Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with joint

Survivor stories - persons living well despite chronic pain.

MeatyBean — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:58:28 -0800

Encouragement and survivor stories from persons in chronic pain? Symptoms of what may be fibromyalgia and an inability to manage the pain well are depriving my life of beauty, art, and color; I am looking for underdog stories. I'm curious to hear from people, preferably musicians, in video interview, but written is also welcome, who have some combination of: chronic pain, a joint issue, fatigue, a diagnosed or undiagnosed medical something-or-other, that has proven to them a great struggle to overcome. Essentially I'm looking for stories of people desperate to retain some sense of freedom, control, and joy in their lives, and what that struggle has been like .

Myself I'm not sure what I have, maybe fibromyalgia, maybe something else, but yet another semester has come to pass and I've had to slow my life down to a crawl in order to get the most simple of assignments in; the pain has been so distracting. I added a fun class to my course lineup but even that feels as though stripped away from me.

As the semester began, playing guitar in class felt manageable, but practicing at home is no different then trying to read, write, or study; painful. And painful in ways I know not yet how to manage. Sit this way and that, metronome slow, fast or off. Different rooms, chairs, footrests. I even bothered to get a decent, well made for its price of $200, acoustic as opposed to something of the cheaply made entry-level variety as a kind of encouragement to myself that the financial investment was a self investment and so that when it came time that the cheapo guitar was falling apart, hurting my hand to play across the fretboard due to poor construction, I wouldn't feel I wasted my money. All that is to say, I had faith.

I still do, just need some encouragement is all. As far as musicians I'm hoping for a well done Vimeo short of a guitarist doing his thing in between cuts of an interview of the pain he encounters and his remarks on his determination to not let it best him.

To feed large breed or not to feed: that is the question

Quincy — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:13:02 -0800

YANMV, however, I am waiting on a call back from my vet and as I am impatient and prone to obsessive behavior, I shall ask the same of the hive to see the consensus. Should I be feeding my 4 1/2 month old puppy large breed puppy food? Details inside. We adopted a lab terrier mix (our so we were told) in February. When we took him in to look at puppy food the clerk at the holistic pet store said that because Churchill has short stocky legs and knobby knees (like a basset hound), we should feed him large breed puppy food to prevent future joint complications. At the time, based on his paw size we also assumed he would be over 50 pounds. I asked my friend, who used to be a vet tech, and she confirmed as much. I painstakingly went about the process of deciding on a LB puppy food, and finally went with Holistic Select Large breed puppy. Two weeks ago we went for his final round of shots, and he only weighed 20 pounds. The rescues vet seemed to think that he may not even surpass 40 pounds full grown. So here's the thing: should he still be on the large breed food even though he isn't going to be a large dog per those guidelines. As it stands he is about to bottom out of the feeding guidelines for his food. Because of the Bassett knees should he still stay on the large breed for joint reasons? Here is the best picture I could manage to show what I am talking about with regard to the knobbiness. Any suggestions?

Joint credit cards and my credit score

drpynchon — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:49:43 -0800

Credit experts: When I enrolled in college, my father added me onto a new credit card to have at my disposal. Now it's becoming an albatross. I am now many years out from that, and trying to optimize my credit. Unfortunately the card is still on my credit report (presumably my name is on the account), even though I haven't touched it personally in over a 15 years and don't even have the card, and my father has been the only user. Up until recently, the card was in excellent standing, and with a revolving balance and utilization ratio in the neighborhood of 15%. I let that go based on the notion that any negative impact on my overall credit might be marginal at those levels, and having an aging, regularly used account in good standing may even help. My other cards have limited utilization ratios. For reasons I'm not privy to, my father has decided to escalate the revolving balance on the card to closer to 60% (with a credit limit of about $20k). This is considerably increasing what creditors will see as my overall net utilization ratio. I'm uncomfortable prying into why he's carrying a month-to-month balance on a card like that in the first place, or how much the interest he's paying even is. My question is: at this point, if I can't convince dad to reduce utilization on this card to "optimal" levels, should we apply to take my name off the card (he would be fine with that and suggested it), or would that lead to potentially some other hit on my credit in the vein of a credit inquiry and the alleged harm done by closing accounts. I'm not so concerned about having this account fall off my report in 10 years if it's closed for what it's worth.

Fix my fingers

quiet coyote — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 08:09:55 -0800

Sharp pain in my right ring and pinky fingers when I bend them. I need to do a lot of typing. YANMD, but can you help me get through the weekend? Yesterday, somewhere between chopping vegetables, working on my laptop, and playing guitar, I developed pain in my ring and pinky fingers on my right (dominant) hand. When I curl my fingers, it hurts on the palm side near the closest and second closest joints to my hand. Curling just one finger while keeping the other still makes both hurt in the same region. Extending them or stretching them backwards does not hurt. When it started, I moved them around to try to relieve the pain and made it worse. It feels like maybe an overworked tendon.

I've tried icing them for an hour or so, and when that didn't work, I wrapped them together in athletic tape, which seems to keep them in a pain-free position for the most part. I slept with them wrapped, but when I unwrapped them this morning, it was no less painful. I re-wrapped them and am typing two-fingered on my right hand, which does not irritate it further but is slow. I will not be able to go to the doctor until Tuesday, should this continue or get worse, but I'm assuming it's overuse and will go away eventually. I need to get a lot of writing done this weekend, so I'm wondering if there's anything else I can do to make this feel better more quickly, knowing that I can't rest it as much as I'd like to.

Possibly relevant: I take oxaprozen for chronic back pain. I have complained about finger pain on askme before, but that felt more dull and went away after a period of rest.

Eww-lbow

Artw — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 19:42:18 -0800

So... over the course of the day my elbow has gone weird looking - it's red and swollen and sort of squooshy feeling. The skin feels warm to the touch and it is tender. Doctor Google tells me it's probably Bursitis. So... I should probably go get it checked out. But is it a rush to the docs tonight thing or a wait to tomorrow thing?

How do one handle buying property jointly before getting marrried?

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:12:42 -0800

How do one handle buying property jointly before getting marrried? (One partner has assets and the other one has income) So I'm thinking of buying an investment property right now, but my situation is a bit different from the typical buying property with your partner pre-marriage. I don't know anyone who's in a similar situation as me right now and would like some inputs from MeFites.

The BACKGROUND: I'm not officially engaged to my boyfriend yet, but we've discussed marriage and are planning to get married sometime next summer. I know my boyfriend is working on a surprise engagement sometime in the next couple of months. Right now I came upon a great investment opportunity. It's a condo in a desirable location (high income neighborhood with shortage of affordable rentals and exorbitant housing prices) with a tenant already in place. I've worked with the agent who's handling the sale before, and I'm confident that a new tenant can be found quickly even if the current tenant leaves. I know what's the general rent is for a comparable condo in the neighborhood and return of rent vs. condo price is very favorable. I own a house that's completely paid off and worth about $300K, the condo is listed at $130K. Assuming the condo is in ok shape, it's hard to pass up on such a great opportunity.

The PROBLEM: I'm trying to start my own business right now. The business is new, so right now I do not have verifiable income. I have a HELOC on the paid-off house worth $50K, but I can't get an increase on the HELOC line due to income issue. My boyfriend has a good paying job and is willing to co-sign the loan, but doesn't have enough savings to put down a downpayment on his own. If my boyfriend co-signs the loan, there's a good chance I'll be approved for an increase in my HELOC line that'll be enough to pay for the condo. The rent should be more than enough to cover the HELOC payments.

Bottom Line: Neither of us can get the property on our own, but together we have a good solid chance to get this property.

The COMPLICATION: I plan to put the paid-off house on the market in Jan/Feb of next year. Due to complicated family reasons that I won't go into detail here, I have to sell the house. Assuming I can sell the house within a reasonable timeframe, I'll use the proceeds from selling the house to pay off the rest of the HELOC loan.

My boyfriend and I live in a community law state. If my boyfriend co-signs the HELOC loan, that means I have to put him on the title for the condo, however, if I use proceeds from selling my pre-marital property to pay off the rest of the loan on a joint property, how do I ensure fairness and equity in the worst case scenario? Should I ask that all rent proceeds go to my account once I paid off the HELOC by selling the house if that happens before we officially get married? And after we get married, then we switch to have the rent proceeds go to a joint account?

Has any MeFites ever been in a similar situation or know someone who did? I don't want to pass on this opportunity, but at the same time, I want to protect myself and not commit any stupid mistakes. If absolutely necessary, I can delay selling the house by couple of months or getting marriage license sooner (keep ceremony around same time), but either one would require explaining to family and while doable, not ideal. Delay selling the house would also possibly involve complicated family drama. What would you do if you were in my shoe? Any input would be highly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Help save my thumbs! I need a texting alternative

sleeping beauty — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:12:09 -0800

How can I text without typing on an iPhone? Is there a way to get voice translations right into a text without cutting and pasting on a 3Gs? I'm developing tendonitis in my thumbs from my line of work and texting is seriously aggravating it. My physical therapist says I need to stop texting altogether, but texting has become pretty essential to my work (and personal) life.

On an iPhone 3Gs, is there a way to send texts via voice?

I use my iPhone (the keyboard in general) for everything! -- from maps to facebook to email.

Any ideas short of losing the iPhone and trading it in for something with an ergonomic mouse?

Practicing is a pain in the...finger?

quiet coyote — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:01:42 -0800

Is this pain in my first ring finger knuckle from guitar playing normal? I've been finger-picking a lot recently, and thus I'm using my ring finger in all kinds of new ways. For the past five or so days, my right ring finger (the pickin' one) has been hurting at the first knuckle joint (the one closest to the base of the finger) when I play. It's not particularly sharp and not unbearable, and feels like it's in the joint rather than the muscles. I played harp for 7 years, until about 8 years ago, and I don't remember having any of this kind of pain, although that was a somewhat different kind of movement. I normally practice for an hour a two (broken up into shorter sessions) per day. I'm getting lessons, so I'll check with my instructor when I see him later this week to make sure it's nothing about the way I'm picking. I'm in my 20s and don't have any problems with arthritis or anything like that, if it matters.

My questions for you: Is this a normal part of learning to finger pick? Should I continue to tone it down a bit until my fingers get stronger? Or do I need to see a doctor?

Ow, ow, ow

Arethusa — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:43:37 -0800

Am I too young to have arthritis? Lately my joints, but especially my knees, have been achy and painful. If I don't sit with my legs extended straight out it eventually becomes pretty uncomfortable. It seems to be worse in my right knee than in my left.

I am 28 -- am I just starting to feel the wear and tear of age? Both of my parents have knee problems, but I don't think my mom's started until her forties, and my dad's were due to trauma.

If this is in the normal range then I'll just keep taking NSAIDs for it, otherwise I can see a doctor. Medical care here is a bit cursory though (U.S. military hospital -- always short staffed and rushed) so I'd prefer to avoid it unless it's really necessary.

I am on a beta blocker for heart palpitations and hormonal birth control, but I don't think joint pain is a side effect for those medications. (Am I wrong?) I am not overweight, but lately my only exercise has been 30 minute or so walks several times a week along with household chores.

Is my knee injured?

Equiprimordial — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:06:51 -0800

Knee problem filter: I have just started noticing a slight problem with my left knee. It feels like a dull pain in the joint and is worse when i walk and move my leg up and down. I do a lot of spinning, elliptical and walking. I am 26 years old and female. -Is this serious? Should I see a doctor? -Is there anything I could do to make it worse? Types of activities I should avoid? -Any home care remedies that would help? Thanks! I appreciate your help!

Mysterious intermittant unilateral joint pain

whitneyarner — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:17:14 -0800

I never thought I'd be asking Metafilter a medical question, but after baffling two doctors, I figure it's worth a shot. Anyone ever had/heard of attacks of joint pain affecting all joints on one side of the body only? The details: For the past four months or so, I have been hit by these attacks where all of the joints -- fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, toes -- on my right side start hurting. And ONLY my right side. The pain lasts anywhere from twelve hours to three days, and is fairly debilitating. No swelling, no redness, no itching, some stiffness.

There isn't any consistent trigger/common occurrence around the attacks. Twice it happened right before a heavy rain, three times it happened around the onset of my period, but other times there was no connecting event. It comes on both in the morning and at night, fades with the same randomness.

Went to my PCP with it, and she was baffled. I tested clear for Lyme Disease and gout. I went to a rheumatologist yesterday and she was also fairly befuddled; she's running some more labs on my blood, and the best she could say was that it kind of sounded like palindromic rheumatism but not really.

Other general information: I am female, 29, obese (but working on that), no family history of joint problems.

So, I use the beloved YANMD acronym, but ask: does anyone have ANY clue? Anything like this at all? This is a frustrating mystery that is messing up my groove, both in work life and social. (I had to miss a Janelle Monae concert because of this pain! And that's TERRIBLE!) Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

PVA Primer & Patching

SpecialK — Sat, 14 May 2011 10:40:16 -0800

Can I apply more joint compound over PVA primer? I'm finishing drywall on a 16" vaulted ceiling with clerestory windows. I know for a fact that the drywall is not very flat or smooth, and have taken due care with feathering out the compound, but it's to the point where I need to start priming it in order to see where the deficiencies are.

I know that PVA primer is 'special' because it soaks into the joint compound to a greater or lesser extent, dries quickly and hardens the compound, and gives a decent surface for you to apply a thicker 'hide' primer to even out the differences in texture between paper and sanded compound before your finish coat.

However, it's likely that once the PVA primer is up, I'm going to see some shadows and lines that I didn't see before, and I'm going to want to put some more compound up there to fill those in. Can I place fresh compound over the PVA, or do I need to prime and sand it before I can apply fresh compound so that the fresh compound bonds well to the surface and doesn't crack later?

Ow. owie. Ouch.

St. Alia of the Bunnies — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:47:38 -0800

YANMD being a given, I could use some advice re my thumb, of all things. Maybe a week or so ago I started having difficulty with it.... ...when I wake up first thing it is, for lack of a better term "locked" till I work it out. The knuckle part of it feels like it is popping a bit (I guess this would be a tendon or something popping) and the joint right below it hurts, especially when I touch it. I don't think this is arthritis-for one thing this is the only affected part, and the joint that seems most often arthritic in the thumb (the part that connects to the rest of the hand) is painfree.

My ability to use my hand to grasp things is more or less affected, depending on the time of day. Later in the day it's easier to use, but not painfree.

I can't afford a doc right now, have no insurance, so that's out at the moment. All I want from you folks is some ideas what this could be. As far as I know I haven't injured it, I don't THINK this is a dislocation problem, but...yeah, any thoughts on what this could be would be appreciated. It's hard to use this hand at the moment!

Why does my joint suddenly forget it's supposed to bend that direction?

Eicats — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:25:22 -0800

You know that pain when you go to shift your body position and it suddenly feels like your leg, knee, arm, shoulder (or whatever) moved slightly out of joint and if you straighten it out, it will snap? This happens to me every so often. Yesterday was a good example: I'm sitting in my easy chair, watching tv, minding my own business. But when I went to stand up, I got a sudden sharp pain in my right hip. It felt like my leg shifted just slightly out of its proper position and if I fully extended it (which I was in the process of doing when the pain occurred), that my leg would just snap where the painful friction was felt.

I know that it wouldn't really snap, because these little cricks happen periodically. Once I get fully straightened out, the pain is gone and there is no lasting problem. From experience, I know that it's more of a mental trick where I just have to force myself to move through the pain instead of stopping my movement or retreating to my previous position.

But my question is, what is the best way to force myself through this pain? Does it help to rub the muscle next to it? Does it help to try to move the joint in the opposite direction? Maybe there is no answer to this- but since this happens frequently enough (and I know it has happened to other people), there must be a cause. Therefore, there must be a best-action solution.

_{Full disclosure, I do have arthritis problems and I do have a significant amount of metal in my body that impedes flexibility range somewhat- but I'm talking about normal body movements, nothing extreme. I don't have any genetic disorder or anything like that. I really feel that this is a common, minor, freak occurrance kind of thing. Please don't suggest seeing a chiropractor because as I said, these are just rogue pains in random joints, not a reoccurring, persistant issue. (nothing against chiropractors, I just think this is a different issue)}

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?! Do you know what causes that and how to fix it with the least amount of pain- no matter how brief that pain may be?

How can I make this lopsided home purchase fair?

sideshow — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:31:03 -0800

What would be a fair way for my dad and I to buy a rental property, if he is providing the down payment? My dad is thinking about buying a house to rent out. He also would like my wife and I to be the tenants as he's had some bad renters in the past. Because of this, I was thinking it'd be a good idea for tax and investment purposes for us to be part owners of the house. My father would be providing the entire down payment. And, let's assume that the rest of the expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance) would be split 50/50, the down payment is 20%, and the mortgage is $300k. Also, let's say that we would be tenants for 2-3 years before moving out.

So, my question is: What would a fair setup for this kinda of deal? My guess is one of the following:

1) Pretend it was an 80/20 type loan situation and make payments directly to my dad for the half of the down payment he "loaned" to me.

2) Give my dad a larger percentage of the ownership. So, 60/40 vs. 50/50

My wife and are thinking of relocating to another state, so any answers should take into account that real renters will move in eventually.

Obviously, we'll run this by our CPA to get the story on taxes. Also, we'll figure out the details about what happens if one of us stops paying and all that stuff. Right now I'm trying to come up with a setup that's pretty fair to both parties.

Is there a logical explanation for why no health coverage will pay for treatment pertaining to the jaw?

naplesyellow — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:32:57 -0800

What is the logic behind exclusion for treatment for TMJ by nearly all insurance companies and Medicare? I would like to understand why TMJ is "not covered" and/or excluded by insurance companies and Medicare. Any claims for treatment of TMJ are always rejected out-of-hand. Other disorders in joints (such as knee, wrist, ankle, etc) are recognized as legitimate pertaining to treatment and payment for treatment.

Why do insurance companies regard the joint of the jaw as "baseless" for problems? Isn't it logical that any and all joints in the human body are susceptible to deterioration/malfunction?

I am simply asking in an effort to determine the logic behind the across the board denial of any claims for TMJ by insurance companies and Medicare.

Do the benefits of a cortisone injection outweigh the risks?

gypseefire — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:06:34 -0800

I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis a year ago. I am on Enbrel and it has helped a great deal with the pain I experienced in my arms and joints but I am still having really bad pain upon walking or standing in my low back, sacral joint areas...I swim and do a variety of stretches but it is not allowing me the recovery I long for. I use to walk a few miles everyday, hike on the weekends and I haven't been able to do that in a couple of years. I miss it! I have been reading up on Epidural Cortisone injections and I am curious about personal results people have had. I am interested in the good as well as the bad stories, so I can decide, after meeting with my Doctors, if I want to go through with it. In other words if the benefits outweigh the risks.

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”

crayon — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:50:44 -0800

Can you recommend a good (and reasonably priced) real estate lawyer in the San Francisco Area? I'm in the East Bay, but San Francisco is fine.

I've own a piece of property with someone else for 7 years. My buying partner has suddenly decided she just wants to stop paying and walk away. No, we don't have a funky mortgage and aren't really in trouble mortgage-wise. I need someone who has experience dealing with joint tenancy issues so I can figure out what my options are at this point.

I understand that lawyers cost money, but I also need someone who has a reasonable fees as right now I am suddenly faced with paying for everything on my own until the matter is settled.

Thanks in advance.

This is one of those things I've always just asked my dad about.

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:54:04 -0800

Should I open a joint checking account with my ailing dad and his wife? My dad remarried after being widowed when my mom died. He has a prenuptial agreement and a will that makes a dividing line between how his assets will be handled when he passes away: what he made during his first marriage will go to me, what he made during his second marriage will go to his current wife. He has kept his bank accounts and other financial assets from his 1st marriage in his name only while his wife has kept her own bank accounts under her own name only. He covers all the maintenance/insurance costs for their house (which is willed to me as it was purchased/paid off during his 1st marriage), she contributes by buying groceries and paying for various bills such as phone and cable. All good so far.

Now he's in failing health (after a series of strokes) and he would like to set up a new joint bank account with his wife in order to ensure bills get paid as he's concerned that he might soon get to a state where he is physically unable to write checks by himself. He and his wife plan to fund this joint account with deposits from their individual bank accounts. The joint account would be used to pay for regular household expenses (homeowners insurance, power, water, phone, cable, and petty cash) but not a mortgage.

My question: will the creation of this joint account cause a problem with the assets (savings, other checking, house, stock, bonds etc) they have so carefully tried to keep separate all these years? Does it matter what kind of bills are paid from it? Would it be better for the joint account to be set up so only his individual accounts fund it?

He and his wife also want my name on this joint checking account. I'm not expected to contribute anything to this account, his wife wants my name on there "in case something happens to both of us" (meaning her and my dad), my dad wants my name on there just because he wants my name on there. Will that faff anything up in regards to taxes?

We all live in California. We all like each other a lot and are falling over ourselves to make sure the other person doesn't get screwed. I believe he's consulted the attny who wrote his will but he's also suffering from a lot of confusion post-stroke and thus it's difficult to get a reliable answer or feel confident that he clearly understood what was said. His wife is awesome but has zero interest in financial details. I understand you're neither my accountant nor my lawyer but I'd like to get a read on this while I'm waiting for those two to call me back; your input will help me ask more intelligent questions from my hired pros.

"Art is pain" shouldn't be so literal.

omoikkiri — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:55:44 -0800

Joint pain while drawing--what to do? I've always had a love-hate relationship with drawing. I enjoy drawing and hope to work in a creative field as a career. However, I have a big problem with illustration work. When I draw for more than an hour or so, the joints of my ring finger start to hurt (both the joint in the finger and the joint between the finger and the hand). I've seen a doctor about this pain, but they found nothing "wrong" with the area.

I do hold my pencil wrong, so I know that my grip has contributed to the pain. (I hold the pencil so that it rests on my ring finger.) However, it hurts the same area when I use the standard tripod grip. In addition, the tripod grip tires out the rest of my hand. I've tried to train myself to be ambidextrous to no avail.

It's very frustrating! In order to improve my art, I must sketch. But sketching just hurts my hand. I was lucky to have a sympathetic art professor who let me skip a day of class in order to recover from the pain resulting from a rather large pastel assignment.

This problem has impacted more than my art life: too much writing also causes the pain, albeit more slowly. The pain is always in the same joints.

Can anyone explain to me some more ergonomic ways to draw? Maybe give me some massage techniques or stretches? I've used Biofreeze in the past to numb the pain. When the pain hits really bad, I try to avoid all writing/drawing for a day or two. If it helps, I'm right-handed.

Thanks!

Mutual authorization required for withdrawal.

Nixie Pixel — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:54:54 -0800

Which national banks in the US can be set up to require mutual authorization for withdrawals from a joint account? I am starting a business with a person who is many miles away from me, and we would like to have the business proceeds sent to a single bank account. We would like to both authorize withdrawals from the account to provide security for the situation.

Are there banks that offer this option, a requirement for mutual authorization on withdrawals or transfers (and of course to be done from separate cities where we each live)?

My toe continuously keeps threatening to drop out of joint causing much distress and pain - any ideas about what's going on?

Chorus — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:49:53 -0800

My toe continuously keeps threatening to drop out of joint causing much distress and pain - any ideas about what's going on? Back in February while out walking, the second toe of my right foot popped right out of joint with no prior warning. After much pain and clutching with both hands, did the toe go back into joint and, while the foot was incredibly tender and sore for the rest of the day, I was up walking fine the next day and... fine also for the two months since. So I just wrote it off as one of those things.

However in the past week, foot-matters have seriously deteriorated - rapidly and out of the blue. What began as the odd niggling 'uh oh here we go again' sensation has now become quite debilitating. It's gotten to the point where if I walk for longer than 5-10 minutes, it feels as if that second toe is going to drop right out of is socket! I get a weird, heavy feeling in the toe, accompanied by a 'knot' of pain in the front/top of the foot or the occasional weakness in the inner side of my right knee. To look at it, the toe doesn't seem swollen or sticking out at a weird angle, nor is it discoloured. When I'm walking, I get the feeling that I shouldn't lift my foot too high [or the toe, you know, drop out] and also the overwhelming urge to scrunch up my toes or grab my foot to keep everything in place. If I DO scrunch my toes, I have to be very, very careful because the dislocation feels like it's going to happen again.

The real weird part is, I can walk around and manage fine if I'm just puttering about the office or house, but the other morning I couldn't complete my usual 30min walk to work and today just walking by the end of the day is making me pause and gasp every few steps, wincing at the pain and what *might* happen. But I've no numbness anywhere and after rest the foot is fine for a while.

I've finally going to the doctor in the morning, I'm just wondering if what's wrong with me will get dismissed as a mere sprain or something trivial [considering I can walk on the foot after resting for a bit and the toe itself isn't, you know, black and swollen], when honestly it feels so much worse. I know what a sprain is like and this is so removed from that. But if it was a break - since February? - I'd certainly know about it before now.

Does anybody have any experience with random dislocation and might know what it is/causes? Or what treatment is ahead of me tomorrow with the doc?

On my knees!

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:16:37 -0800

How do knees stay healthy? I'm a young woman with healthy knees. At least, I think so. They never hurt. Though, lately, probably because I'm heavier presently than I like to be, they get stiff sometimes, or even go "pop" a little. This when I've been sitting Indian-style or curled up some other way for too long. Nothing that I think is too worrisome, and I've been chalking it up to reduced flexibility commensurate with reduced range of motion or "fat thighs." But it has me thinking...

My question is really pretty general: What can I do to keep my knees healthy? What are the knee-dos and knee-don'ts? I love my knees, I love to hike and bike and... WALK with them. Yeah that walking, it really rocks my world. What should I know to make sure they stay functional as can be for another 80 years?

Of course, I know one thing is: Lose weight! (So please don't everybody say that, agggghh.)

Once I "pop," I can't stop

np312 — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:32:06 -0800

"Pop!" goes... my entire body? I've looked at the other "back/neck cracking" threads here, but mine seems a bit different. I'm a young female who works out and stretches 3x a week, yet I'm constantly "popping" or "cracking" my joints without meaning to. Especially when I'm lying down, but not limited to that.

We're talking ankles, knees, elbows, back, hips and pelvis all the time, shoulders, fingers, toes, you name it. Not even just when stretching. When I take a deep breath, my back pops. Shrug one shoulder-- Pop! When I tie my shoelaces-- hoo boy it's a staccato symphony. Friends have commented on it, saying how weird it is. I can also pop every joint in my fingers three or four different ways... Though I try not to do it often. That urban myth (?) about arthritis has me spooked.

None of the popping comes with pain of any sort. But it's a little embarrassing, and I'm wondering what I can do about it, and why it's happening. I stretch, I'm active, I'm young. I do have some slight scoliosis and am a tad duck-footed, but otherwise there's nothing wrong with me.

Any thoughts? Also, any truth to the popping --> arthritis myth?

Wierd Reefer?

raildr — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:28:33 -0800

I saw a girl slice a cigar lengthwise, poke it with what looked like a syringe and proceed to roll it back up into a thin 'joint'. Whether any pot went side I do not know, anybody have a clue what she was doing?