Shoveling wet leaves from parking lot drains in the rain today; the shovel handle snapped (was using a snow shovel with a steel handle and a plastic "D" at the handle end; it's the "D" section that broke off) and it feels like I've sprained my whole right side. I can barely breathe. Going to the doctor in an hour, taking the next couple days off. Probably out of boxing for a week or two.

I need a new job. I get messed up way too much at this one.

Shoveling wet leaves from parking lot drains in the rain today; the shovel handle snapped (was using a snow shovel with a steel handle and a plastic "D" at the handle end; it's the "D" section that broke off) and it feels like I've sprained my whole right side. I can barely breathe. Going to the doctor in an hour, taking the next couple days off. Probably out of boxing for a week or two.

I need a new job. I get messed up way too much at this one.

damn man stop hurting yourself at work.
kidding sorry to hear it, got to give that injury plenty of time to heal.

Shoveling wet leaves from parking lot drains in the rain today; the shovel handle snapped (was using a snow shovel with a steel handle and a plastic "D" at the handle end; it's the "D" section that broke off) and it feels like I've sprained my whole right side. I can barely breathe. Going to the doctor in an hour, taking the next couple days off. Probably out of boxing for a week or two.

I need a new job. I get messed up way too much at this one.

dont make the mistake i did and go back to training before its fullyhealed
:cool:

I actually threw my back out sparring about two years ago. Guess it was officially a slipped disk, but it caused sciatica in my lower back. That stuff was NO joke. I couldn't walk at all for about 4 days, was bed ridden and needed to be tended to. It was very VERY painful and very debilitating. Once I could get on my feet it took me about a minute to walk 5 steps. Took about two months before I gained full mobility back.

Fraidy luckily yours doesnt sound as bad as that. Could just be a pulled or strained muscle. I would suggest the obvious, keeping the ice on, laying on your back (not your stomach) and pop those Ibuprofins as needed.

Back from the doctor. Severe thoracic strain and maybe some torn cartilage in my ribs. Nothing too bad; a few days off work and some heavy drugs, a month or so of light duty. I'm probably out of training for a month, he sez (he's a sports doc and a damn good one, so I'll take him at his word.)

Back from the doctor. Severe thoracic strain and maybe some torn cartilage in my ribs. Nothing too bad; a few days off work and some heavy drugs, a month or so of light duty. I'm probably out of training for a month, he sez (he's a sports doc and a damn good one, so I'll take him at his word.)

i'd take his word for it, a month may seem like a long time but i've had lots of injuries, if u go back too soon u'll reinjure and then u're ****ed up for twice as much time waiting for it to heal
...u'll be hungry to box again when u heal

Shit Fraidy has it been raining none stop in Seattle as well?

My work is in the foothills of the Cascade mountains. We've had 8 inches of rain in the past 48 hours. The new roof that we had put in last summer, leaks like a seive. Total cluster****. PArking lot flooded, roof drains clogged, ceiling tiles falling in on people, toilets backing up. And me, flat on my back at home in the middle of it all, stoned out of my mind on Vicodan. I'm the maintenance lead for the plant. Nice, huh?

Back from the doctor. Severe thoracic strain and maybe some torn cartilage in my ribs. Nothing too bad; a few days off work and some heavy drugs, a month or so of light duty. I'm probably out of training for a month, he sez (he's a sports doc and a damn good one, so I'll take him at his word.)

Damn, well it could have been worse right? I tore some carilage in my lower ribs once. well sombody with a mean left hook tore it for me. Not a pleasant feeling. I couldn't breath deep. And if anybody tried to even touch it They got socked. My dumb ass tried to train a few days after. "not good"
Well enjoy the vacation.:banana:

i'd take his word for it, a month may seem like a long time but i've had lots of injuries, if u go back too soon u'll reinjure and then u're ****ed up for twice as much time waiting for it to heal
...u'll be hungry to box again when u heal


I should have listened to the doctor... I had my wisdom teeth pulled out and he said no physical contact (especially boxing) for at least a week.. well, me thinking I'm tough enough went back the fourth day and got hit by a trainer. I got swollen like crazy.. went back to the oral surgein and he said I had three blood clots and a hairline fracture in my jaw.. I can't have any physical contacts for two months.. so, It has been a month and a week.. I know it is hurting me to not be able to spar once a week or have a trainer throw some swings at me to practice defense.. I learned my lesson.. But, I still have three weeks left..

Quick update.

I had a real bad spasm in my right lat and erector, think of a charlie horse or major cramp -- the kind that you get in your calf that makes you jump out of bed yelling "****!" -- that went on for days. My lats are, um, big (this is Mr. Deadlift / Squat / Clean, talking here), and it twisted one of my ribs and pulled one of my vertebrae out of alignment, which put pressure on the nerve at my spine and the nerves between my ribs (intercostal nerves.)

The good news is, after four days of being flat on my back and two days of physical therapy, I am not in pain, I am off drugs, and my right side feels like it's "waking up," like after an arm or leg falls asleep. The doctor says that this is an excellent sign, and they expect 100% recovery in another 2-3 weeks IF I don't **** up, slip on the bathroom floor, overdo it, or go boxing or anything stupid like that. I just need to move very slowly and deliberately and do my PT.

What's scary is being told that, at my age (36), this is the kind of injury in which my conduct over the next 2-3 weeks may determine whether or not I spend my old age in a walker. ****ed-up nerves in my back, at my age, may never heal completely.

I had mentioned to someone on this site in another thread about finding a sports physician -- either the team doctor for a local sports team (he/she will have a local office, and (s)he's likely a D.O. {osteopath}) or whoever your high school or college coaches -- or hell, even your gym owner or trainers -- send their athletes to. Find one and USE HIM.

My doctor works for one of our local sports teams and he's been worth GOLD to me over the last ten years. He will understand jocks (and, in my case, the jock mentality) and the stupid things we do, and more importantly, he will understand what you are likely to do and what your concerns truly are. He'll understand that we have a higher physical pain threshhold than the soccer mom in the next waiting room; that when we say, "Yeah, it hurts," it's probably enough pain to send a "normal" patient into shock. He will understand that we need to get back into our game as soon as we can; that being told to hang up our gloves, or miss the next fight, is not an option. He will know that you'll work your ass off in physical therapy and you're not afraid of pain. He'll know that you're stupid, and he'll shake his head at your injuries and then he'll get you patched up and back in the game.

Just my $.02. G'nite.

Back injuries suck ! I pinched a nerve boxing (was early in the morning, cold, didn't warm up properly). I was out of action for a bit over a week but those first few days i could barely move at all !

Don't load so much on the shovel. Hopefully, you just sprained a muscle, and didn't slip a disc, tear a ligament, or something. Also, be sure to shovel on both sides now and then, rather than only one side continuously.....

Don't load so much on the shovel.

That was exactly it. I forget sometimes how damned strong I am. Not to stroke myself or anything, but I carry heavy shit and move big things around for a living. I have immense "practical strength," as they call it -- neuromuscular command, or whatever. I bust cheap (company-bought) tools all the time. It never occurred to me that the shovel might break under the load; I was working as fast as I could to clear the drains b/c the parking lot was flooding and I had several more drains to go, still. (You guys saw the pictures of the Seattle flooding in the news, yes? In the foothills where I work, east of Seattle, we had 8 inches of rain that day. That day!)

Update.

The muscle is fine. My spine is back in alignment, the rib is back in place, and the nerve has returned to normal.

The cartilage on the right side, connecting the false ribs to the last set of "true ribs," is in tatters. It will probably never heal completely. My doctor gave me some exercises to build up the intercostal muscles and the obliques, and I can work my way back up to heavy deadlifts, and if I keep enough muscle packed around the injury I should be okay, mobility- and lifting-wise. Right now, I can just tap my lower ribs with my finger and it sends cold sparks right up my back, like a broken bone. It really, really, ****ing hurts. That will go away in another month or so, I'm told, but it will always be tender.

Back injuries, people, are forever.

I think I can still box, though, if I switch to orthodox and keep that side guarded. A few more weeks and I'm going to try it. It'll set me back six months or so but I can do it. Quitting is not an option. :boxing:

Mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn good to hear your better, sucks to hear you got all those problems

Oh, yeah. And I need to find a new job. I'm negotiating to buy a business that is partnered with my wife's father's business, and will be "learning the ropes" over the next few months. I intend on running it within a year if all goes well.

Cool. How do you feel about leaving your old job, I guess your happy?

Bump and update. Got my bench up to 105 today for a full session of 5X5's -- been working up from just the bar over the past two weeks -- I just have to do it real slow and not all the way down to touch my chest, yet. I can do sit-ups, but I can't twist. I can't do chin-ups yet; it's like getting kicked in the chest when I engage the lats on the right side. I'm definitely getting stronger, working on the elliptical trainer to stay somewhat fit. My doctor says I should be able to train again in January.