OT Back Problems

Got em both, the asics dont save my tools when they hit the floor though!

Nickao
 
colinw said:
Colin this is one of the most amazing stories I've ever heard. They say there's silver lining to everything but getting run over by a truck? You're blowing my mind! I guess another one of those sayings applies, "strange but true".
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Micheal.... If you read earlier in this thread you will see my post of the injuries I suffered ....AMAZING what the human body can withstand

Bob has also raised a good point, If you regularly work in you shop standing on a concrete floor which most of us do you will be amazed at the difference a sheet of low impact flooring makes, you don't have to cover the whole floor with it just for instance in front of your work bench where you stand for a long time.  there are lots of diffrent types the most common are interlocking tiles which can be purchased at around $2 each one square foot, also a exercise pad ( which are made to place exercise equipment on ) are very good for this purpose and are a convenient size. you will not regret doing this I FOUND THIS A LIFESAVER!

Colin.
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Colin I did read the earlier post but I don't think you mentioned the MRI and tumor previously.

I love those interlocking foam floor tiles and covered my entire basement shop concrete floor with them and then discovered that my cat liked to chew on the knobby edge and clogged his esophagus. I very nearly had to pay for surgery to get it out. Fortunately the barium goo they poured down his throat to make the obstruction show up on the xray was greasy enough that it helped him pass the foam (one way or another?). Since by then I was sold on the idea of a cushioned and insulated floor I had to take the tiles out and get a few of the expensive dedicated workstation mats.

But, I kept the floor tiles and I take them to job sites that need to be protected. I use them on floors and tables and also up the sides of cabinets and other things I don't want to damage. Just slice the backside and fold to continue up a vertical surface. I also use them as the sacrificial backing for cutting stuff with the circular saw. Very, very handy.
 
Micheal,
            if you want a cool garage buy the professional ones wall to wall, diffrent colours make pretty patterns an have the ramps in the entry way and these are meant to be driven on ( they use them in car showrooms ) but you will still need a soft pad tile/mat to stand on as these tiles are hard

Nickoa.
          I have edges for my pads but they are not ramped you just use them so the edges look square not like jigsaw puzzle pieces. the cool thing is you can add more pieces and make the mats as small or big as required then just throw the edges on. as far as rolling heavy items on mine like the TS etc i don't know how the ones i have would stand up, they are very "squishy" but i like them that way thats why I guess the mat idea works for me. Would be great to get together if theres a show or something going on. have a great day

Colin
 
For anyone interested in these back/tool savers:

Here is a pic of the ramped(they call them tapered) mat edges and a link where to get them and the soft squares.

Nick

Soft mats

Click on the link then scroll down and click on soft surface floor mats.

One of my favorite things about the mats after the the relief to my feet, knees and back  is after using the 6 mil plastic and covering with the mats I have no moisture in the air like I did before during certain seasons. The padding as I stated earlier really does save your tools if you knock them to the floor too.

DISCLAIMER* I have never used the particular mats at the link they are slightly bigger than what I have and made by a different company.
 
Colinw, et al, what really bites the proverbial big one is when you HAVE two MRIs, three CT Scans and three sets of Xrays and then the docs say we don't really know what is wrong with your back for sure so we are going to have to perfom this somewhat painful procedure called a "provacative discography or discogram" depending on whom you are speaking with. It involves three very long needles stuck in the middle of your discs, you being awake and contrast dye shot in under inceasingly greater psi. If nothing is wrong with your discs it is painful but bearable but if something is it is the single most painful experience I have ever had. My control disc I rated a 7 out of 10 at 125 psi. the other two I was literally screaming and rated them as 15s out of 10 at about 25 psi. Not fun.  :( Fred
 
Michael, you too?? :D I thought only I had the little wood gremlins that forced my finished pieces off the table and on to the floor.  :o ::) Fred
 
Fred, what was the diagnosis from the needles in the back?  Didn't you recently have that done?
 
Steve-CO, yes fairly recently and the diagnosis was most of my pain is caused by the DISCS instead of the nerve, et al which puts me in the unenviable position of the docs shrugging their collective shoulders and saying duhhhh we dunno whot to doooo. :( Seriously they are recommending a spinal fusion and saying it has a 10% chance of helping. Those are my kind of odds boy. Who wouldn't want an 8-10 hour surgery(decompressive laminectomy as well), six month recovery all for a 90% chance of failure. :( ??? ??? Fred
 
Fred my pain is with you......now did I have one or two discograms ....hrmmmm two i think because the first one they said was inconclusive and did I mention the nerve tests I had I don't remember the name of It but I remember the PAIN!!!!!!..... let me tell you about this test, First of all being as my spinal cord was jammed against spinal column for so long I suffered a lot of nerve damage namely loss off feeling  in parts of my feet, legs, torso,arms and butt (hope butt is acceptable here) so there is a test to determine how much nerve damage there is. it starts with a needle about 2 inches long with a wire attached to on end (the other end is your typical pointy end) which in turn goes to a monitor that measures electrical impulses form your muscles/nerves. first you are grounded via a wire with one of those sticky electrode thingies then they stab the needle in and twist it around for 15 to 20 sec ouch that hurts not satisfied with that while they are doing this the machine you are hooked up to sends small electric shocks to you and then monitors and records the muscle/nerve response. thats not too bad you say, oh I forgot to mention they do this about every 4 inch's up the outside of your foot, leg, butt, torso and arm, then its the same routine up the inside of your leg and then its the other sides turn. 200 jabs, twists, and shocks later.....................I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
it's the only test/surgery I have ever gave up and said OK thats enough, The only reason I stayed and finished it was the insurance company that was going to compensate me would not settle until they had absolute proof of how much nerve damage I had and if I did not take this test they would not settle. It's in the past now but I still shudder when I think of this and I am no stranger to pain, in fact my last discectomy I walked out of the hospital ( with some small assistance from my wife) 4 1/2 hours after my surgery.

Colin.
 
as  an after though Fred my first surgery a 5 level laminectomy and a discectomy lasted 15 hours (including the removal of the tumor) since then i have had two separate discectomies, with a recommendation for a spinal fusion to be determined on how many levels at the time of surgery. i said no way! and was told by my neurosurgeon " you will be back within the next three years ......that was four years ago and still going  ;D

Colin
 
Colinw, that other test is an emg. I just had my second one for this and third one overall. And yes that tests bites the big one.  :D I think it is quite funny how they stick those needles in, turn on the electricity and then start pushing the needle around like it is not already painful enough.  :o YIKES, OUCH and YOWZA those surgeries sound horrible.  :( :( :( :P It makes me ill just thinking about what you went through and gives me phantom pain in my back?? At least I think it is phantom? ;) 8) Fred
 
Fred West said:
Colinw, that other test is an emg. I just had my second one for this and third one overall. And yes that tests bites the big one.  :D I think it is quite funny how they stick those needles in, turn on the electricity and then start pushing the needle around like it is not already painful enough.  :o YIKES, OUCH and YOWZA those surgeries sound horrible.  :( :( :( :P It makes me ill just thinking about what you went through and gives me phantom pain in my back?? At least I think it is phantom? ;) 8) Fred
Click to expand...

And those same practitioners say acupuncture is primitive?
 
Fred,
      As I said I feel your pain, it seems like we have been down a similar road ! from someone who knows and understands your problems first hand stay healthy!!

Colin
 
Michael, I couldn't agree with you more. Accupuncture is a wonderful tool and anyone that says it is primitive hasn't tried it or is scared.

Colin, thank you so much. The same back  8) to you and I will keep you, Nick, Michael, Steve-CO and anyone else interested up to date. Fred
 
I have had back pain  since 1963 and I think I have tried everything. Now I just work smarter. If a white melamine sheet is 92 lbs, dont lift it. That is why I built the panel cart that the lumberyard delivery guy loads with sheets. When I need one, I topple it over the side and it lands on the work table///from that point on, I can handle it.
euro-17.jpg

http://www.woodshopdemos.com/euro-1.htm
 
John, I am not as old and wise as you but I must admit some of those very good ideas just don't make it here when my shop is in my basement with no walkout and a turn on the stairs going down. I do everthing I can to restrict what I pick up, etc. but it gets really tough with my space. Fred
 
John one of the few things I decided NOT to sell recently when I updated the shop was my cart. I actually had a buyer, than thought better of it. I can push it around and just flop a piece right on my table and rip or cross cut it.

I believe I first saw using a cart in a work shop on your site awhile back, just one of the many things I have picked up over the years looking through your site. I always used the carts at work but never thought to use them in my little shop.

At that time I always kept the pile flat on some pallets. I find if I band the ply tight on the cart the ply stays almost as flat as it does stored horizontal. And a whole lot easier to move around and handle.

Nickao

 
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