I usually get that feeling after paying taxes or filling my gas tank.

Of course!

My pasture land, turned lawn, will never be smooth which is why I never mow in a hurry.

Nah. I just carry extra padding back there. I knew it was there for a reason.

Now I can tell my doctor and my wife to stop bugging me. Thank god!

Yes, getting old sucks. No, I've never had this problem. You might consider lowering your tire pressure a wee bit. In the meantime, pick up one of those inflatable donuts, or maybe just a small innertube.

John

Yup, gettin' old does suck and I feel the same as you after a ride across the field.

What helped me a lot was going through my old dirtbike riding gear and finding my "Goldbelt" kidney belt. A real comfy way to support your lower back and makes a big difference.

They still make them and are worth trying.

Getting old ain't for sissies, but it still beats the alternative, in my book. Never had the problem you describe, but did shake loose a few kidney stones back when I was having those problems. You want to talk about pain?????????

Large wheels/tires will help alot when it comes to mowing bumpy terrain,

yeah bein older does a number on ya, but try bein old with 12 inches of metal in ya back and a quadruple bypass and go over the bumps...take two motrin, an aspirin, take a cold shower, then sit on the recliner and ask the old lady for an ice tea..the pain goes away...sometimes..( a long island ice tea)...

Ouch, now I feel like a sissy - some of you guys have it a lot rougher.
Take 'er easy fellas.

Well, I'm in that "clique" myself. But each day that I wake up, I try to count my blessings (and so far I have awakened every day). rbastedo, you should pay attention to this event, it could be your wake-up call. Now that you have had a semi-bad experience (I say it like that because you ain't reached "bad" yet. Kidney stones and ruptured disc, now that's bad.) Follow the advice of the posters, try any/all the suggestions, and never "turn your back" on your back.

I have a few other problems that I won't get into here but suffice to say I've got some limited mobility due to injuries in other areas. Not as bad off as bighagrid - but definitely not my first (nor I'm sure my last) "wake up call".

If you have (or know someone who has had) a bruised tailbone how long does it take to start feeling better?

Sounds like it's time to teach my son how to mow the grass.
That's no fun, I actually enjoyed it.

Tim to buy a box grader and/or roller and even things out !

Never pass up a chance for more implements!

By the way, you have to go slow with the box grader!

rbastedo- bruised tailbone--no problem--get yaself a small innertube, place it on ya seat (ya know between the seat and ya buttocks), take hot baths and a really cold shower and direct that water right where it hurts..pretty soon ya can stop the hot/cold and eventually put the inner tube on the side for use later on..ya can also sit on an ice pack to take the swelling down...take this from someone who really knows..three disc's removed..bone put in it's place..titanium screws into my spine and rods slipped thru ...they they wrenched it all down to fuse in one piece..BTW---no celebrex, vioxx or any other of those things..otherwise ya next step is the quadruple...take the motrin..good luck and feel better..

bighagrid, yer makin me cringe man!

Yeah, no lie! bighagrid you've got MY titanium spare parts achin' just from your remindin'.

rbastedo,

In layman's terms, you bruised your tailbone - really bad. The small innertube does work but go see the doc.

Remember, as we get "better with age" it also takes us longer to heal.

Hurt my shoulder this past July. Pain didn't go away. But I ignored it for awhile. Now I'm sitting and can't drive the tractor - rotator cuff surgery with having a bone spur removed. And according to many, this rehab is the most difficult and painful there is!

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in westernn CT

I'm finding out that getting older really ain't for sissy's. I cracked my tailbone in my younger days(motorcycle and I parted company unexpectedly) and that hurt! Doc told me to just be careful and it'd heal but to get rid of the motorcycle. Took the first part of his advice and shook my head at the second part. I did lay out $360 a couple of months ago for a more comfortable seat for my ole cruiser bike. Plan to take another trip on it this summer. 42 mpg and a lot more fun than a car or truck!

butchs hobby--after 45 yrs of ridin..I too am not givin it up..I just cheat a little...a href="http://photobucket.com"; target="_blank">{{gwi:333436}}{{gwi:333437}}{{gwi:333438}}

bighagrid, that's the best looking set of training wheels I ever saw on a bike!

At the very least, it should take the worry of dropping a hog out of riding a hog. Sweet!

I hear you about the lift on the turns. My Triumph sidecar started lifting on a right hand turn and I panicked and ended up on the sidewalk on the left side of the street. Luckily, no cars were parked there. From then on, I put cinder blocks in the car when I wasn't taking the 3 kids for a ride.

Wow,I am not to sure I want ta git old.Just about 75 now.Had to sell my Baby,Honda Gold Wing 1500/6.Fully loaded,and then some.Right rotator cuff procedure made my right side forever too weak to hoss around about 900lbs.The Kawasaki 750 Vulcan is gittin a bit heavy now.The CM450C is OK,as is the little Honda Elite 50 scooter.Oh,the topic.I have a seat cushion from and old rockin chair on top of the original seat cushion on my 14 year old Toro 616Z to help smooth the ride and lower P.S.I. in the drive tires.

I'm definitely letting some air out of those tires before I get back on.

I too have had a spill or two off a big bike, and last count over 40 "misunderstandings" of a vehicular nature.
Only one in the past 20 years, but a few of those that came earlier were enough to cause some permanent injuries.
Now I cope the best I can, just like the rest of you.

I guess the deal is that when you are already coping with all the normal stuff that results from the decades of abuse you either caused yourself or was dealt to you by others then something new pops up it takes a while to get used to it. Kind of like just another straw on the camels back.

I've taken the advice offered here and have already noticed some improvement in the situation, so here's a heart felt thanks!

BTW--for ole guy's like me with bad backs and weak legs, my training wheels are just great..never have to put the feet down or woory bout when the ole lady wiggles or leans cause it don't effect me at all...and for you oldsters just look up Insta Trike.com and you can see it ain't alot of money and, well just read about it...Save ya alot from three wheel conversion so you can buy that more expensine LT...

bighagrid,

Been there :) Three operations, the last one to have three vertabrea fused with steel.

2 weeks ago I popped my Sacroilliac joint out. Man, that hurts too! Took a realignment and cortizone injections to ease things. Just starting to get relief.

-larry

tractorlarry--yeppers...mine was done in 2003, they took out three disc, placed dead bone in, screwed in eight screws on each side of spine and put rods thru em and clamped me down. Took two years to fuse together. But gotcha on one.. They gave me vioxx for 23 mos..ten months after back surgery the artery's closed up from the vioxx...quadruple by-pass...not pain free..just live with it...detoxed off all them wonderful drugs on my own..they make ya crazy...good luck with yours and take it easy..

tractorlarry & bighagrid: Y'all certainly have me trumped. I blew out a disc (at L5) in Dec. '90. They went in and "sucked out" the debris but DID NOT FUSE. By '97 I had symptoms dang near as bad as the ruptured disc. Jan. '98 a different surgeon went back in and did fusion on the 2 involved vertebrae. I was fine after that but then I started having a lot more pain in my left hip. Diagnosed as osteo arthritis in 1986. Too many falls on that hip through the years (falling out of trees, barns, off bicycles, motorcycles, down concrete steps covered with ice, always seemed to hit that hip and leg). Through the years I had tried just about every medication made. They helped a bit at first then just did not work. Then the doctor put me on.........Vioxx..... in 2001. In September 2004 the news about Vioxx broke. My wife took my Vioxx away and said I had to see my doctor for something different cause she forbade me to take Vioxx. Doctor said probably just have to take Ibuprofen or Naproxin Sodium. The pain kept getting "worser & worser" til I finally went to a rheumatologist (sic) in November '06. He said I had a bone cyst in the hip joint cup and I needed Total Hip Replacement surgery. Had the hip R&R'd Feb. 8, '07. Doing great with it actually. Getting around real good. Ain't ready to run any marathons yet but I am pretty much pain free for the first time in about 20 years. (until the next of father time's gifts shows up). Doctor says I can return to my job July 1st. (My wife is cheering and clapping hands about something.)

she clappin cause ya gonna be out of the house makin money so she cab go and buy some new shoes, dresses, coats, get her hair done and begin makin those honey do lists again...tell her ya still hurtin...in other words play the sympathy card...BTW...they declared me 100% disbled and I am retired....kinda sucks... but I figure if the gov't says I am done then who am I to argue...

bighagrid,you're right (about her wanting me back to work). She told me a few minutes ago that July 1st can't get here fast enough to suit her.

With my legs & back & neck & all that stuff I thought a desk job would be great.

So I got a great desk job doing database analysis & reporting for a large public library.

Now I have this pain in the ass.

Figures. ;)

rbastedo--they tried that on me before permenant disability...they gave me restrictions...no sitting for more than an hour without walking around for at least 15 minutes, and no standing for more than 30-60 minutes without sitting...oh and no walking more than 200-300 feet without a five minute rest...thinking about making a helmet with training wheels...p.s.--not allowed to lift more than 10 lbs...told mama she has to go in for breast reduction..lol

I have the same problem I have arthritis in my back and I mow for a friend of mine and I use a xmark zero turn Mauer and I think the biggest problem is he keeps too much pressure in the back tires check urtire pressureyour tire should be a little soft so you don't rip up the grass when you turn

Wow going to have to Retittle this Forum the Geriatric Ward ! Have had both hips replaced myself within the last 7 yrs . Spinal neck fusion C-5 / 6 in 1991 . Still cutting firewood and Grass and wrenching on auto,s , quads and snowmobiles & Cycles ...keeps yeah young Baby !

Someone already mentioned this above. I have an old Murray rider with large rear tires that has a much softer ride than my JD L110 with smaller tires.

Yes all the time, and my family can't seem to get it through their thick skull, I hurt my back while on tour in Iraq and trying to cut 5 + acres worth of grass is excruciating on the joints, this thing I like to sit around and do nothing all the time was kind of hard to do anything when your joints are screaming at you constantly 24/7

had a inner tube for front lawn mower wheel put it under the seat .after little testing it works! nice smooth ride! next make a pillowcase out of carhartt fabric (overkill) tube starting to wear in few spots but lasted so far since last summer

Yes yes yes. I have alot of pain after using my riding mower over bumpy areas. And i do spend at least an hour and a half or longer to get the whole area mowed. The next day the pain is even worse.