Have you gotten more clumsy as you’ve aged?

Once, as a child I would walk the railroad rails in an abandoned railroad lot(?). There was a giant railroad turnstile there that I pushed to make it turn. But I was a little worried that I had misaligned the railroad tracks on it with the tracks that led up to it and cause a coming train to crash. :LOL:
 

Well, my fingers became somewhat arthritic 2 decades ago after often eating red meat at employment campus cafeterias for a few years. After I went back to a low red meat diet that has not worsened much. Typing on keyboards and mouse movements help keep my hands/fingers exercised. But still need to be careful how I use my hands and cannot say put much stress on fingers. I do sense an overall body increase in body resistance to movement, say when having to stand up from a prone position. Otherwise, the OP's phenomenon has not arisen probably because I have been so physically active.
 
Yes--tho I've always been clumsy or so my lovely mother told me several times a day. She even delighted in telling people stories of my clumsiness, totally humiliating me. I think I was around 10 yo when she told my aunt, loudly so I could hear, that I'd broken the cookie jar she'd had for 50 years or something like that. Nice, huh?
 
astralcat said:
Not that I've noticed, but then I have always been that person who finds the crack in a sidewalk and almost does a face plant.
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Me too. Usually because my mind has wandered elsewhere. :D
My problem is I forget that Im old and not as limber as I used to be.
If I get down to do something or stand up from sitting I need to give things a moment to click back in place.
 
Elsie said:
Rae, years ago I sprained the muscle/tendons in my upper right arm. It turned deep black & blue from elbow to shoulder. After it healed, I was still able to lift my arm high. But in the last year, or so, I've been unable to lift that arm to the top of my head. (I don't have pain). I'm right handed, and now I have a tough time combing my hair into a ponytail. I push that arm up with my left arm when I reach for something. I don't like my hair hanging down by my face. Guess I'll have to shave my head.
This morning, I walked to kitchen forgetting to use my walker & was relieved that I did so without losing my balance. Glass anything is verboten in my home. Only unbreakable things.
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I have a similar problem with my upper arms, but in my case it's arthritis and a torn shoulder ligament. Makes life difficult, I know. Especially when it comes to my hair, which is super long and never getting cut again.
 
hollydolly said:
Elsie I've done the same thing, with regard to my arm.. about a month or so ago maybe a little longer, I was doing some gardening using electric hedge trimmers, and somehow I really hurt my right arm. The pain has not gone away and like you I have to lift that arm up using my left hand.. because it's too painful to lift on it's own, which makes me wonder if I've torn a ligament a tendon or a muscle..

Some nights it's so painful it wakes me up screeching

Just yesterday I ordered some compression sleeves for my upper arm, to see if that will help....
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While I had pain I'd wear a brace on my upper arm. It helped a little. I looked up my type of sprain on the internet and found little can be done to fix my torn ligament(s) (tendon?) even with surgery. I also read that that type of injury is common in seniors. I hope your sprain is minor and will completely heal. 🌷
 
Even at 59 I've become more clumsy. I have to be careful now to watch what I'm doing when walking and using stairs and trying to get on the floor and back up again.

Also dropping things a lot to the point where it's annoying. Opening packages and bottles and jars is more of a chore these days too.
 
My balance sucks....especially since my last hip replacement. I used to be able to walk around my apartment without using my walker. Now I can only manage a few steps. I find I feel unsteady...most when I have to stop and change directions. Partly is due to my fear of falling.
I mean if you look close at my avatar, my walker is right next to me, Sometime I feel a bit dizzy. Working on that, though
 
StarSong said:
I haven't seen posts about loss of grip strength and other strength declines. Despite being spry and in generally good shape, I'm not nearly as strong as even 10 years ago.
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That's normal, isn't it? You could try a Hand Strengthener.........
 
One of the best and easiest ways for middle aged people to maintain fitness, coordination, and balance in order to carry such into their senior years is to regularly walk and at least occasionally dance. Even better, given location and wealth are the sports of snow skiing, hiking, and especially backpacking. Each summer, I meet many seniors on trails while backpacking in wilderness and there are numbers in such enthusiast web communities. Eventually, our physical abilities are certain to age away and none of we mortals gets out of here alive.
 
Ronni said:
Well it reassures me to know I’m not the only one who’s gotten more clumsy, but sorry for those of you who are dealing with it 😢 At best it’s just annoying, and at worse can create situations where you can do yourself serious damage.

I’m thankful I still have decent balance, so I’m not prone to falls. As an aside I have borders in my garden that are made of railroad ties, and when I water the garden each day I make a point of walking those ties from end to end and back again. Great balance exercise!!

There’s another one you can barely see the start of at the far end of the pic, and I walk all three, turning those right angle corners, and almost always do it without falling!
View attachment 432852
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If you really want to be safe, get a handrail for those steps.
 
David777 said:
Well, my fingers became somewhat arthritic 2 decades ago after often eating red meat at employment campus cafeterias for a few years. After I went back to a low red meat diet that has not worsened much. Typing on keyboards and mouse movements help keep my hands/fingers exercised. But still need to be careful how I use my hands and cannot say put much stress on fingers. I do sense an overall body increase in body resistance to movement, say when having to stand up from a prone position. Otherwise, the OP's phenomenon has not arisen probably because I have been so physically active.
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See I have the opposite, I rarely eat red meat... preferring white meat overall.... I type often during the day.... and I use a gel ball to keep my fingers and hands as supple I can .. yet my fingers continue to worsen with arthritis, in fact just this week I've had a new flare up.. on my left hand this time.

I find if I eat sugar in any form.. sweets, cakes..biscuits... ( I don't use sugar in drinks)... the inflamation is almost instantaneous...
 
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hollydolly said:
that's the I same if I drop things.. the oA in my fingers.... but I'm really not that clumsy... I just notice that I'm more clumsy than I used to be. ..and in all honesty I'm a fast mover..do everything fast, walk fast, but I've even tried to be a little more deilberate and slow down a bit since I've noticed these things happening...plus in my haste last year I had terrible fall when I tripped as I stepped outside the back door..... I just missed hitting my face on a concret block..just centimetres away... so I could easily have had a brain injury or been killed... but I really ripped up my legs and arms... My knee swelled up like a football...

leg.jpg
these are my legs below without swelling..so you can see just how much damage there was...when I fell, it really shook me up
my-legs-in-the-sun-HD.jpg
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Glad you just referred back to this page in the latest posts here. I've always moved quickly in most things but especially walking. I did attend an elder moving class at the Y before we stopped going in which everyone was encouraged to walk smoothly (not quickly) but to be sure and land on the heel and push off from the ball of the foot. It was a breeze for me in my 60's but now when I get lower back pain (I shouldn't be sitting here too long) I find it hard to walk properly but I just focus on moving smoothly and painlessly.
 
hollydolly said:
See I have the opposite, I rarely eat red meat... preferring white meat overall.... I type often during the day.... and I use a gel ball to keep my fingers and hands as supple I can .. yet my fingers continue to worsen with arhrtisi, in fact just this week I've had a new flare up.. on my left hand this time.

I find if I eat sugar in any form.. sweets, cakes..biscuits... ( I don't use sugar in drinks)... the inflamation is almost instantaneous...
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I've found a few exercises for my hands which help, especially "bunny ears". This is where you start with your hand in a loose fist with the thumb up. Then you just extend your pointer and middle finger. I was originally shown this while holding a tennis ball in the hand but I found I could maintain the same rounded first without it and thereby do it anywhere and more often.

physical therapy for arthritic hands bunny ears
 
hollydolly said:
I find if I eat sugar in any form.. sweets, cakes..biscuits... ( I don't use sugar in drinks)... the inflamation is almost instantaneous...
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The OA in my hands has settled down considerably with far fewer flareups than a few years ago. No additional finger joints have been affected, and the ones that are haven't worsened. I'm attributing it to taking a daily supplement of glucosamine with chondroitin.

While the effectiveness of this supplement for OA remains up for debate, it seems to be helping me.

I haven't noticed sugar affecting my OA, but will look out for it. Thanks for the heads up.
 
StarSong said:
The OA in my hands has settled down considerably with far fewer flareups than a few years ago. No additional finger joints have been affected, and the ones that are haven't worsened. I'm attributing it to taking a daily supplement of glucosamine with chondroitin.

While the effectiveness of this supplement for OA remains up for debate, it seems to be helping me.

I haven't noticed sugar affecting my OA, but will look out for it. Thanks for the heads up.
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when I say sugar intake is almost instantaneous, I don't mean I see growth spurs.. but what I feel in my fingers is pain like I've jammed my fingers in a door, very painful.. and it can last several days.. and then those same fingers within a a month or less will then show evidence of inflamation and growth spurs..

I tried G with C many years ago when I was first diagnosed with OA... it cased me problems due to the Hiatus Hernia.... plus it never helped me with the OA pain ...so I stopped taking it...there seems to be some kind of scientific evidence to suggest its's no better than a placebo..

Glucosamine review - vitamins and supplements information | CHOICE


However many people believe it helps them.. I just know it never did anything good for me.. unfortunately
 
Ronni said:
I have.

Primarily it’s when I handle things. Sometimes my movements are more awkward than they used to be. I drop things more, fumble more.

It’s not very bad at all. But I’ve always been graceful in my movements, certain and sure and the comparison is noticeable to me. Even though it’s not noticeable to others, it is to me.

What about you?
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Hm. I've developed a slight tremor in my hands.

However, I play a lot of Vinyl records, and as long as I'm able to place the needle in the groove (a not casual ability) I'm good. :)
 

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