Preparing to Age in Place

@bjk3 :You are amazing!

Well, darn, last Saturday I moved a washing machine and and then did heavy weed whacking in the woods, managing to aggravate a bulging disc in my lumbar spine.
Awful pain in the back and sciatica down the leg, paralyzing pain.
Clearly I needed a reminder of what pain is like. (And it is frightening to think what it might be like if the pain was chronic.)
I spent Sunday moving as little as possible, with no improvement. Heating pads provided relief, as long as I didn't move.
This morning I remembered a little book: "Treat Your Own Back" by Robin McKenzie. On my bookshelf, and used successfully for injuries past. Duh.
I did the basic "back bend" exercise and things began to improve. Two hours and several exercises later, I'm able to do most daily movements and the pain is relenting.
McKenzie was a physical therapist who wrote several little books about self-treatment exercises for knee, neck, shoulder, hip and back pain. These are not radical treatments. They are now part of most physical therapists healing repertoire.
I mention them because for many of us occasional self-injuries are part of our lives, and these books have really helped me. Years ago I would have been in pain for a week or more.
Muscle and joint pain is a common part of aging.
Whatever our methods, we need to have some healing exercises that we know can help.
And remember them when needed!

Good morning!

I hope you don’t mind me joining this conversation late. The topic caught my eye as my partner and I are in the early stages of refitting my house so that we can age in place. Naturally, she and I want to do the refitting with sound advice from others who’ve done this before us.

I note that this topic was created only this past April and has already attracted close to 200 replies. As I’m crashing the party a tad late, I’ll begin by reading what others have said before jumping in with my thoughts and questions.

Cheers to you all!
Ray (@ray666)

Good Morning, Ray!
So glad you're joining the conversation - you always have good things to add, ideas to try, and a positive outlook. And to use a word not often seen these days, your messages are delivered with a such a sense of mirth and good humor.
Cheers!
Barb

O.K., here's my chance to learn.
I've had this back injury before, so if I bother to remember, I know what to expect and how to cope with it. It could be a practice session for coping with something more serious.
Here are some parameters, positive and negative:
-The McKenzie exercises can reduce the pain significantly.
-Standing and not bending is virtually pain free.
-Sitting in a stiff chair with a forward tilting seat is pain free, and does not reaggravate the bulging disc. (Albeit it isn't very comfortable for long.)
-Sitting in a soft chair is very comfortable...until I try to get up...youch! Very bad.
-Sitting in the car is off limits. (I had to ask my wife to go to the grocery, usually my job.)
-Picking things up off the floor is not an option, but we have reaching tools from my wife's surgical recovery, and Hazel is pretty good at picking up things on command. If you don't mind a little bit of dog saliva it's fun for both of us.

So, shop work and cooking (standing) is possible. But that bottom freezer really needs to go. With one arm on the counter I can manage the dishwasher.
15 minute sessions at the computer or harpsichord are possible.
Watching TV is not so comfortable without my soft slouch chair.
Clearing brush in the woods is not for now.

I'm embarrassed to admit how fragile my mood can be. Pain and negative memories seem to go hand-in-hand. I'm really good at feeling lonely and sorry for myself! This has less to do with actual pain (which I can mostly control) than with the feeling that I'm hedged in by the possibility of pain.
I walk around a lot, not sure what to do.
Maybe this:
A simple Here/Now walking/breathing meditation. Walk slowly. Think "Here" as you breathe in and "Now" as you breathe out....(Thich Nhat Hanh "The Long Road Turns to Joy" p. 38)

Well, darn, last Saturday I moved a washing machine and and then did heavy weed whacking in the woods, managing to aggravate a bulging disc in my lumbar spine.
Awful pain in the back and sciatica down the leg, paralyzing pain.
Clearly I needed a reminder of what pain is like. (And it is frightening to think what it might be like if the pain was chronic.)
I spent Sunday moving as little as possible, with no improvement. Heating pads provided relief, as long as I didn't move.
This morning I remembered a little book: "Treat Your Own Back" by Robin McKenzie. On my bookshelf, and used successfully for injuries past. Duh.
I did the basic "back bend" exercise and things began to improve. Two hours and several exercises later, I'm able to do most daily movements and the pain is relenting.
McKenzie was a physical therapist who wrote several little books about self-treatment exercises for knee, neck, shoulder, hip and back pain. These are not radical treatments. They are now part of most physical therapists healing repertoire.
I mention them because for many of us occasional self-injuries are part of our lives, and these books have really helped me. Years ago I would have been in pain for a week or more.
Muscle and joint pain is a common part of aging.
Whatever our methods, we need to have some healing exercises that we know can help.
And remember them when needed!

O.K., here's my chance to learn.
I've had this back injury before, so if I bother to remember, I know what to expect and how to cope with it. It could be a practice session for coping with something more serious.
Here are some parameters, positive and negative:
-The McKenzie exercises can reduce the pain significantly.
-Standing and not bending is virtually pain free.
-Sitting in a stiff chair with a forward tilting seat is pain free, and does not reaggravate the bulging disc. (Albeit it isn't very comfortable for long.)
-Sitting in a soft chair is very comfortable...until I try to get up...youch! Very bad.
-Sitting in the car is off limits. (I had to ask my wife to go to the grocery, usually my job.)
-Picking things up off the floor is not an option, but we have reaching tools from my wife's surgical recovery, and Hazel is pretty good at picking up things on command. If you don't mind a little bit of dog saliva it's fun for both of us.

So, shop work and cooking (standing) is possible. But that bottom freezer really needs to go. With one arm on the counter I can manage the dishwasher.
15 minute sessions at the computer or harpsichord are possible.
Watching TV is not so comfortable without my soft slouch chair.
Clearing brush in the woods is not for now.

I'm embarrassed to admit how fragile my mood can be. Pain and negative memories seem to go hand-in-hand. I'm really good at feeling lonely and sorry for myself! This has less to do with actual pain (which I can mostly control) than with the feeling that I'm hedged in by the possibility of pain.
I walk around a lot, not sure what to do.
Maybe this:
A simple Here/Now walking/breathing meditation. Walk slowly. Think "Here" as you breathe in and "Now" as you breathe out....(Thich Nhat Hanh "The Long Road Turns to Joy" p. 38)

Hello, Everybody-
I'm healing and am virtually pain free if I stay within my limits.
Having to focus on light weight tasks enabled me to get an extended, detailed project finished in one day.
When I started this discussion I thought we'd mostly talk about various preparatory actions, projects, designs, home modifications, and such, i.e. "Make it, fix it or do it and it'll be done and you'll be ready to age in place."
That's very good, but it's probably less than half of the reality we must face, not just as we age, but for all of our lives.
We need to be prepared for the unexpected, we need to expect it, and we need to have ways to manage our attitudes and feelings as we encounter it. We need to not feel like weak, elderly victims!
If you read over the posts throughout the Aging Well discussions you'll see how often the attitude is a major part of the problem and its solution.
So often the unexpected is fun, helpful, kind, beautiful, generous, and so on. But when I hear "The Unexpected" something inside me assumes it will be mean and bigger than me.
I'll try to do a better job of noticing how many lovely things are unexpected this week. That might make a big difference.