James Pearl Thinks Blogging is Dead

Here We Are

It's only natural to start the year off with a new set of "things" you want to do. I don't really get much into resolutions anymore. I mean, we all do it in a way. But many of us sort of decide randomly through the year they want to do X or Y or Z. Very few of us wake up on November 1st and say, "Gee, I wonder what my progress is on my resolution from 10 months ago?" No, most of us can't wait until Thanksgiving, when work dials back for a solid 5-6 weeks.

If I had to come up with something, it would be to keep dealing with the knee issue. Last summer it was the right knee, which is now fine. Now, it's the left. I am working through it and maybe I'll figure it all out in 2026.

Strava has these goals, which they sort of throw in your face. On that note, I am pretty sure I didn't hit the 1 Strava goal I had, which was time based. This year, I set a bunch of random goals for walking (the dog), riding, MTB riding, skiing, stretching, hiking, weight lifting, and PT. Whatever, these are numbers that will not make the earth spin any faster nor slower. Maybe they keep me on track through this shitty time of year. Once the spring rolls around it's usually more like, hey man, let's enjoy the weather.

So anyway, yesterday we were driving to Shop Rite and I sneezed and strained my upper back-to-lower neck. And this is where we are in 2026.

Here we are: mildly injured from sneezing.

Also here is me today for sure:

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Santapez said:
Have you seen actual PTs for the knees or just self diagnosis?
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Doctor last summer then PT for 6 weeks or so. I took some things from the PT, but not all of it. Then additional self/chatGPT/Internet-at-large add-ons to that. I traded messages with my doctor who gave me the referral to the specialist (this is part of the insurance process. Doctor, x-ray, PT, then specialist). In theory the next step could be an MRI. For obvious reasons, I am not lining up to get my knees replaced. So I am holding off on that specialist for now. I see my doctor next week for my yearly. I had my blood drawn and pissed in a cup this morning to prep for that.

In other words, this car rolled off the lot 200k miles ago. The suspension just ain't what it was back then.
 
so we got your christmas card the other day (i'll blame the USPS on the tardiness of its arrival)... i was going to make a joke about how you look like a shrinking old man next to the boys who are now like 7" tall... but i decided against it as someone who really doesn't want any age-related joke retaliations this year...

but straining your back when you sneeze? i don't know... maybe i do need to toss in an occasional old many joke now and again. ;P
 
MissJR said:
so we got your christmas card the other day (i'll blame the USPS on the tardiness of its arrival)... i was going to make a joke about how you look like a shrinking old man next to the boys who are now like 7" tall... but i decided against it as someone who really doesn't want any age-related joke retaliations this year...

but straining your back when you sneeze? i don't know... maybe i do need to toss in an occasional old many joke now and again. ;P
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How to call someone a "shrinking old man" without calling them a shrinking old man. Nice job @MissJR
 
OMG when I saw the photo I was like if I didn't actually KNOW Norm and fam I would think he was a super short person. Meanwhile, 12 hours on a plane and my lower back shits the bed to the point that I cannot stand up straight yet. Getting old(er) is stupid. And I have spent most of my second day back at work trying very hard not to say 'are you effing kidding me" out loud in all of my meetings today.
 
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In 2024 I had a really bad case of tennis elbow that I internet fixed / band-aided and ended up make the other elbow even worse that I had to do PT. And I am current;y working through a lower back strain / spasm.

One thing I have realized is that most of the stuff I found on the internet, while it was somewhere in the range of the "correct" thing to do, it is hard to gauge how hard/how much of it I should do for my situation. In both cases of my elbows and back, I was being way to aggro with the stretches and exercises. After going to the PT, while it felt sorta dumb to do a basic wrist motion(s) / exercises with a 1lb weight, man did it work.

Might be worth a another round of PT to recalibrate whatever you are doing to help mitigate it.
 
stb222 said:
Might be worth a another round of PT to recalibrate whatever you are doing to help mitigate it.
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I will certainly bring it up to my GP next week. Round 1 was with JAG, which I think has centers all over the state. It was good, not great. They never took feedback and they had me doing some things that just hurt. The pigeon stretch is just right out, as it tweaks my knee in a way that always ends up leaving me in pain. My feedback about this was always ignored. My doctor said there are better ones in the area, but they have a longer waiting list. I may explore a better one.
 
Norm said:
I will certainly bring it up to my GP next week. Round 1 was with JAG, which I think has centers all over the state. It was good, not great. They never took feedback and they had me doing some things that just hurt. The pigeon stretch is just right out, as it tweaks my knee in a way that always ends up leaving me in pain. My feedback about this was always ignored. My doctor said there are better ones in the area, but they have a longer waiting list. I may explore a better one.
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The issue with most PTs is the same as GPs. They see everyone and deal with everything, not a lot of specifics. Most PTs have a revolving door of clients, most of them hurt themselves bringing the garbage out or whatever. Most only show up for a short bit and then drop out.

Trick is to find a PT with specific experience in sports injuries. Finding that person in NJ and then covered by insurance is then even harder. I'm rather surprised there isn't go-to practitioners that everyone knows about.
 
Santapez said:
Trick is to find a PT with specific experience in sports injuries. Finding that person in NJ and then covered by insurance is then even harder. I'm rather surprised there isn't go-to practitioners that everyone knows about.
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It would be quite a hike for Norm (Cedar Knolls), but this is where Melinda has been going:
www.otbphysicaltherapy.com

Physical Therapy | Out of the Box Physical Therapy | Morris County

Professional Physical Therapy Morris County. Injury Treatment. Sports Rehabilitation. Athletic CrossFit Facility Recovery in Gym.
www.otbphysicaltherapy.com www.otbphysicaltherapy.com

She likes them very much. So much so, that we pay out of pocket for her to go there because she doesn't want to try another PT that is in network for us.
 
Santapez said:
The issue with most PTs is the same as GPs. They see everyone and deal with everything, not a lot of specifics. Most PTs have a revolving door of clients, most of them hurt themselves bringing the garbage out or whatever. Most only show up for a short bit and then drop out.

Trick is to find a PT with specific experience in sports injuries. Finding that person in NJ and then covered by insurance is then even harder. I'm rather surprised there isn't go-to practitioners that everyone knows about.
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My primary is sport medicine also and all of the doctors are GP's and have spots related specialties and they do PT too. It is in Lawrenceville so not worth the drive for Norm.

Some of the ortho's in the area have clinics / urgent cares now too and that is who wrote the script for my tennis elbow.
 
Two Strangers | (Carry a Cake Across New York)

Last night we went into the city and saw this play. It was recommended to us by 1 of the morning dog walking crew. We didn't know what to expect but the title of it was solid. As we know, this time of year is when we like to go into the city. You can get 40-50% off Broadway tickets this time of year if you buy around Thanksgiving. We have 3 shows lined up this winter and this was the first. The other 2 are Operation Mincemeat and the MJ musical.

It was fabulous. If you are thinking about going, you should go. It is a modern/current story that can appeal to pretty much anyone.

I really enjoy these quick hit nights in the city. It took us 65 minutes to get in, and less than 45 minutes to get home. NYC is so much easier after work on a weekday. I also like the total escaping of reality that these nights afford you. The show was so engaging that I just totally got into it. Really nice when you can do that.

We grabbed some Thai food on the way in, which was pretty good, but not great. I don't think we'll go there again. While it was good enough there are too many other places to eat in the city.

When we were done I commented that it would be nice to just have a place to stay in town. Of course, it would probably take us almost 40 minutes to get there depending on where we would have stayed. And in that time we would have driven home, are several hundred dollars richer, and we don't have to wake up early to find our way home for work. And of course the dog and bringing the kid to school. So that escape from reality hits a brick wall when you have those thought experiments.

Anyway, good stuff. You should check it out.

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I threw my back out sneezing at 36 to where I couldn’t get out of bed until I got a steroid delivery. Old happens at any age.

We don’t see shows as often these days, but went in to see Masquerade the day after Christmas. Definitely an interesting spin on seeing shows with the actors up close and singing in your face at times, would recommend.

Hope all is well!
 
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