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That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

nytimes.com

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Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#91

Post by seestheday »

daeken wrote: post #71

This is a bit of an aside, but I have to say this: even as a young person, take falls very seriously . I was 22 or so when I slipped in the shower. I was falling to the side and was going to hit my head, so I decided to twist so that I'd fall flat on my back, figuring I'd be fine. Well, I was, until a few hours later, when I started having chest pain and my left arm went numb and started getting shooting pains. Think…

I some similar problems along with significant pain, also caused by falls (and a fairly serious injury that compounded things).

I had pain for years, until I stumbled onto a combination of things that completely resolve the issues as long as I stick to them.

I'm telling you in case they help. If nothing else it shouldn't hurt anything.

In order of importance:

1. Develop & maintain significant muscle mass, specifically in my upper & lower back. I'm not a huge musclehead by any stretch, but I can do 20+ pull-ups (not chin-ups) in a row and deadlift over 350 lbs. This had the biggest impact, and if I stop working out, the pain/symptoms come back. It literally took me years to get here, but is completely worth it to live pain/numb free. Health/aesthetics benefits are nice too.

2. Active Release Therapy - this broke up scar tissue that I had, may not be applicable to you.

3. Fish Oil Supplements - acts as a natural anti-inflammatory

4. Vitamin D/sunshine - Not sure if it's just because the sun & vitamin D makes me feel better overall, but I feel like it makes a small difference.

Edited to clean up paragraphs

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#92

Post by loceng »

daeken wrote: post #71

This is a bit of an aside, but I have to say this: even as a young person, take falls very seriously . I was 22 or so when I slipped in the shower. I was falling to the side and was going to hit my head, so I decided to twist so that I'd fall flat on my back, figuring I'd be fine. Well, I was, until a few hours later, when I started having chest pain and my left arm went numb and started getting shooting pains. Think…

I will assume you tried chiropractor, acupuncture, and perhaps even yoga?

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#93

Post by cadlin »

gknoy wrote: post #89
brudgers wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In 2010 most deaths by firearm were suicides [19,392]. There were 11,000+ homicides by firearm. And 412 deaths from legal intervention by any means. In other words, the person you are most likely to kill with a gun is yourself.

I imagine, also, that if one intends to kill oneself, having a gun or not is not a serious impediment to suicide.

Research suggests that more guns = more suicides.

"The preponderance of current evidence indicates that gun availability is a risk factor for youth suicide in the United States. The evidence that gun availability increases the suicide rates of adults is credible, but is currently less compelling."

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-owne...

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#94

Post by gfodor »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #5

A handy technique for evaluating situations is this: how many mistakes am I away from death/injury? If I drive without a seatbelt, I've put myself 1 accident away in many cases. My Scouts are young, and love to climb things. I tell them, I know you're strong and skilled. But a loose rock or slippery foothold puts you at risk anyway. So wear the harness - now it takes two mistakes to kill you (e.g. loose rock + badly…

This is reminiscent of Benjamin Graham's "margin of safety" idea in investing. Get yourself in a position where you think the stock you want to buy is cheap and certainly worth buying. Then buy it if it only if it becomes even cheaper.

Put yourself in a position where you think you are unlikely to get hurt by a single mistake, and then insert an additional layer. So really it should be three :)

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#95

Post by robrenaud »

kjackson2012 wrote: post #55
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #5

A handy technique for evaluating situations is this: how many mistakes am I away from death/injury? If I drive without a seatbelt, I've put myself 1 accident away in many cases. My Scouts are young, and love to climb things. I tell them, I know you're strong and skilled. But a loose rock or slippery foothold puts you at risk anyway. So wear the harness - now it takes two mistakes to kill you (e.g. loose rock + badly…

Sometimes you hear things that instantly change your views on the world. I have to say that this above post, in about 10 seconds of reading it, has completely changed my views on assessing risk. The idea of quantifying risk by counting the number of mistakes you are away from catastrophic failure is an excellent way to visualize risk. It's a simple way to calculate risk, and an even easier way to teach my kids. Thank…

I am skeptical.

I am one street crossing away from death. You are one car ride with a seat belt away from death.

You really need to have some rough probabilities attached to things for this to be reasonable.

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#96

Post by sukuriant »

gojomo wrote: post #64
kjackson2012 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes you hear things that instantly change your views on the world. I have to say that this above post, in about 10 seconds of reading it, has completely changed my views on assessing risk. The idea of quantifying risk by counting the number of mistakes you are away from catastrophic failure is an excellent way to visualize risk. It's a simple way to calculate risk, and an even easier way to teach my kids. Thank…

There's a similarly great passage in 'The Great Gatsby': It was on that same house party that we had a curious conversation about driving a car. It started because she passed so close to some workmen that our fender flicked a button on one man's coat. "You're a rotten driver," I protested. "Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all." "I am careful." "No, you're not." "Well, other people are,…

Is that from the original? There's a lot of 'e's in that passage.

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#97

Post by Angostura »

IsaacL wrote: post #16

One of the reasons falls are so fatal for old people is because elderly people in our society rarely stay active. Look at cultures like the Chinese, where you so elderly women up in the morning doing Taichi, or working out on those weird outdoor gym sets in the rest of the day. Maintaining strength and flexibility during old age helps mitigate damage from falls a lot. Physical deterioration is often a self-fulfilling…

Just to point out that according to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expec...

the life expectancy at birth for China in 2011 was 73.47 years (CIA World Factbook (2011 estimates)) compared with 78.37 for the U.S and 80.05 for the UK.

So one reason that all those old Chinese people may appear so mobile is that they aren't quite as old as you might expect.

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#98

Post by blaze33 »

roflc0ptic wrote: post #19
jessedhillon wrote: post #7

Strangely not mentioned at all, so I'll put it here: Jared Diamond is the author of Guns, Germs and Steel , his most famous work. It addresses the question of how and why European societies were able to advance themselves so much farther ahead of all other civilizations. There is also an excellent four-part series streaming on Netflix.

Guns, Germs, and Steel was most certainly not about "how and why European societies were able to advance themselves so much farther ahead of all other civilizations". The concept of "advanced", or being "ahead of" is inapplicable. It's a book about sociocultural evolution. Additionally, Diamond is pretty ambivalent about the "winners". Diamond wrote an essay on the subject of agriculture called "The Worst Mistake in…

Yeah it was more about why native Americans didn't invade Europe in 1492.

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#99

Post by Angostura »

jff wrote: post #47
hammock wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is not lost, but the author does attribute it to a specific culture: >"I first became aware of the New Guineans’ attitude toward risk on a trip into a forest..." >"I now think of New Guineans’ hypervigilant attitude..." >"Traditional New Guineans have to think clearly about dangers....In contrast, Americans’ thinking about dangers is confused." The truth is it's a common, learned attitude of anyone who spen…

It's just another example of the "magical natives, so in tune with the natural world" bullshit myth.

No it's simply an example of people who live in a particular environment being well aware of the risks associated with it.

For example, before I worked in the Peruvian rain forest I would not have guessed that being hit by a brazil nut was one of the commonest reasons for accidental fatalities in the forest.

Re: That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer

#100

Post by lloeki »

daeken wrote: post #71

This is a bit of an aside, but I have to say this: even as a young person, take falls very seriously . I was 22 or so when I slipped in the shower. I was falling to the side and was going to hit my head, so I decided to twist so that I'd fall flat on my back, figuring I'd be fine. Well, I was, until a few hours later, when I started having chest pain and my left arm went numb and started getting shooting pains. Think…

It does not even have to go that far: I was 26 when I was having a silly argument with my SO, and I tripped over while putting trousers on and fell forward. I had the bad reflex of putting my hands in front of me, but not fast enough so that my hands folded backwards, damaging wrist ligaments and cartilage.

Immediately examined by a doctor and a number of x-ray shots done, one of my left arm bone was slightly fractured which I was told will heal jsut fine, but cartilage had suffered permanent damage, that will only get worse with time. I had the habit to do regular Aikibudo wrist exercising (it helps prevent RSI), and this helps a lot in maintaining a status quo by strengthening ligaments and muscles, thus protecting the joint itself.

While I'm usually not in pain, I happen to be at seemingly random times, and I know what is the cause and that it will only get worse with time (it already does and I'm only 0x20)

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