Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with injuries

Sports massage in NYC, please.

betterton — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:36:36 -0800

Can you recommend a good sports massage in New York City? I'm looking for someone who is used to working with athletes with tight muscles and/or injuries.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Car accident that may become involved. How do I report to the DMV?

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:23:24 -0800

QUESTION: The DMV form wants me to indentify injured persons - should I report the other party as injured because the insurance company has told me about their injury claim? I rear-ended another vehicle; there was limited car damage and nobody looked visibly injured or complained of injuries at the time of the accident, at least until the police officer came. Afterwards, my insurance company informed me that the other party has claimed injuries and hired a lawyer.

I undestand that injuries may not be felt fully at the time of the accident and if I had a problem like this, I would probably want to have a lawyer on my side, too. As the guilty party, I feel very vulnerable and since the form I have to file (SR-1, Report of Traffic Accident Occuring in California) will be public information, I want to be careful, too.

So, the form wants me to indentify injured persons - should I report the other party as injured because the insurance company has told me about the injury claim?

It seems to me that doing that could be interpreted as me personally acknowledging the injuries, whereas I do not know about any first hand. The form instructions say “Identify any person involved in the accident (driver, passenger, bicyclist, pedestrian, etc.) who you saw was injured or complained of bodily injury or know to be deceased.”

Thanks in advance for any comments. If you have an opinion or had any similar experience, I will very much appreciate it if you share.

The DMV form is available here, if anyone wants to take a look: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/sr/sr1.pdf. Throwaway e-mail: anonymousaccident@yahoo.com.

Is there a database of lawyers that can be used to find one without a conflict of interest?

bleary — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:48:52 -0800

My mom is worried she won't be able to find a lawyer who doesn't have a conflict of interest. How can I help her? My father had a serious accident while on the job. My parents are finally at the point where they want to hire a lawyer.

The first lawyer my mom approached has a conflict of interest since he's represented the employer (a hospital) before. She's worried she won't be able to find a lawyer in the area who hasn't represented the employer before. In a city with a population of 100K, how likely is this? If it is likely, is there a database of lawyers to help find one without a conflict of interest?

Tiny Accident, They're Claiming Injuries, How Screwed Am I?

jimmyjimjim — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:38:50 -0800

Tiny Accident, They're Claiming Injuries, How Screwed Am I? Last week, I had an accident. I was waiting to turn right behind a van, also waiting to turn. He went, then jammed on brakes. I braked, but couldn't avoid hitting him. Minimal damage for him, none for me. It was maybe at 5-10 mph. The guys in the van - who spoke no English - kept pointing accusingly at their necks and backs...while walking around freely, comfortably, and without any evident pain (and, no, they didn't need an ambulance). I, stupidly, did not photograph the back of their van, and the police report does not go into any description of how minimal he damage was to their van. I have on my to-do list purchase of an umbrella policy, but currently have $100K in insurance. So....if these guys do a number on their van to blow up the size of the accident, and manage to produce doctor's reports testifying to their utter paralysis, is there a chance this could go over $100K? I'm guessing they'll wind up settling, and that's usually $10-20K, right? I need to note that if there was even the remotest chance they were legitimately injured, I'd be really upset about it. But, no, these guys are just opportunists. I'm expecting a hugely overblown medical report.

why aren't violent sportsfolk charged by police?

taff — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:40:08 -0800

why are sportsfolk who deliberately and maliciously injure their fellow sportsfolk not charged by the police? (i'm not really talking about incidental injures... more the kind of stuff that's... um, er assault) i was discussing this with "he who must obey" (mr taff) after watching a few minutes of l.a. galaxy vs sydney f.c. last night. (yes, with the insufferable beckham.... but it wasn't him)

someone from one of the teams deliberately stomped on the arm of a chap who was lying on the ground. a few times. neither of the fellows appeared to be anywhere near the ball/action.

anyhoo... "he who must obey" said that it's not a police matter as it's handled by the referees. i don't understand why and he just thinks i'm a girly idiot for not understanding.

in australia we have rugby union where people become para/quad plegics semi-regularly because some nut job decided to tackle at head height.

why aren't these people charge? is there a sport where they are. what am i just not getting here? what's the story in other sports/countries? is this unacceptable anywhere?

i don't know anything about netball or softball but you seldom here of the really nasty contact injuries like the rugby or football (soccer) lads.

please help me be 1) more salient in my argument with my other half, and 2) understand.

MULTIPLE questions about a terrible car accidnet and the medical/legal fallout.

lattiboy — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:01:42 -0800

My brother and his wife were in a near fatal car accident in California while on vacation. I need to get them about 200 miles back to Las Vegas. I have MULTIPLE questions, and I hope you guys (and gals) can help... So, a head on collision at almost 65 mph and they're alive. Extensive injuries, but it looks like they'll both pull through (after a combined 10 surgeries). I have multiple questions, but the first is how to get them back to Las Vegas without spending $4000 on an ambulance.

They had both just quit their jobs and were on a long needed vacation, so no personal health insurance. They both were covered by $150,000 a piece medical, and the other driver had $50,000 per person medical coverage. It was the other drivers fault, he died at the scene.

This happened almost 2 weeks ago and I didn't even think to ask the smartest people I know what the hell I should do next. We have an attorney who is looking at our options as far as litigation goes, but the pressing issue is getting them out of the hell hole town in Western California without personally bankrupting my family. I called 2 ambulance services, and they don't seem to like "claim numbers" much.

What is this wall? This is not supposed to be here!

jetskiaccidents — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:24:57 -0800

My first marathon is five weeks away and the training is taking its toll on my body. The last thing I want is to have to give up this late in the game because of an injury. What's my best plan of attack? I had to cut my long run short today (goal was 17 miles, I did about 14 with a lot of walking and stretching) because my right calf felt like it had a rock in it. It wasn't bothering me at all until about halfway through, or a little after. This is after a fairly easy week - I ran a half marathon last weekend and maybe overdid it a bit, so I took a few days off and did some pretty easy cross training instead of logging the miles I was supposed to. I got my shoes a month ago and have been alternating them with older ones, so those should be fine. I only have two long runs left (18, then 20) before I'm set to taper off. Overall my training had been going pretty great until this past week.

So, where do I go from here? Keep on running? Stretch differently? See a doctor? Do cross training instead of running? I'm really unsure about what would be best.

(Additionally...yes, I've looked through the archives and this thread about calf muscles and this thread about injury prevention are helpful.)

Any exercise ideas for someone who can't use their legs?

mogotron — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 11:01:07 -0800

Any exercise ideas for someone who can't use their legs? (And also can't go in the water.) Due to a traffic accident (happened years ago), I have a supremely busted left leg and ankle. In a few weeks I'll be having surgery that I hope will fix it, but I'll be in a cast and on crutches for up to six months. I'm young and active, despite the injury. Usually I bike, swim, etc - obviously this will be out the window. The bones in my leg and ankle are being fused together, so I can't put any weight on it, and I can't go in the water with the cast. So, anyone got any ideas for new sports/activities to try?

What is wrong with my left foot?

hammerthyme — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:29:58 -0800

Foot pain filter: TERRIBLE pain felt on top of left foot between the 4th and 5th toe, more inside. I've ran 50 to 90 miles a week for the past 2 years with one 2 month break when I had hip issues. I ran a half marathon on March 17th and vowed to take off one month to recover because my heel has been hurting. Well, a week ago, the top of my foot has been hurting like no other!

Here are the details of the symptoms:
- If I put pressure on the left foot, such as from pushing off to ride my bike, it hurts for a few minutes.

- The 5th-3rd toes go numb later in the day. What the?

- It's swollen - my "lady friend" just told me and I just noticed it.

- My heel doesn't hurt anymore, if that helps.

Please help me identify this! NSAIDs don't help the pain and I don't have insurance for another month. I want to start running by the end of this month but I don't see this happening. My shoes don't feel narrow and I'm freaking out. Thank you!

Dislocated shoulder

a3matrix — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:37:12 -0800

Anyone ever dislocate a shoulder? Any physical therapists around? I did on Saturday. Looking for recovery tips, duration of recovery, any negative long lasting effects.

Ow! Shoulders & Swimming

dame — Wed, 11 May 2005 12:30:53 -0800

What's wrong with my shoulder? Or: How can I tell the difference between normal muscle soreness and incipient injury? I started swimming with a Masters swim team in January. I do 6000 to 8000 yards a week. In March, I hit the water funny doing a start and the next time I swam I had some pain in the "front of the armpit" muscle. I stopped swimming, did some heat and ibuprofin, went back a few days later, and that same muscle never hurt again.

However, my shoulder still gets sore, mostly the muscle that connects my neck to the top of my shoulder and along the inside of my shoulder blade. This tends to happen after I finish working out, but sometimes I'll get sore towards the end of a workout. How can I tell if I'm hurting myself through bad technique or not giving myself enough time to heal, or if it's just normal soreness due to getting those muscles in shape?

Some other facts:
* It's my nondominant side.
* It's the arm I use for open turns, which means it gets used more.
* If I skip heat for a day or two, it begins to feel tight.
* It is definitely less flexible than my other shoulder--when I stretch I feel it more.
* It's sorer today than it has ever been. Last night, by the end of the workout, both my shoulder and elbow hurt it a bit. Coincidentally, we swam pretty hard and fast, which meant lots of very snappy open turns. I hope that means it's just normal soreness & that I should work on flip turns and thereby solve the exacerbation situation.

If I had healthcare, I would ask a doctor. But I don't. And I want to keep swimming! Any insights?

Black and Blue

bDiddy — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 09:29:25 -0800

How do I know when a bruise is something that I should have a doctor should look at? [mi] While snowboarding last Friday, I took a really rough fall. It hurt quite a bit and pretty much kept me from boarding that day, and even walking was tough. I can walk better, but the area (left hip from a bit above my waist to about halfway down my thigh) is severely bruised and swollen. It was one bruise above my waist until just last night I noticed a smaller bruise on my leg had blossomed into a six of so inch long display of blacks, reds, and purples. The one above my waist had been quite large since Saturday. The area is swollen and tender.

When can I expect this to be healed? Should I see a doctor? My hip's not broken (I imagine I wouldn't be walking much), but could there be something else wrong?

IANAL. YANML. Should I get a lawyer?

john m — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 05:35:26 -0800

Someone ran over me and I've got minor but long-term injuries. Should I get a lawyer? [MI] I was a on a scooter stopped at a stoplight. Behind me lady in an SUV didn't stop. I'm lucky to be alive. My knee is tweeked and I'll probably never be able to do stuff like play basketball or anything that would twist my knee. The question is this: Should I get a lawyer? If so, are those guys that advertise on TV for this kind of thing really the people to call? Anything that I should know or keep in mind? I'm not looking at this an opportunnity, but I don't want to get screwed either...

Will Magnets Help Me Heal?

clubfoote — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 14:39:14 -0800

I'm currently recovering from a pretty bad foot injury. Basically i was hit by a car while riding my motorcycle. My foot was smashed by the bumper and I suffered a talonavicular dislocation, which is a fancy way of saying my foot bones got disconected from the leg bones. The dislocation was reduced (owch) and now its immobilized. Someone sugested magnets would help me heal. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it work or is it nonsense? Does anyone know any other home remedies that work?