!! If you can tolerate heat, an epsom soak bath would probably help. I still take them, just hang my feet on the edge with a battery fan. A hot epsom soak takes away all my aches and pains and I always have a good night sleep when I take one.

Hope you feel better quick!

do i understand that. i have walked on broken ankles and toes for days, not realizing i had broken them until i saw the purple bruising. i hope you feel better soon.

When I was around 12, I took Judo for about a year. The first thing they teach you is how to fall, absorbing the energy and distributing it along your forearms (and if/when possible, legs and or side). They made us practice that until it became instinctive, because in a sport like that, one is subject to falling very hard, very fast.

Last year I slipped on some ice outside a quilt shop, and if I'd been watching someone else, I couldn't have stopped myself from laughing because it was the sterotypical slip on a banana peel kind of pratfall with my feet flying up higher than the rest of me before crashing to the ground.

Fortunately, that decades old instinct/training kicked in, and I broke my fall with my forearms and side.

Moral: Martial arts aside, IMO it's not a bad idea for everyone to learn how to fall/break their fall. I often wonder how many broken bones or trips to the ER could be saved by people learning that simple skill.

GENTLE stretching exercises to improve bloodflow to the traumatized areas.

Doc

How are you doing today, Susanne? :hug:

Any swelling, or discolored areas?

Expect to be stiff for a day or two. You have to use the walking pole(s) outside!

Here's hope--
 

--for as speedy a recovery as possible.

Got to train that puppy to throw its own ball. :p

I am a little bruised, nothing alarming. My arms are sore and the left side of my spine with more pain than usual in my left leg. Probably only to be exoected as you said. I am definitely stiffer than usual. It could easily have been so much worse I feel very fortunate. I am scared by that thought.
I took the dog out this morning and almost fell again, just a 20 ft duty walk. I do need those poles!

The trouble with a CMTer is that the legs/feet have some muscles that are diseased (atrophied/dead) muscles. Therefore, it is very hard to rely on any kind of trying to use the other leg or foot. Legs/feet are weaker and so that does not help. The same can be said if the forearms/hands are affected. Falls happen fast for sure. Doesn't matter what your instincts are for a CMTer who falls. We do the best that we can; and hopefully not fall. :eek: I know. Nice thought though.

I know of a CMTer who was wearing AFO's and she fell and broke the AFO and hurt her foot badly. That is not uncommon either.

My son took Kenpo karate for many years and said something to me about learning how to fall. I assume that like learning to dance and roller skate it would have been beyond my skills even when I was young. Certainly it would be now, as Kitt said, but it is a good idea for those who still have the coordination to learn.

I too am afraid of falling, and the damage that can be done. I have a plate and pins in my left ankle, resulting from a nasty fall on ice several years ago. Falls can happen in the blink of an eye, no matter how careful we are to try and avoid them. I do agree that using poles would be of great advantage for balance issues when outside. I truly hope that you recover from this fall as quickly as possible Susanne.

I also studied Judo as a young teenager Dr. Smith, so am very familiar with the break/fall technique. It has worked very well for me in the past, not so sure that it would now! It does require some ability and coordination to do properly. You are quite right in stating that it does become instinctive though, once the technique is learned properly.

Poles, canes, etc. do not work for me now. I need an arm and a cane. And then in the winter especially I have to be very careful as you can slip and slide (your cane) even if it has an ice claw (whatever) on the end. It still can slide if not set down straight in the ice. And then my feet could slip anyway and away I'd go. An ice claw (tip) on the end of a cane can slip when you go into a store as it does not grip the floor so you have to put it up and then be certain that the rubber tip of your cane is dry. The wet spots on the floor of a store can also cause a "normal" person to go slipping and sliding.

Also, in whatever weather be it winter or summer, if it is wet on the floor of a store your rubber tip can slip. People on crutches with a rubber tip can slip as well. People I've encountered can hardly believe it but if they think about it - yes it can and does happen. One has to be careful no matter.

Oh Susanne,

I am so sorry about your fall. Maybe you need a long line to let the dog go out on?

We have an electric fence, which is for our 'Granddog' when he comes to visit.

He can just run around outside on his own, which is wonderful.

I wish I could walk around outside, but that is more and more out of the question.

I have found that a cane or pole really won't do the job for me, since I can just suddenly veer off to the side.

Once it is necessary, I will use a walker, of course. A fancy one with a seat!

The worst thing for me is that my husband is always remodeling (right now he's tearing up the kitchen floor tile) and has all sorts of equipment, rugs, plastic runners, hoses and stuff strewn about the floor.

Thing I don't see under my feet, and even things I do see but my feet don't follow orders to avoid, are the most scary for me.

So far I haven't been badly hurt in falls. But at 71 I'm rapidly heading into the more fragile years, and one bad fall with take out an arm, cause a concussion, or break a tooth, or worse.

My therapist pointed out that my disability forces me to be more 'intentional' more 'aware' of every moment. HA! I would be if I spent more time trying to move around.

Keep us posted, Susanne.

Hugs, elaine

Well, I was hoping not to have to update this, but I actually looked at my back in the mirror last night. It is bruised from the top of my buttocks to the middle of my back. I woke up this morning practically unable to move with my left leg completely numb to the hip. I cannot move my left ankle or flex it even as little as I used to be able to. Classic sciatica with drop foot. I will be going to the doctor as soon as he will see me to give the five day steroid pack a try, I have had good luck with it in the past, but I have also had back surgery from these very symptoms. Only pain free when lying flat. Getting to the bathroom was very difficult.

Does anyone have an idea why this would develop after three days? I know I didn't rest enough because of my daughter and grandson being here, I cooked and generally did too much, but this seems a heavy penalty. Going through with the party since the food is all prepared and they are used to me being more or less disabled. Been here before, more puzzled and annoyed than scared at this point.

Hi Susanne,

Sorry to hear this. Was this the first time you looked at your back? That's what I'm getting from your post. What you saw was probably there pretty much all along from when it happened and then got worse.

I didn't realize that you had had back surgery before. I hope you get in soon to see the doctor and hopefully things will get better. Take care.

Hi Elaine,

Are you talking about a rollator which has a seat? If so, they are not as comfortable at least for me to sit in. It might be for you. I know you see all kinds of people sitting in them but the bar thing across the back gets me in no time. Otherwise, if you are talking about a rollator, they are handy.

I know it is ridiculous but yes, I never actually looked at it or had my husband look. It just didn't seem that bad, I was shocked at how big the bruise was.
Surgery was for ruptured disc bone chips sitting on sciatic nerve, laminectomy, in 2000. Very successful, but I do have a diagnosis of spinal arthritis and several ruptured discs. It only flares up once a year or so and is much less of an issue than the CMT so I rarely mention it. This feels a lot like the original sciatica in 2000 that led to the surgery, although there was no trauma associated with that other than sitting in chairs which placed the hips below the knees. I always blamed those chairs and threw them away.

Elaine, I probably would have been fine if I had resisted the compelling urge to play fetch.

We must resist all compelling urges that involve moving around.

That's my motto.

Susanne, things often don't start turning black and blue until quite a while AFTER the trauma. And I thought you were pretty devil may care about what sounded pretty traumatic to me. But I was hopeful things would be ok.

Rollator? Well, I just see these handy walkers with seats, but clearly when the time comes, I will have to do some serious comparison shopping (MY FAVORITE THING) on line of course. Don't want any BARS across my back. I have to be comfortable.

Maybe just stay where I am and ask the world to come to me? I'm half way there now.

Hugs, Elaine

Elaine, Just a suggestion. You really need to go and physically try a rollator out. It's just about impossible to shop on line for one. Any good store (medical) will help you get the right fit. As I said, the back thing is not for me so I do not sit on one. However, that may not be the case for you. You just have to go and try them out. I also did not get one with the bigger wheels as you see people with. That wouldn't help with my balance problems at all. Mine also has great cushioning in the handles which is really nice. My cane also has a cushioned handle. If you use a cane you need to be fitted for that as well.

I use my rollator going thru the living room where there are no walls or furniture to touch. I do not use it outside or at the store. I use a shopping cart at the store. I never bought the rollator with the idea of sitting in it. As I said, I just use it to get thru the living room safely.

When I hurt my foot severely Susanne it immediately turned black with a little blue and swelled up so much it did not look like a foot. No kidding. It took way over six weeks for it to get better and I used a walker among other things to help keep the weight off of my foot. This was a lift and go kind - no wheels on it whatsoever. Thank goodness for upper body strength. This happened seven years ago and it's never really been the same. How it happened is another story. Take care.