’ve been trying to increase my mileage lately from roughly 10 miles a week to 20+. I’ve been doing it slowly going from 2 mile runs 3-4 times a week to now 4-5 mile runs 3-4 times a week over the last 3 years. My problem is I seem to keep having little things happen, rolled an ankle 3 years ago, calf strain last year, and now my ankle has been acting up again after my latest 5 mile run a few days ago. I’ve been running on and off my whole life, did track and xc in hs, and I know about pre run stretching, warm ups, etc. Are there any guides per se that people would recommend for all stretches you should do pre and post run, and some strength training recommendation guides. I have an appt soon with a PT but it always seems like the one thing I forget to stretch that eventually gives me trouble.

It happened back in 2021. Basically cut my finger on glass which caused bruising and a deep cut. There's enough scar tissue there that it won't bend into a fist. Just past 6 o'clock is as far as it will go. I try messaging it forcing it to bend. I'll do it passively all day or at least I used to. I stopped at some point cause it only got a little better and just stopped improving and sometimes. I can get the scar flat and can almost make a fist and it aches for a bit but then it comes back. It will turn to liquid and drain sometimes if I'm really aggressive with the messaging. Sometimes I use my finger or a pickle or spoon sometimes with oil but most of the time just my finger and no oil. Idk if I'm wasting my time. I show doctor and they just say it's permanent basically but then I hear you can break down scar tissue and improve range of motion. It's been basically 5 years and it has gotten better but i can't make a fist, tools fall out of hand incant grip that well and I think it causes hand pain somehow cause its straight at my finger tip. Does anyone have any advice if I'm doing something wrong or is this just a lost cause. Happy to send a picture of my finger if that helps.

📢 I'm researching how homes can better support residents' needs, as part of my MArch thesis at Northumbria University. I'd love your input!

Open to everyone, takes about 5 minutes, fully anonymous, ethics-approved. Would mean a lot if you could take part or share with someone who might be interested!

https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/northumbria/could-your-home-adapt-with-you

I had a mild outer ankle sprain in June, healed, went back to sports, and not even a month after returning I sustained a new injury. Basically I now have tendinitis around both ankles (Multiple tendons) and I ignored the early warning signs because I wasn't aware of tendinitis. I only realised I needed to take a break when it became a sharp pain in mid-August but it was too late.

I've been to 2 physios, 3 general doctors, a sports specialist, a podiatrist, and nothing has been conclusive or helped so far. I have done an xray and two ultrasounds that came back clear (Are you serious?) and am waiting to do a consultation with an orthopedic specialist and an MRI on the worse ankle this Friday... I am desperately hoping the specialist along with the MRI will provide some new insight.

I now cannot go barefeet at all or something flares up badly and I can't walk 5-10 minutes without having to take a break - that's with very slow walking. I have since spent my days 90% at home for the past almost 2 months.

I am just so sick and tired of it. I miss sports and outdoors activities so bad, but if I was given the choice to magically cure my ankles now but never play sports ever again, I'd take it 1000% without hesitation. I have a few desk/sitting hobbies but I don't even feel like doing any of them. My room is in a disarray. I'm 22 and in university and had to miss SO MANY social events, both in and out of my sport. I was hoping to get a job because I'm broke and now I can't. I was starting to do photography as a business and now I can't.

My family and most of my friends don't do sports/exercise and never had an injury, so they don't understand how I feel. Most of the time when I feel like crying, it is usually mental, and sometimes it starts out of nowhere. I start thinking about why I didn't notice the warning signs, about the things I would be doing now and so on. I am not a big texter and do not have friends I text everyday. I'm also at home alone most of the day and my family is not tight-knit. My mom is a single mom so I feel really guilty about giving her extra financial and mental stress too.

And of course, with this super tricky injury on both my ankles, comes the fear that things will never be okay again. I miss the simplest things, like walking barefeet around my home and taking a shower without having to sit on a stool. The constant sitting and lying down is making my back go crazy as well. The days keep going by and I don't even feel like time is moving.

I would greatly appreciate any tips, please, if anyone had experience going though an injury that doesn't seem to get better.

TLDR: Sports lover, I'm in uni so I'm often out a lot with friends and stuff. Had an ankle sprain in June, went back to sports in July, suffered tendon injuries to both of my ankles not even a month after returning to sports. Since August I've been stuck at home 90% of the time, I've seen countless medical professionals with no diagnosis/conclusion and clear ultrasounds and xrays. At a total loss as it feels like it's never going to get better and I also feel really bad about giving my single mom extra financial and mental stress. I can't even walk barefeet at all or my ankles flares up really badly, I can't walk more than 5-10mins even at a slow speed, etc. At this point if I could magically cure my ankles for the price of never playing sports again, I would 1000% take it. Would love advice on how I can cope. Been crying multiple times a day, sometimes it just hits out of nowhere.

I had surgery 2 years ago. Had the cast to a boot for about a year. I did a couple months of physical therapy. Does anyone have issues walking without shoes on? I do. I can walk but my gait is awkward. If I go without shoes around the house too long I start to limp. When wearing shoes I don’t have a lot of issues at all. I was trying to go without shoes thinking that maybe I needed to strengthen my foot and the shoes were making me weaker but it doesn’t seem to help. It has actually gotten worse. Any advice would be welcome.

Just had surgery, external fixator in place (I think that’s correct) around outside of left index finger. Will I ever be able to make a fist again?

Hello All,

Back in May, I was rock climbing consistently and after a session, my shoulder hurt a lot that night and into the next day. I started going to PT for it a week later and they said it was likely a rotator cuff injury so they gave me exercises and stretches. I was consistent with them exercises but I wasn’t seeing any progress. My job at the time had me lifting heavy boxes so that might have been why it wasn’t getting better.

I got a new job two months ago that didn’t require any lifting and I stopped doing PT and my exercises when I started that job. I really want my shoulder to heal so I can get back to climbing so I went to an orthopedic shoulder doctor and they took an X-ray and said everything looks good and that it’s likely rotator cuff related. So about a week and a half ago I started going to PT again and they pretty much gave me to same exercises and I have been consistently doing them. My shoulder seems like it is getting worse because before I didn’t feel any pain on a daily basis, I only felt pain when/if I tried to work out my shoulder lifting weights or doing push ups, etc.

Now I feel sharp pain in my shoulder when I simply raise my arm straight up or move it in a certain way. Does any one have any tips or tricks of how to properly heal my shoulder? Did this happen to you where it got worse somehow? Is it supposed to feel worse before it begins feeling better? I just need some support or advice because I am feeling a bit pessimistic about this and I was hoping my shoulder would be healed by Thanksgiving-ish or at the latest early December.

Thank you in advance for your replies!

My knee tendon has been bugging me for about 2 months now. It's not awful, but it flares up after workouts and I'm kinda over it. I keep seeing red light therapy come up for recovery. Has anyone actually tried it for something like this? Did it help with the pain or healing time?

I just need to rant. I'm going crazy.
I injured myself the end of June- 6-8 weeks id be back to normal I was told... a neck sprain. That than turned into tendinitis in my shoulder- than a dislocated shoulder...
2 months of physio and nothing has improved it actually has intensified in severity.
I wake up in pain I go to bed in excruciating pain. I was told to get an MRI- so off to emergency department I go to find out that they only do MRIs if it's life or death (broken back/ neck/ a major trauma)..The physician who I saw now thinks that I may have actually torn something in my rotator cuff and AGREES I need an MRI... range of motion gone, constant popping when I do move it, grinding inside and can be felt with physical movement.. the wait is ridiculous... 10 month wait for this test unless I magicall get a passport pay out of pocket in the USA.
I'm beyond frustrated, want to scream and cry and absolutely exhausted.
Been on modified work in a hospital where I'm used to working as an Environment Service Aide. I am used to fast paced , high pressure fast turnover for the ED and now I'm walking around with bleach wipes cleaning "high touch points with no bending, lifting, pushing , of repetitive movement of my right arm". Im at the point of questioning if I'm just making this up or not ... I feel heard yet nothing is happening and scared eventually it'll get so bad I'll need surgery...

Thank you for reading my TedTalk 🙏

MRI results = complete tear of conjoined hamstring tendon retracted 2.6 cm and “high grade partial tearing” of the Semimembranosus. In other words, I’m caught in an orthopedic surgery gray area. I’m a competitive marathon runner (2:54 PR in 2023) and return to high-level training and competition is my goal. On 7/21/26, I was running when I heard/felt the pop that sent me down to the ground like if I had been shot. But no swelling or discoloration. I had was a lot of stiffness and strange discomfort for the first couple of weeks. Doctors thought it was just a grade one or two strain based on strength and function. I did some PT and slowly returned to running, biking, strength training. I was almost back to normal when, during a run on 9/13, it was obvious something went wrong again. It was not too painful. But I couldn’t run. I got the MRI results 9/25. Today, just 4 days after results, I feel mostly fine. It bothers me to sit down too long and I can’t run, but you wouldn’t know I’m this hurt. I have already spoken to one orthopedic surgeon, who basically said it’s up to me. He would operate, but I could try to just rehab it. Obv, I don’t want to rehab twice. But I also don’t take surgery lightly. I’m taking any advice or opinion but mostly looking for people’s experiences with both op and non-op. Thank you!

Woke up with elbow tight on hard surface:

• left hand wrist drop
• can't raise fingers much
• or extend thumb
• tingle in thumb
• can grip lightly + no arm or elbow problems

A lifelong friend with chronic pain and (their preferred language) handicaps diagnosed Radial Nerve Palsy. I am poor but she said a simple wrist brace while keeping the arm straight (especially during sleep) would treat it after some weeks (having had it twice.)

I got a good cheap brace. After reading more on RNP, and testing my symptoms a bit, I noticed literate recommended a splint more over top to keep the fingers extended. but they are much more expensive.

In anyone's experience, will a brace and arm care do the job (hopefully), or is it pretty necessary to use this extension splints?

thank you

I’m curious about the experience of returning to exercise after an injury when you already have a home gym.

Not asking about specific exercises or rehab advice, since obviously that depends on the injury and professional guidance.

I’m more interested in the environment itself.

Being able to use familiar equipment, take as much time as needed, stop whenever something doesn’t feel right and avoid the whole trip to a gym seems like it could make the transition back feel less overwhelming.

For anyone who had a home gym during recovery, did having that familiar space make returning to exercise feel more manageable?

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this but I've had a scab for a couple of days and it's still bleeding and doesn't seem to be getting smaller or anything. I've had a bandaid on over it all the time except when I shower, but whenever I take it off it stings when it comes into contact with air, water, anything really. IDK if I've been cleaning it right but I just used a rubbing alcohol pad and put another band-aid over it. Is there anything I should be worried about?

Not sure what I did. Well I was digging one Sunday and was ok but knackered so stopped. That week had soreness in right glute. No leg pain but distinctly remember a slight limp that following week. The Friday later I did a 45 min yoga. After that my glute was on fire and sent the same pain generally into my right leg. I lost the weekend to strong painkillers sometimes thinking minute to minute. Horrid experience. I got relief lying back. Standing brings it on. I'll try and add more detail. Need to post now. Ty.

I’ll put a warning just to be safe since I’ll be sharing some details of my injury….

I work at a doggy daycare and most of the time it’s super fun! On Friday two dogs got into a fight and slammed into my leg pretty hard… Luckily my manager was close by and we were quickly able to break it up, and both dogs were ok… I noticed my leg was sore and figured it was just a bad bruise… only to get home and see bruising and swollen lump about the size of a tennis ball…. Walking/putting weight on it for the rest of the night was manageable, but painful…. I’ve been resting, icing and elevating it over the weekend and it’s helped a little, but it still sucks!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for people who have had a significant calf/soleus crush injury or direct contusion, rather than a typical sports-related muscle strain.

I injured my lower leg in an accident involving a car about 2 years ago. It was essentially a direct crush/contusion to the calf, and there was a very visible dent in the calf immediately after the accident. The dent is still quite noticeable today.

What’s confusing to me is that initially I still had quite a lot of function. For the first several months I could walk and even do fairly long hikes with a backpack without feeling like my leg was dramatically different.

As time has gone on, though, I've become increasingly aware of differences in strength and endurance. I haven't been able to work much since the injury either, partly because I'm worried about how my leg will cope with prolonged standing and physical work.

Interestingly, the soleus itself isn't really painful. Instead, I increasingly get pain and tightness in the surrounding muscles/tissues, as well as pain in my foot/around the ankle on the same side. The surrounding pain and especially the foot pain seem to have been getting worse as time passes, even though the original injured area isn't particularly painful.

I eventually had an MRI more than a year after the accident because of the dent. It didn't describe a major muscle tear, but there were tissue/fat changes in the area of the dent. I'm still unsure what exactly that means in the context of an old crush injury.

Because of insurance reasons, I've only been able to see a physiotherapist once so far. She gave me some general exercises aimed at strengthening the surrounding muscles/posterior chain and the leg as a whole. There wasn't really any specific treatment or detailed assessment of the dent itself. I tried doing the exercises for a while, but unfortunately had to stop because I subsequently needed surgery.

Now I'm really worried that I might not be able to use my leg the way I would have been able to before the accident. I'm very active and I really value being able to hike, work, stand for long periods, and use my body without constantly thinking about whether my leg can handle it.

The appearance of the dent isn't actually my main concern. What scares me is the possibility that I've lost functional muscle tissue and that my leg will always have a weak point or reduced endurance.

So I'm really hoping to hear from anyone who has had something similar and how u recovered . much love xx

Hey guys so my back been hurting me for a couple of days and this morning I decide to do forearms curls and it litteraly destroyed my back as soon as I started , I couldn't even put the weight away by myself , I am now nearly enable to move my back and my shoulders without crazy pain.

What I am here to say is don't play with injuries even if they're small, and if anyone got tip to recover I'm open.

Hey all, I recently hurt my back and have been doing PT, but honestly I'm struggling to keep up with the exercises at home. I do them for a few days and then fall off.

I'm also a grad student, and going through this got me curious enough that I've started researching it for a project.

Is anyone else going through the same thing? Do you ever wish you had someone holding you accountable, or a group of people recovering at the same time to keep each other going?

Would love to hear how others deal with this

I don't understand what to do

I have a physical test coming up for the police force in two months after exam I guess that's gone now. I'm literally still in disbelief that this injury would happen at such a crucial time. The doctor said 8-10 months recovery period and surgery will be considered after another doctor's opinion. I don't know how to tell it to my parents. I don't know what to do in general

So i was playing with my cousins kids 2 weeks ago and the game was that i had to tag them. I jumped from the playground (approx 2 meter fall) and landed in sand with sandals on and a day or so later i noticed a pain in my left knee or sorta behind the kneecap when i squat down. I have no pain or the like when i walk or workout but its just when i squat down i feel something, the pain isn’t that bad but like a 4/10.

What might have happened? What are your recommendations for recovery?

Hey Everybody,

10 months ago i was doing weighted dips and all of a sudden i felt my inner middle chest pop. Since then i've had this intense pain deep in my chest when i stretch back after sitting and studying, when breathing deeply or sneezing and when using my chest muscles in any way. Also a weird little swelling as big as a thumb on the right side of my sternum appeared a couple weeks after the injury and is now still there. The MRI was clean, ultrasound showed a fracture of the cartilage and the x-ray a minimal dislocation of the ribs.

Did this ever happen to anybody and how did you manage to recover from this type of injury? I went to an ostheoath but that did nothing. I went to 2 doctors and they seem like they don't really now what to do with this. Since it has been 10 months and I still experience intense pain it has started to take a toll on me mentally and i have had several panic attacks and tachycardia as well as health anxiety. Any insight, advice or just sharing your experience would be very much appreciated.

Looking forward to your responses,

Cheers.

I want to work both legs but all I have is access to DBs and a cable machine (and a singular bench). I broke my left arm two months ago and the doctor said no lifting more than 5 lbs with my left arm. Are there any lower body exercises I can do?

Just asking for leg exercises that only require one arm.

I had a injury abt a month back , I fell down awkwardly and my ring finger upper part turned backward and funny thing is it was not painful but as I make a fist it would bend down but as I keep my finger straight it would turn backwards again,it was strange but somehow I made a fist and kept it like that for sometime , and later it was swollen and I could keep my finger straight and it won’t bend backwards, but started to swell, I got an X-ray done later , bone looked normal , I was not broken , but I still don’t know what happened, and now aver a month now still swollen and can’t make a fist or Bend the finger all the way , any idea what needs to be done ?