OT Back Problems

[Tinker]

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.

http://www.woodshopdemos.com/euro-1.htm

John, I am so glad to see you back.
Tinker

 

[woodshopdemos]

Tinker,
  Thanks. It is good to be back at about 23% power. But Idid make it to shop tuesday and shot a segment with Elena. That's easy cause she does alll the work.

 

[Lou Miller]

Hey everyone.

I was asked to paste a response from another thread into this one. Its been so long since I've been here that I actually forgot all about this thread. I'll just simply type an update...

If you go back and read the early part of this thread, I mentioned my problems with my back. It was years of intense pain and it had a huge impact on my life and my work. I'm happy to say that the surgery I had back in December still seems to be a huge success. 8 months later, I have zero back pain today. I don't go pushing myself way beyond my limits any more like I used to, but I still get my hands dirty and do what needs to be done on a daily basis at work. I've always been very much so a brute, so flinging around sheet goods is a piece of cake for me and I do that on a regular basis again. My problem was that I was actually capable of lifting things that weighed 2 and 3 times my body weight, so I did (like an idiot). I used to carry cast iron bathtubs up flights of stairs by myself, lift sub-zero fridges, I even lifted a 900 pound Oliver joiner once (I think that was the one that pushed me over the edge)... That was all insanity on my part and very much so the reason for all of my trouble. I've been restricting my lifting to around 200 pounds since January. I've yet to even feel the slightest of twinges in my back. It may catch up to me again one day, but so far so good. Things have been so good that I've been catching up on all of the work I missed and that has kept me from showing up around here. I'm sure I'll be back here more often again, but for now, I'm really just enjoying being able to do the job I was born to do again.

 

[Tinker]

LOU, It's great to know you are back to doing your thing again.  When I went to my present chiropractor for the first time 25+ years ago, as soon as he looked at my X-rays he asked, "Did your grow up on a farm?"  The answer was "yes"

By the time i was 11 or 12, i was weighing in at a rather diminutive 97#'s, or there abouts.  I was working in the fields tossing fork loads of hay that you couldn't see me under and picking up 100# bags of feed.  By the time i was 13, and still barely 100#s, I was stacking 100# bags of feed as high as I could reach.  I mean as high as I could reach, I was stacking feed.  Chiropractor told me things like that, while my body was still developing, had crushed discs while they were still too soft to stand that sort of weight.  Even after my back started hurting, i was still (a mason by then) unloading lime and cement (lime=50# Cement=94#) from flatbed trucks two at a time for cement and three at a time for lime.  I often got involved in helping move fridges and pianos and would always take the end closest to the bottom of stairs or ramp so i had the heaviest load.

Really, when i look back, it was a bunch of foolishness.  When my son was growing up, he went everywhere with me.  He wanted to help with masonry almost (but not quite) as much as he wanted to run the backhoes and loaders.  I would never let him pick up anything heavier than one or two bricks, and then for only a few minutes at a time.  He would get sooo angry with me.  He now has toys that make all of the machine toys he learned to run on my jobs look verrryyyy small.  He picks up two or three ton stones and puts them in place with his hydraulic excavators.  Much more sensible. And he ain't sufferin' with any sort of back problems. 

One more point:  I don't know if i will ever get up the nerve for an operation, but if it is worth anything to you, you have given me atleast a little measure of courage to face it if i ever do get to that point.  thankyou for you report and your optimism.
Tinker

 

[b_m_hart]

I pinched my sciatic nerve about 15 years ago, and let me tell you, it was BRUTAL.  I would black out from time to time when carrying things, and would wake up and feel like my legs were on fire.  Of course, workers comp basically screwed me, and I was too young and dumb to know any better (that I should fight them).

Short of surgery, time is a great healer.  I have to admit, I don't want ANY knives anywhere near my spinal column.  While I may be sore at times, it's better than not being able to walk because someone had a bad day at work!  Other things that have helped me incredibly have been stretching and keeping my core muscles (as in stomach from pecs down to the groin) strong.  Stretching your back, your legs, and arms will help the biofeedback aspect of things - you know the "I hurt because I hurt" syndrome.  Get the muscles relaxed, and less stress on your spine will do you a world of good... at least it has for me.

Fortunately I have a desk gig.  I had to learn to use my mind instead of my body to earn a living, because my body was already "broken" by the time I was 21.  I feel the urge to do more construction type stuff (I've really enjoyed working with my concrete countertops, for example), but I know that isn't something that would work out very well.  As much as it may seem like a tough gig, I'm envious of those of you that are physically capable of earning a living with your bodies and a learned trade.

 

[Tinker]

b_m_hart,
I looked into your bio and was quite interrested in your concrete countertop report.  A good job.
That stuff is heavy, so too bad you had to do the whole thing over again.  When I was in the biz, i had several different helpers along the way who had a real interrest in their work.  (Including my son)  I would often give them a project, show/explain exactly how I wanted it done, get them started and leave.  A few hours later, I would come back, point out all of the errors and make them tear the job all apart and start over again.  (a bit expensive for me, but if they learned, it was well worth it to me) My son now has his own biz and believe me, he wants his help to do the job right____ or they do it over until it is.

Your comment about the estimates being too high and so you did it yourself reminded me of another story.

I had a neighbor who wanted to have a concrete floor added to his dirt floored cellar.  I gave him a price which he decided to be far out of reach.  He got his father-in-law, brother-in-law and a couple of other friend to help him and he set the date, ordered the concrete.

The concrete arrived on a very warm day and so, to keep atleast their feet cool, they took off their shoes and went to work.  I found out about what they had done when the guys wife told me the whole crew had ended up in the hospital with cement burned feet.

It appears you did far better research for your project.  Great job
Tinker

 

[Warrior]

Are you really Lou Miller or are you Lou Ferrigno? 900# joiner my goodness man. How long is your hair? Sampson?

Really. The differences in genetic strength is amazing. I had a seargant in the Army. He was thin maybe 6' tall and 165#. He could put you (prolly not you) on the ground by grabbing and squeezing your hand. he did not even grimace. It was incredible. I am no slouch either I could deadlift a triple of 585# when I was 17. i was 18 in the Army. We were goofing around in the motorpool yard wrestling around. He would just grab a leg and squeeze and who ever it was was on the ground saying uncle.

Its amazing and i can see that we are deffinately not all created equal (in intelligence and physical abilities). yet we all have the same value.

Eiji