What do you guys think about my injury situation and fishing?

[schplurg]

If a physical therapist doesn't know the motions involved in fishing then show them.*

 

Bring a rod (or bottom section) and reel in to your appointment and show them how it's done. That'll help them in the future, and help you. They may make suggestions that can help, or tell you not to fish at all.

 

* I'm not a doctor but I play one on television. Fishermen are also notorious liars (and sometimes drinking) so don't listen to us.

[jbsoonerfan]

Interesting topic. I pitched from the time I was old enough to start till I graduated high school. I dealt with arm problems from about the age of 14. My first year of college baseball all I did was pitch. It finally got to the point where I couldn't take it(the pain) any longer so I went to the Dr. I was told I had a torn biceps muscle. It was either surgery plus the rehab and try to pitch again or just give it up. There was no way I could afford the surgery and my parents couldn't afford it so I gave it up. It hurt for a while but eventually got better. It has never hurt too bad after fishing. I would say that if you can handle the pain then I wouldn't worry about it. Also, if you are learning to pitch, you can easily do it with your left arm. 

[pauldconyers]

56 minutes ago, mcipinkie said:

I would generally be inclined to agree with you guys except for the current tort situation in this country.  Right or wrong, every doctor in this country is going to protect him/her self from law suits.  If you are in good condition, and can heal in a month, you will be prescribed at least 3 months PT.  Worse case, even longer.  You have to make the best decision for you, that you can make, HONESTLY, evaluating your self, and your capabilities, using what the medical professionals tell you to help you.

 

I'm 74 years old, and except for a couple heart attacks, in pretty darn good shape.  I know my body.  I know what I can do, and what I can't, and I know how important fishing is to me.  At the moment, I'm not faced with any of the decisions that some of you are, but I'll utilize what the doctors tell me as ONE of the factors in any decision that I may be forced to make.

 

 

Thanks for the advice. Tapawingo, huh? Drove by there earlier today. Happy New Years!

[jbsoonerfan]

10 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Interesting topic. I pitched from the time I was old enough to start till I graduated high school. I dealt with arm problems from about the age of 14. My first year of college baseball all I did was pitch. It finally got to the point where I couldn't take it(the pain) any longer so I went to the Dr. I was told I had a torn biceps muscle. It was either surgery plus the rehab and try to pitch again or just give it up. There was no way I could afford the surgery and my parents couldn't afford it so I gave it up. It hurt for a while but eventually got better. It has never hurt too bad after fishing. I would say that if you can handle the pain then I wouldn't worry about it. Also, if you are learning to pitch, you can easily do it with your left arm. 

 

BTW, I just realized I used the term pitch in two different ways. LOL

[mcipinkie]

Slonezp, 

 

I could not imagine not fishing.  I retired, sort of forced since the company closed the local office, 01/31/20.  I'm not complaining.  I'm 74. I had planned to work one more year, so in pretty good shape financially.  Until the weather turned real bad here in Missouri, I have fished 2 - 7 days a week since February.  God is indeed good. 

 

I would imagine that most fishermen would not sue their doctor, but unfortunately, we are still outnumbered.  Law suits, or the potential for law suits, drive an alarming number of so called medical decisions.  I understand opioid addiction.  My wife is an invalid, and without some very strong medicine she would not survive.  Believe me, it all looks different from this side.

 

Sounds like you're doing pretty well.  So far, so good for me.  I still tournament fish by myself most of the time.  Can still handle long,  hard days on the water.  Scary to get old.

 

Where you ?

[TnRiver46]

16 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

 

BTW, I just realized I used the term pitch in two different ways. LOL

You didn’t even see what you did there??!??!!!

[slonezp]

6 minutes ago, mcipinkie said:

Slonezp, 

 

I could not imagine not fishing.  I retired, sort of forced since the company closed the local office, 01/31/20.  I'm not complaining.  I'm 74. I had planned to work one more year, so in pretty good shape financially.  Until the weather turned real bad here in Missouri, I have fished 2 - 7 days a week since February.  God is indeed good. 

 

I would imagine that most fishermen would not sue their doctor, but unfortunately, we are still outnumbered.  Law suits, or the potential for law suits, drive an alarming number of so called medical decisions.  I understand opioid addiction.  My wife is an invalid, and without some very strong medicine she would not survive.  Believe me, it all looks different from this side.

 

Sounds like you're doing pretty well.  So far, so good for me.  I still tournament fish by myself most of the time.  Can still handle long,  hard days on the water.  Scary to get old.

 

Where you ?

My left shoulder popped out of the socket from a work accident 11 years ago. The first 2 surgeries were in the shoulder joint itself. The 3rd surgery I had was called scapular muscle reattachment. It's still a newish surgery and in 2014 I was still part of the research group, patient #300. The doc that performed the surgery was the doc that pioneered the surgery.  I tore the rhomboid and trapezoid muscles off my shoulder blade. The doc drilled a bunch of holes in my shoulder blade and just sutured the muscles back onto the shoulder blade. Had I not had the 3rd surgery, I could have very well just committed suicide from the constant pain and 24/7 headaches which wrapped around my jaw and ran down my spine. I had also lost about 90% function of my left hand and 70% function of my left arm. The constant pain and weakness was from muscle spasms because my shoulder was cocked funny.  I know my limits now. I still deal with pain 24/7 today but I'm not going to kill myself over it. My left shoulder/arm/hand can function at maybe 60-70% on a good day. I have torn at least one of the repaired muscles away and I will never go thru such a surgery again. The recovery was absolutely horrible and i wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. 

 

 

[mcipinkie]

Hi Hawg,

 

Not quite sure what you are saying, but one thing I did to allow me to continue fishing at a good level was to learn to cast with either hand.  I assume you are talking in one sense about pitching as in pitch casting.

 

I made my self, well after 60, learn to cast with either hand.  It really has made a difference in my ability to stay on the water. 

 

Funny, I'm naturally right handed, but some techniques I'm better with my left hand, and some I'm better with my right, but I can go either way, and at the end of a long day, I'm in better shape.  10 - 12 hour days are no problem.  At least not  yet, 

[mcipinkie]

Slonezp,

 

d**n man, that's tough. I've been lucky. My background is ironworking, but I've never gotten hurt bad.  The usual crap that goes with the trade, but nothing serious.

 

I had 2 heart attacks in 2013 that sort of slowed me down, but I ain't fought nothing like that.  My extreme admiration. 

 

If you are anywhere near Kansas City, I'd be proud to take you fishing!

[Sphynx]

I don't do doctor visits, haven't been in over a decade with the exception of DOT physicals so I won't comment on how PT works etc, I can offer this however, pitching is best learned with a spinning rod in my experience, you won't blow the reel up nearly as often and it isn't as infuriating...secondly, the last time I DID go to the doctor, I was told that due to my experiences last trip over to the Afghan mountains, my back was FUBAR, I can't run without losing feeling below the waist and all that fun stuff, lots of pain, but as long as I don't do anything too stupid, and I take frequent breaks, I have no issue getting through a day of fishing, it just may not be as vigorous as many other folks' day of fishing.

[TnRiver46]

7 hours ago, mcipinkie said:

Slonezp,

 

d**n man, that's tough. I've been lucky. My background is ironworking, but I've never gotten hurt bad.  The usual crap that goes with the trade, but nothing serious.

 

I had 2 heart attacks in 2013 that sort of slowed me down, but I ain't fought nothing like that.  My extreme admiration. 

 

If you are anywhere near Kansas City, I'd be proud to take you fishing!

He’s in the Windy City, home of the 2016 World Series champs 

[slonezp]

8 hours ago, mcipinkie said:

Slonezp,

 

d**n man, that's tough. I've been lucky. My background is ironworking, but I've never gotten hurt bad.  The usual crap that goes with the trade, but nothing serious.

 

I had 2 heart attacks in 2013 that sort of slowed me down, but I ain't fought nothing like that.  My extreme admiration. 

 

If you are anywhere near Kansas City, I'd be proud to take you fishing!

I am/was a journeyman pipefitter. I'm still in the industry, just in a different capacity. I'm in sales now rather than turning wrenches.

 

Anyway, I still fish most every weekend. This year will be different. I'm selling my boat looking into getting something a little bigger and a little more family friendly. This will be my first year boatless since 1997. 

[Jigfishn10]

I wish I knew how to listen to my body when I was younger and heed he advice of a professional. I always had the mentality that you should "push on and get thru it" only to find out that the old injuries come back and haunt you later in life.

 

You were born with a healthy body @pauldconyers, do the right thing and keep it that way. I know way to many guys who regret "push on and get thru it".

[WRB]

Bicep tendon tears are hard to rehab. Both my shoulders rotor cuff tendons are held to the bone with Kevlar tied to screws and the rehab was easier then a bicep tear. 

A year here and there to rehab from injuries is the cost of youthful wear and tear that catches up with us as we age.

If you can avoid cutting surgeries do it, most are scope surgeries to repair bicep partial tendon tears.

Hot shower with the rub on rub off motion works good to get the blood circulating. If fun getting out of bed and stretching everyday for 20 minutes....getting old isn’t for sissies.

Tom

[jimmyjoe]

20 minutes ago, WRB said:

Hot shower with the rub on rub off motion

 

   I'm not even gonna go there ........                  jj

[WRB]

3 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   I'm not even gonna go there ........                  jj

Karate kid

[jimmyjoe]

21 minutes ago, WRB said:

Karate kid

 

   Oh. I see. Never mind.   ????            jj

[PhishLI]

I was a dedicated gymnast starting at a very young age up until something in my genetic lineage, and puberty, morphed my body into that of a running back. Not big into the team thing after a short stint I switched to a very rough form of martial arts. My recreational time was spent doing motocross and fishing. Both of the sports I chose require all consuming dedication to be highly competent. The thought of any time off from training was mentally crushing. The idea of regressing or losing a step is torturous, but the fear of never competing again was way scarier to an obsessive like me.

 

The list of sidelining soft tissue injuries I've had doing what I've done is too long to list. Luckily, I was always diligent enough to lay off when I had to, and had the discipline to not take risks during those periods. Tendons and muscles take a long time to heal. Surgery or no surgery, mind those areas over time, do the PT,  and you'll be OK. But know that those old injuries hang around just under the surface pretty much forever, for the most part. There's no problem with adapting and compensating them by shifting and distributing burdens differently to protect those old wounds. If you wish to remain active, you'll need to listen to them. Pain is your flashing amber light. 

 

Silver lining: The bass in your most fished spots will be bigger by the time you're all healed up!

[WRB]

Mammas don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys, should be gymnasts. Every thing that can break or tear will.

Being a competitive gymnasts from high school though college along with racing everything possible the sudden stops are hard on the body. 

The problem growing up with pain is the threshold increases to mask it. When you experience pain take care of it. Like the Fram ad pay me or pay me more later, later is never a good choice.

Tom

[A-Jay]

13 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

I was a dedicated gymnast starting at a very young age up until something in my genetic lineage, and puberty, morphed my body into that of a running back. Not big into the team thing after a short stint I switched to a very rough form of martial arts. My recreational time was spent doing motocross and fishing. Both of the sports I chose require all consuming dedication to be highly competent. The thought of any time off from training was mentally crushing. The idea of regressing or losing a step is torturous, but the fear of never competing again was way scarier to an obsessive like me.

 

The list of sidelining soft tissue injuries I've had doing what I've done is too long to list. Luckily, I was always diligent enough to lay off when I had to, and had the discipline to not take risks during those periods. Tendons and muscles take a long time to heal. Surgery or no surgery, mind those areas over time, do the PT,  and you'll be OK. But know that those old injuries hang around just under the surface pretty much forever, for the most part. There's no problem with adapting and compensating them by shifting and distributing burdens differently to protect those old wounds. If you wish to remain active, you'll need to listen to them. Pain is your flashing amber light. 

 

Silver lining: The bass in your most fished spots will be bigger by the time you're all healed up!

Really Good Stuff.

The very definition of resilience.

Thank you for sharing it.

A-Jay

 

[GaryH]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

Bicep tendon tears are hard to rehab. Both my shoulders rotor cuff tendons are held to the bone with Kevlar tied to screws and the rehab was easier then a bicep tear. 

A year here and there to rehab from injuries is the cost of youthful wear and tear that catches up with us as we age.

If you can avoid cutting surgeries do it, most are scope surgeries to repair bicep partial tendon tears.

Hot shower with the rub on rub off motion works good to get the blood circulating. If fun getting out of bed and stretching everyday for 20 minutes....getting old isn’t for sissies.

Tom

 

I'd like to meet the person who said grow old gracefully. You are right Tom. It's not for sissies.

[throttleplate]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

Bicep tendon tears are hard to rehab. Both my shoulders rotor cuff tendons are held to the bone with Kevlar tied to screws and the rehab was easier then a bicep tear. 

A year here and there to rehab from injuries is the cost of youthful wear and tear that catches up with us as we age.

If you can avoid cutting surgeries do it, most are scope surgeries to repair bicep partial tendon tears.

Hot shower with the rub on rub off motion works good to get the blood circulating. If fun getting out of bed and stretching everyday for 20 minutes....getting old isn’t for sissies.

Tom

The biceps tendon  is attached to the top of the labrum. When the biceps tendon pulls on the labrum and tears the labrum it its called a slap tear. The surgeon told me now adays instead of fixing the labrum tear they just cut the biceps tendon completly lose and let it shrivel up like a rubberband.

[PhishLI]

23 hours ago, WRB said:

Mammas don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys, should be gymnasts. Every thing that can break or tear will.

No regrets. That type of training when so young hardens your mind and builds a core strength matched only by wrestlers who also started early.

 

I could deal with broken toes, fingers, and a foot fracture, but getting the knees drained, OOF. To my eyes that syringe looked as big as a bazooka and the needle like a railroad spike. I could've died right then from the sight of it.

 

Last time for that was '07. My wife is friends with the orthopedist and was allowed in the room. When we heard the wheels of the dolly crying in pain as they wheeled the massive Hypodermic down the corridor she laid across my chest and covered my eyes with her hand. I'm not making this up. I must've felt the vibrations of her lips trembling as she mouthed OMG to the Doc when she finally saw it, or perhaps it was simply husband/wife telepathy transmitting her shock, but I knew she was stunned by the sight of it. I whispered "mommy", then she said "Just don't peek honey", so I didn't. Good times. 

[jimmyjoe]

16 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

No regrets. That type of training when so young hardens your mind and builds a core strength matched only by wrestlers who also started early.

 

I could deal with broken toes, fingers, and a foot fracture, but getting the knees drained, OOF. To my eyes that syringe looked as big as a bazooka and the needle like a railroad spike. I could've died right then from the sight of it.

 

Last time for that was '07. My wife is friends with the orthopedist and was allowed in the room. When we heard the wheels of the dolly crying in pain as they wheeled the massive Hypodermic down the corridor she laid across my chest and covered my eyes with her hand. I'm not making this up. I must've felt the vibrations of her lips trembling as she mouthed OMG to the Doc when she finally saw it, or perhaps it was simply husband/wife telepathy transmitting her shock, but I knew she was stunned by the sight of it. I whispered "mommy", then she said "Just don't peek honey", so I didn't. Good times. 

 

   Man, you've got a sense of humor a lot like mine!

 

 

 

   That should really worry you.    ?   jj

[pauldconyers]

3 hours ago, PhishLI said:

No regrets. That type of training when so young hardens your mind and builds a core strength matched only by wrestlers who also started early.

 

I could deal with broken toes, fingers, and a foot fracture, but getting the knees drained, OOF. To my eyes that syringe looked as big as a bazooka and the needle like a railroad spike. I could've died right then from the sight of it.

 

Last time for that was '07. My wife is friends with the orthopedist and was allowed in the room. When we heard the wheels of the dolly crying in pain as they wheeled the massive Hypodermic down the corridor she laid across my chest and covered my eyes with her hand. I'm not making this up. I must've felt the vibrations of her lips trembling as she mouthed OMG to the Doc when she finally saw it, or perhaps it was simply husband/wife telepathy transmitting her shock, but I knew she was stunned by the sight of it. I whispered "mommy", then she said "Just don't peek honey", so I didn't. Good times. 

WOW, that is quite a story