My back.......

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mcpp66

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I usually end up having so much back pain after spending just a couple of hours in my garage detailing my car. It especially hurts when I have to lean forward to buff the middle of my hood. I thought Mike posted a thread on ergonomics but I can't find it. Can anyone help me find that? Also, if you have any tips or tricks to minimize back pain while detailing please tell me. This is killing me!
 
I had major back surgery about 25 years ago and it kills me to work on anything lower on down on a car than about the bottom of the windows. So I got a 4 post lift and put it in my driveway. Now I just raise up the car in stages so I can work at mid chest level.

I still suffer when reaching for the middle of the hood or the middle of the roof. What seem to give me the most relief is working dawn one side as far as comfortable, then the front, then the other side. This leaves a 1 to 2 foot square at the back. But since I have finished the majority of the hood I can generally finished that back area before I have hurt my back. It strange to see what hurts on person's back and not another's. Just today I was jack hammering parts of my garage floor prior to pouring some concrete. It wasn't a compressed air tool, just a 100 pound electric one. Several hours of this and no back pain.
 
How you reduce back pain depends on the source of the back pain. The smartest approach is to see your family doc to determine the source. Most are muscular. Some are disc/bone spur problems. Rarely it can be an internal structure such as kidneys, major blood vessel or other organs. Let your doc sort that out.

Most pain in the back is muscular. In particular, it is the large long strap muscles of the back. IF they are weak, it will make your back hurt when you try to use them to support a lot of weight. Proper stretches and strengthening exercises will help more than anything. Have your doc send you to a physical therapy program to get you started and then follow through with the exercises religiously.

Taking pain meds or muscle relaxers can alleviate the symptoms and has a role in treating back pain. However, they don't solve the problem that is causing it in the first place. Treating the cause will go lot farther than covering it up.
 
how about taking an Aleve prior to detailing, maybe it will relax muscles just enough during the work to avoid pain later ???
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
how about taking an Aleve prior to detailing, maybe it will relax muscles just enough during the work to avoid pain later ???
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That is a good suggestion. It wont "relax" the muscles, but, it will reduce the inflammation associated with back pain. Only problem is chronic use of NSAIDs can cause ulcers.

I forgot to add in my above post that disc/bone spur problems often present as butt/thigh/leg/foot pain and or numbness. It depends on which level is affected.
 
5.4 Shelby said:
How you reduce back pain depends on the source of the back pain. The smartest approach is to see your family doc to determine the source. Most are muscular. Some are disc/bone spur problems. Rarely it can be an internal structure such as kidneys, major blood vessel or other organs. Let your doc sort that out.

Most pain in the back is muscular. In particular, it is the large long strap muscles of the back. IF they are weak, it will make your back hurt when you try to use them to support a lot of weight. Proper stretches and strengthening exercises will help more than anything. Have your doc send you to a physical therapy program to get you started and then follow through with the exercises religiously.

Taking pain meds or muscle relaxers can alleviate the symptoms and has a role in treating back pain. However, they don't solve the problem that is causing it in the first place. Treating the cause will go lot farther than covering it up.
Click to expand...


I couldn't agree more with this post, I had back problems for years, the last of which I was playing golf, took one swing and it dropped me, I could barely make it back to the car. I used to get cortizone shots, saw a chiropractor and went to phyisical therapy, all of which worked for a period of time. It wasn't until I started doing stretches and doing ab strengthening exercises as a routine that I was free of back pain. I'm 45 now and haven't had back pain for several years by making exercises part of my lifestyle and it take some time to get there.

In my experiences, if your problem is muscular, a strong core will do you wonders!

Tom
 
Jenn1270 said:
Aleve or Motrin is a good place to start
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Unfortunately I don't think I should take those medications because I have Diverticulitis. If I remember correctly I was told to stay away from those.
 
mcpp66 said:
Unfortunately I don't think I should take those medications because I have Diverticulitis. If I remember correctly I was told to stay away from those.
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I guess not the best idea.
 
I take aleve and put a little Tiger Balm on my back to help with flexability, also use the same regimen when i play golf... here a link

About Tiger Balm

:xyxthumbs:
 
I would recommend that you go find a good chiropractor. Back pain can be caused by many different reasons and I have found that my chiropractor has really helped me.
 
CoQ10 as a supplement 300 miligrams if you way 200lbs or more - 200 or less 200 Miligrams. It allows your muscles and the disk in your back to hydrate better - All aches are caused my micro tears to the muscles or basic cellular dehydration. This supplement which is widely available at every drug store / grocery store will allow your mauscles to absorb and hold water throughout the day.
 
Wax Gorilla said:
CoQ10 as a supplement 300 miligrams if you way 200lbs or more - 200 or less 200 Miligrams. It allows your muscles and the disk in your back to hydrate better - All aches are caused my micro tears to the muscles or basic cellular dehydration. This supplement which is widely available at every drug store / grocery store will allow your mauscles to absorb and hold water throughout the day.
Click to expand...


nice tip..
 
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