Every soft tissue injury I've ever had has come back to haunt me

[Gingernaut]

I'm 50. Left handed, short, overweight and pretty unfit.

Over the years, I've had a series of sprains, strains and one off injuries.

I have suffered a series of sprained ankles, a shoulder injury required physiotherapy, plantar fasciitis, a lower back injury and so on.

In recent months, I've been 'feeling my age'. Sitting down for long periods, results in hip pain when I next get up and walk around, aches and pains hang around for longer than they used to and when I do exert myself, the pain the day after has sometimes required pain killers.

In the last couple of weeks, my left neck and shoulder has become increasingly painful.

Moving my head backwards for drinking or taking tablets has needed forethought or else it's very painful and it's become increasingly painful to turn my head to look to the left.

It's culminated in today.

Waking up and it's as if all my injuries happened yesterday.

I have to steel myself to roll out of bed, walk very carefully and try to used my left hand as little as possible.

I'm as stiff as a board and in pain like a little old woman.

I am lying in bed as I can't bring myself to sit up (lower back), I have just had a very painful visit to the kitchen and bathroom and making any movement with my left arm, shoulder and left side of neck has hurt.

I can bring my shoulder up to my neck, but can't move my neck to meet my shoulder.

I can't roll my head and I am turning my body to look left.

There is no weakened grip, loss of sensation to my arms, pins and needles down my left arm and no shooting pains, but moving my arm, shoulder and head brings pain.

Right is unaffected.

There is no fever, no other symptoms and I don't feel as if I'm coming down with anything.

I have spent the last week in a hotel with a gym and pool where I used a treadmill, cross trainer, swam and of course, trailed my suitcase back and forth.

What the hell is going on?

Lazy bastarditis is what's going on. I know that BECAUSE I AM YOU. I'm also 50, short, overweight and left-handed. My weight has ballooned to nearly 12.5 stone over the past 18 months. Where has my regular swimming, Aquafit, and walking 4 miles a day gone? Dunno but I haven't seen it all year and now I am paying the price.
I've just taken delivery of new very comfy old-lady memory foam trainers with quite high platforms, and my feet knees and legs already feel better after 2 days. When the kettle is boiling, I pretend I have been suspended by my wrists from the ceiling, sounds weird but just stretching upwards for a few minutes is helping. Also checked my bras and replaced where they were a bit stretchy, that has helped my back and shoulders a bit. I'm trying to do a few stretching exercises a couple of times a day. Hopefully, I'll feel flexible enough over the next week or so to resume some brisk walking and some laps at the swimming pool, before building up again to classes.
I need to shed this horrid weight, 15 years ago I lost 3st in 4 months but I know that won't be happening this time. No point in dreaming. If I can lose 2 stone by the end of June, I'll be happy.

I've been on a mission to lose weight and I'm now overweight rather than nearly morbidly obese.

The first inkling there was something wrong, was when I was diagnosed with fat pad atrophy. A condition which normally occurs in someone much older.

I'm on up to 15,000 steps a day and I'm a size 14. I was on a treadmill on Christmas Day and lost nearly 3lb over the Christmas week.

I'm almost crying with the pain in my neck and ahoulder and Dr Google is telling me is cervicalgia or torticollis, which sounds either bad or worse.

And, of course, I can't take anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, so that's not helping. 😭

I've found an out of hours walk in centre (nearly 9 miles away) that opens 10.30am tomorrow.

I'm going. Even if I have to wear trackie bottoms, velcro shoes and a t-shirt.

Chiropractor first thing tomorrow. You can find registered practitioners online here www.gcc-uk.org/advanced-search/

PS your body is likely protecting itself by not allowing you to turn your neck (which means it's doing its job correctly!). Tortocolis is often seen by chiropractors, so try not to worry.

Pilates. I am 52 and similar. Awful plantar fasciitis which is the only thing not improved by pilates.

Could you be pre menopausal? I went through early menopause and the worse symptom was the never ending joint/muscle pain including plantar fasciitis. Now my friends are catching me up and are all complaining off the same. HRT patches really eased it for me.

Yes. Probably perimenopausal. Periods are all over the shop.

Been to a highly respected local chiropractor about an issue with my right arm - not very impressed.

Sprained my arse doing Pilates (seriously, coccyxdynia, look it up) but am willing to give it another go.

Have the orthotics (and had an injection) for PF, doing the exercises and it's not actually the worse thing right now.

The pain is bearable as long as I restrict movement. I'm off to bed now, as I've got to get to another county, see how long the queue is, see what medical staff say, do a shed load of washing and get to work tomorrow. That'll be fun.

Just finished at the MIU after speaking to a nurse practitioner.

The verdict is torticollis.

Warmth, anti-inflammatories and exercises which he couldn't give me a leaflet for, as the hospital's firewall wouldn't let him access the websites even though they were NHS.

Leaving now to find a microwavable bean bag thingy.

OK.

Done the paracetamol, ibuprofen, volterol gel and warmth.

My neck has much improved and I am able to move my neck around although it still aches.

However....I am aware of my left shoulder 'hunching' towards my ear. I'm having to make conscious efforts to relax and stretch my neck and set my shoulder down to where it's supposed to be.

Has anyone had short term torticollis? Any idea when things go back to normal?

Oh yeah.

Signed up to a local authority leisure facility and my first Pilates seaaion is this evening! 😳

HRT really helped with my aches and pains - especially morning stiffness.

I did notice that the Pilates class I went to on Friday had almost identical exercises to the ones recommended for me to do for my neck...

Find a remedial massage therapist