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Wednesday 27 July 2011

An Unlikely Cure For Sciatica - Falling Out Of A Skip

I had been suffering from sciatica for years. The pain, emanating from my lower back and travelling down my right leg, invariably occurred when I mowed the lawn. It must have been something to do with the way I stood and bent slightly. Sometimes the pain was severe and sometimes it was not there at all. 

I am continuing my stories of my painting and decorating days.  My first two stories described two very unusual and weird characters and I am pleased they seem to have amused you. Last week I said I would write about my first encounter with Miss C.  I will do so next time but to have a break from her today another amusing story springs to mind. 

Chris and I were asked to remove a large hedge and erect a fence.  We were 'Jacks Of All Trades' so we did not mind doing something a little different from Painting and Decorating.  In fact the previous year for these customers we converted a flat garage roof to a pitched tiled roof.  Our customers were delighted with the roof, I am pleased to say.

This time we had to remove a large amount of vegetation so we hired a large skip and because their house was at the end of a Cull-De-Sac we asked the driver to unload the skip right at the end as near to the pavement as possible.  The problem was that there was rampant vegetation from another overgrown hedge in 'no-man's land' and this almost obliterated our view of the curb.  Looking closer through the vegetation the skip was about a foot from the curb which was OK so it was unloaded there.


That's my boy!! Park it by the bushes at the end of the Cull-De-Sac. 
(Actually our skip was much bigger than this one.)

 Hey, and Mr Skip! Listen! Whatever you do, don't do this!!!

Chris and I started work and the hedge was soon half demolished and we started to load the skip. We had to condense the branches as much as possible thus making the most of the volume available to us, and we did this by climbing into the skip and jumping up and down on the hedge cuttings.  Things were proceeding quite nicely - we managed to compress the branches a lot, so it looked as though we would get it all in the skip.

Then the daughter arrived in her RAVA car, an expensive 4x4, and boy, she was 'Rava' nice herself - I suppose she might have been about 30 and both Chris and I could tell she 'turned heads' LOL. Like her car we had imagined she might be rather expensive 'to run' and we imagined she would not be satisfied with half a pint of  chandy.  We had met Mrs Lush, as I shall call her, several times and she always made us a nice cup of tea.  Well on this occasion I was distracted because I was having a 'little peep' at her while I was jumping up and down, and boy, I was suddenly aware that it was taking much longer than I expected to make contact with the hedge cuttings.  I was then aware of falling into a hedge and making a hard landing on the pavement curb stone.  I had landed on my coccyx with a resounding "bump".  Newton's Law can be quite unkind sometimes, paticularly since I am a fairly big chap and weigh about 15 stones (210 lbs).  I know, I know, I should be on a diet but it is all these wonderful foodie blogs I visit - I stand no chance! Anyway, back to the story,  I was aware of the daughter shouting to Chris with concern in her voice, "Quick Chris, Eddie's disappeared into the bushes and suddenly vanished! He was jumping up and down in the skip and now he's gone!"  (I'm roaring with laughter as I write this - she must have thought I was a complete 'nutter'. LOL). "Get on with the story, Eddie!" "ok"

Surprisingly I did not feel too bad, considering I must have fallen at least 3-4 feet and landed very hard on my . . . er . . . . posterior. Really I should by rights have sustained a nasty injury, but I was extremely lucky.  Chris and the mother rushed over to investigate where I was - they could not see me at this stage!!  Eventually they found me and asked if I was alright. I could move my legs, I felt a bit bruised but managed to crawl out sideways on my hands and knees.  The mother said, "You look as though you have been pulled through a hedge backwards!" and, being a qualified nurse, she insisted I pulled my trousers down so she could see the extent of my injuries. She pronounced that I had a few cuts, which she cleaned and plastered.  I was bruised as well but fortunately managed to stand up and walk about normally. She asked me what had happened and, laughing, I said I was admiring her daughter and missed the front of the skip and landed on my backside!  "That will learn you!", she said, wagging her finger at me. We were all laughing our heads of, including Mrs Lush when she found out I was OK and promptly made me a cup of tea.  I said, "Thank you! The lengths I have to go to to get a cup of tea!" She fell about laughing when she learned the full extent of the story and then. . . . she winked at me!

Well, this will confound all medical theory because from that day to this I have NEVER had a re-occurrence of sciatica.  I guess I was lucky - it must have knocked something back in place thus relieving compression on the sciatic nerve - a sort of mega chiropractor treatment.  I think I might have got the injury years before when I was cross country running.  I jumped over a gate but my leading right foot caught the top and I crashed to the ground.  The jarring might have knocked something out of place. However, I would not recommend going to all these lengths of falling out of a skip as a cure LOL.

Next time we return to our first encounter with Miss C.

21 comments:

  1. Eddie, you're unbelievable! I can just picture you missing the front of the skip! Lol at you "disappearing", I'd say she definitely thought you were w nutter!
    At least all ended well.

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  2. Alternative to a chiropractor: fall 3-4 feet on a pavement. (Do not try this at home.) One should keep one's eyes on the prize (hedge...not the daughter)...and one would be less likely to sustain damage....but in your case, you were cured. Go figure. (No pun intended.) Hi Eddie. Guess who!
    Smiles to you from Jackie
    P.S. The Word Verification was "Luff er rib".... Did you do that??

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  3. I used to be bothered by sciatica; my doctor told me to lay on a hard, flat surface for about 20 minutes. I guess it allowed my spine to decompress and the pain would go away. But I totally cured it by always sitting in chairs that were the correct height for me; making certain my thighs were parallel to the floor and my feet were flat on the floor. I'm sure glad the doc didn't tell me to fall off a skip!

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  4. Hard way to learn a lesson my friend, so glad it fixed your back though. You do have some funny stories to tell Eddie, thanks for the chuckle......:-)Hugs

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  5. Love, love, love this story! You had me laughing out loud!

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  6. I believe that you need a four pronged attack to deal with sciatic pain.

    i) Deal with the immediate pain – Pills, analgesics, creams etc.

    ii) Reduce inflammation – Sometimes with medication often with topographical applications eg. hot and cold packs

    iii) Restore your normal mobility and function – Often through stretches or exercises, but can in extreme cases require surgery

    iv) Prevent any re-occurrence or flare up of sciatic pain – by strengthening the muscles in the problem area and making some lifestyle changes that may have led to the problem.

    I've added a link for a site that has lots of information on each of these areas. There are useful articles on the site and you can also sign up for a FREE e-mail mini course.
    http://www.symptomssciatica.com/relief-of-sciatica-pain/

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  7. Ouch! And what luck! You have found the cure!! Ha!!
    You had me laughing here too! Thanks
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  8. You have had some nice clients and good thing this one was a nurse, and did you learn a lesson by the way about being distracted by a pretty woman? I have had mild sciatica pain in the last ten years but it comes and goes. I say mine is mild because I have seen others with extreme pain with sciatica nerve and mine is not like that.

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  9. You...crack...me...UP!
    And at my age, laughing this hard causes unwanted moisture.
    Great Story, Eddie!

    xoxoxo, cd

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  10. I knew a fella, once, who got sciatica from sitting on his wallet. He was mugged and it went away.
    You realize, of course, that you're going to have to pay royalties for using my name in the post?

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  11. I can remember this story now that you've blogged about it, but must admit that I'd completely forgotten about it till now.
    We really do seem to be a family of sciatica sufferers, don't we?
    Anything to do with a hurt coccyx has all my sympathy right now.
    A very insignificant bone with a good deal of power to cause pain.
    Maggie X

    Nuts in May

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  12. I started this with a chuckle and ended it laughing out loud!

    A totally humiliating venture at the time, I'm sure, but my, what a funny story! Falling out of the skip and into the hedge - lowering your trousers for inspection - and then the admission of guilt - OH MY.

    Now excuse me please, my sciatica is bothering me today, so I'm off to find a suitable hedge...

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  13. LOL!!! "Eddie's disappeared into the bushes and suddenly vanished!" She must have thought you'd fallen into a time hole! ;)

    I'm not sure that's the best way to cure your sciatica nerve, but I'm glad it worked!! Funny how the body works sometimes =-)

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  14. What a hilarious story! LOL This could only happen to you! Loved the part where you suddenly disappeared int the begonia bushes! LOL And a nurse just happened to be there to inspect the injury, after you dropped your trousers!!! LOL You are such a HOOT!

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  15. Lol, I can just picture you vanishing from view!! And it just goes to show... a pretty lady can be very beneficial and the oddest fo ways!

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  16. Eddie, this is funny stuff! A good laugh with my breakfast, and I thank you!

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  17. Stopping back in to say 'hello'....hoping that all is well with you and yours. I continue to pray for Maggie and her treatments. Sending you smiles from across the ocean, my friend.
    Jackie

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  18. too funny eddie. how could it be real?

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  19. So glad you are out of pain. I do love seeing your photos as well as your stories.

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  20. Good to catch up with again Eddie, you haven't changed have you???!!!

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  21. Eddie.
    That is a hilarious story. It is beter than fiction. Funny how life can sometimes slap you just as you are enjoying yourself.

    I can understand the possitive reaction to the sciatica pain thou. If you were suffering from a slipped disk it would be quite possible that the fall could put the disk back in place.

    Ben Martin

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