Pain and Arthritis on the Ranch

Ranching is hard work. Over the years, I have broken bones, got bruised and beat up by animals and couldn’t wait to eat the offending critter for revenge. One morning when I was in high school, my show steer kicked my ankle. That afternoon, I ran a cross country track meet without knowing the ankle was broken. It was only after the meet that the track coach looked at my swollen foot and told me to go to a doctor. A quick Xray confirmed it was a fracture. I was on crutches for six weeks.

Other ranch activities have caused strain and pain. Constant hours of chopping trees and brush with an ax improved my hitting average in softball but caused my shoulders, back and joints to suffer. On day while sitting on the edge of the bed, the phone rang and I quickly turned my body. I heard a loud pop, like the sound of a 22 rifle being shot. Later that day, I was lying on my stomach screaming in pain.

Visits to three doctors confirmed it: my back was in terrible shape. Three disc were touching bone-on-bone and other disc were deteriorated. All three doctors said I need surgery and to get my spine fused. I told them all NO. The last doctor said in six weeks I would come begging him for the surgery.

One year later, I was working hard on the ranch and had grown almost an inch taller. Proper nutrition and natural care “cured” me. But the deterioration of the body never stops for ranchers. Hard work means a constant battle against aging.

Arthritis can be a terrible degenerative disease. When I was young, I often saw poor people with swollen joints and women with broken hips. Too often a broken hip meant death in a year or two.

Still true today-read this link: https://www.google.com/ search?client-foxfire-b-l-d&q =women+death+broken+hip+ percentage Today, hips, elbows, shoulder and knee joints can be replaced if gotten to in time. People often say they get their lives’ back after surgery. But too many people still suffer and must use canes, walkers and wheelchairs just to deal with the pain of arthritis.

I also see a lot of arthritis in animals. I rarely saw this when I was young. Perhaps because the eatable animals were eaten. But I still see older horses, cows and dogs suffer from the disease. And I see the problem in younger animals than I remembered from my youth. I see dogs as young as five or six with arthritis. Glucosamine helps with some animals but not all.

I have used chiropractors for year for my aches and pains. I try to go once a month for adjustments. My neck tells me if it has been too long. I start to get pain and a quick adjustment gets me back to feeling better quickly. Driving the tractor for too many hours or working cattle sometimes makes an extra trip necessary.

I will be teaching a FREE class on Pain and Arthritis, March 30 beginning at 2 pm, at the Randolph Recreation Center in LaGrange. I will cover prevention and natural cures for chronic pain, inflammation, headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, gout and other pains. Bring your questions and friends. I am not a doctor, so never attempt natural cures without the advice of a qualified physician. This class is for educational and informational purposes only.

David E. Will is a local rancher and consultant. He can be reached at 830-6299876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.