My right arm, DONE!

HateSwirls

HateSwirls

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Not sure about you full time detailers but after doing so many paint corrections since I opened my shop five weeks ago.
It really started when I began doing them with my Flex, no , not from actually using it but picking it up either from my cart or the floor.
It's hurts so had, to a point I won't do any paint corrections until Saturday when I do a black Land Rover.

Question...
This will be my first time working on one.
Any tips on working on the clear?
Hard, soft?

I just want to make sure I'm all set.
Thanks ,
Kevin
 
Wow Kevin.... hate to hear that brother. :(
Is it sore from using it or do you think you've pulled something?
Ice is critical, heat (if you've pulled something) will make it worse, (at least at first).
You can rotate both though. I would say if you don't have one.... look up the Theratherm heating pad. They are NOT cheap, but they'll go thermonuclear! :dblthumb2:

If you have a particular spot that's bothering you, maybe you're doctor would prescribe Lidoderm patches (5% lidocaine) to apply to the area. (I get them 60 a month, 90 day supply.) Either those or prescribe some cream from a compounding pharmacy, that stuff is pretty neat.

Just hold on and please be careful brother, and pace yourself. :xyxthumbs:
 
Kevin I can't comment on the Land Rover as I never worked on one. My suggestion about your right arm is to stretch your arm if you can.

My guess your arm hurts because of your rotator cuff. 4 tendons and muscles that control you arm movement in many ways.

I would suggest getting a decent massage, however, I am not too familiar with your area. Maybe look on Yelp. Another is get a heating pad and eucalyptus ointment and rub in the area you are in pain. This should help.

This is my area of expertise (your arm) additionally, lower back and hip flexors sciatic nerve etc.

The ointment and stretching your arm should help. The heating pad at night (when you are sleeping) will also help.

But glad to see you are so busy your arm hurts!!

BTW, this weekend I will be working on a couple of scratches on a 2009 Range Rover. I will be doing a little wet sanding and polishing the scratch out! Woo Hoo....my 1st paying customer!!!
 
Doesn't sound good my friend.
Where you hurting, Elbow? Wrist?

Maybe one of those Slip On Elastic Braces may help?

If it's the Shoulder, then I don't know what to say?
Machine too heavy? The vibration? I know they say the Flex is smooth, but I would think any machine after awhile will feel like you're handling a Harley Hog down the highway.

There's no doubt about, detailing for a living is very darn hard work. Working under the gun, and fighting a clock exasperates the stress, both mental, and physical.

I know what it was like 35-40 years ago, one reason why I really am apprehensive taking on such work anymore (at 60 years of age), just keeping up with my own vehicles is enough! LOL

Hope these aches-pains are just some short term issues, and will go away.
 
cardaddy said:
Wow Kevin.... hate to hear that brother. :(
Is it sore from using it or do you think you've pulled something?
Ice is critical, heat (if you've pulled something) will make it worse, (at least at first).
You can rotate both though. I would say if you don't have one.... look up the Theratherm heating pad. They are NOT cheap, but they'll go thermonuclear! :dblthumb2:

If you have a particular spot that's bothering you, maybe you're doctor would prescribe Lidoderm patches (5% lidocaine) to apply to the area. (I get them 60 a month, 90 day supply.) Either those or prescribe some cream from a compounding pharmacy, that stuff is pretty neat.

Just hold on and please be careful brother, and pace yourself. :xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...

Wow!! Nice to know we are on the same page!!
 
I had that problem with mine also from my PC. When I got the Flex 3401 the problem went away. I think it was from the vibration and the fact that you have to work harder with the PC. As far a the Land rover goes, my daughter has one that;s in need of a complete correction in Santorini Black. I did does a rear 1/4 panel on it and it seemed like very hard clear coat to me .
 
Kevin, I do have some eucalyptus ointment I can ship to you. Again, this is the business that I am in and I have a boatload of this ointment!! The stuff is from Thailand similar to Tiger Balm but better. Or the other option is to get Tiger Balm at a CVS or Walgreens. I am sure they sell some there.
 
Not good man, I'm sorry to hear about that. Sore arms are not fun. I know that when I went full time it was my hands that really started feeling it. I can't vouch for your arms, but for me once I got accustomed to it, it got much better. I also use gloves whenever I use a polisher now, no matter which one. I've got some that have some padding in them so that they absorb some of the vibration and I feel like it helps a lot.

I'm not sure how much it will do for the arms, but it helped the hands. Good luck man! hopefully you turn a corner with it soon.
 
I had a serious bout with tennis elbow this past summer. It's nearly gone now that I have stopped detailing for the winter. tennis elbow brace helped along with ice a couple times a day. I only detail on the weekends in the warmer months, so it helped a little to have that downtime during the week. It never really recovered until about 8 weeks of no DA use.
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
Wow!! Nice to know we are on the same page!!
Click to expand...
:dblthumb2: Yup.... been there.... done that! :rolleyes:

One thing I forgot to mention Kevin....

Hurt my shoulder last Fall, standing on the very top of a 24' extension ladder with a freaking pole saw in my hands getting a limb off the high end of the house. Now this shoulder I've separated once, and hyper extended it twice more, but that was 15+ years ago the last time.


So I go to my doctor after waking up the next morning and couldn't move my arm. He sent me to a specialist... took a cortisone shot and it helped a bit. They in turn sent me for an MRI and PT. BOY did BCBS love that! Uh... NOT!!!!!! :eek:

But what really got me was that BOTH my regular doctors, (the GP and my pain doc) told me that once we break "50" that the incidence of bad shoulders is higher than your age. So in other words.... I've got a 58% chance of having a bad shoulder on any given day. Heck, I only have TWO!!!!

CRAP..... what happens when you are 80? You end up with a 20% chance of NOT having a bad shoulder? :laughing:

Hey, Claude is (sorta) down your way. Maybe he'll chime in. :dunno:
 
Thanks everyone.

It's my right forearm that's hurting.
The pain starts at the elbow and goes down close to my wrist.
As I said, it only hurts when I use it.
For example.
Pouring a cup of coffee hurts like hell.
I use my right arm to control my machines, the Flex as most of you know has little to know vibration , but it does work your right arm to hold this bad boy.
I don't feel it pulling or walking on me anymore but I'm sure it takes a toll on a person using it day in day out.

I'm using a gel my wife got for me at work, it's called Voltaren Gel.
It's an inflammatory gel I think.

Best way for me to describe the pain is this, my forearm hurts if I make a fist, the large muscles on the arm seems to be the problem but as said it could be coming from the rotary cuff/shoulder.

The Rover will be in my shop tomorrow instead of Saturday so gotta get her done.
I'll pick up an elbow brace and see if that helps.

Thanks again,
Kevin
 
I had the exact same problem a couple of years ago. It's a slow injury to heal and a combination of rest and some anti-inflammatory therapy will help.

Voltaren Gel is a good and pretty safe anti-inflammatory gel, use it about three times a day. Try to rest and lightly stretch it (make a fist...don't tightly clench it)

Best of all is to go and see a doctor. We all want to help you as best we can, but your old car detailing internet buddies are no substitute for a trained physician (I'm just married to one).

Be careful, take it easy and prioritize your health over the job.

-Dave
 
Sounds like tennis elbow. Try one of the tennis elbow braces you wear on the forearm just below the elbow.
 
HateSwirls, your last description does appear to be tennis elbow. Everyone is correct regarding getting the band for your elbow and forearm. Again, ointments on the forearm muscle. There is a technique to stretch your forearm. Stretch your forearm by getting your non-pain hand and bend your wrist (pain forearm) and bend back and forth. Hold for about 30sec to a minute each time. You will feel your forearm muscle starting to loosen up.

That will help. Additionally, someone mentioned getting some gloves to reduce vibration. That will help. The last is to not grab or loosen up the grip force with your hurt arm. That should help! Massaging the forearm too!!

Shoot, it you lived in So Cal I would have one of my therapists work on that forearm...but too far away!

Get better and I hope you do not mind some of my suggestions.

Peace!!
 
i've been dealing with bad shoulders since i partialy dislocated both of them playing water polo. the only thing that helped was physical theropy. look up the "open door, close door" stretch cord excercise, ice, and pick up a T.E.N.S from a pharmacy (this helps a ton for sore backs as well).

doing the work we do we need to take some time to take care of our bodies. stretching after a long day of paint correction is important!!
 
HateSwirls said:
Thanks everyone.

It's my right forearm that's hurting.
The pain starts at the elbow and goes down close to my wrist.
As I said, it only hurts when I use it.
For example.
Pouring a cup of coffee hurts like hell.
I use my right arm to control my machines, the Flex as most of you know has little to know vibration , but it does work your right arm to hold this bad boy.
I don't feel it pulling or walking on me anymore but I'm sure it takes a toll on a person using it day in day out.

I'm using a gel my wife got for me at work, it's called Voltaren Gel.
It's an inflammatory gel I think.

Best way for me to describe the pain is this, my forearm hurts if I make a fist, the large muscles on the arm seems to be the problem but as said it could be coming from the rotary cuff/shoulder.

The Rover will be in my shop tomorrow instead of Saturday so gotta get her done.
I'll pick up an elbow brace and see if that helps.

Thanks again,
Kevin
Click to expand...

If this is on the outside of your arm, I would say tennis elbow. Mine hurt at the outside of the elbow and also along the top of my forearm down to the wrist. Like you said, hurt to pour coffee, pull laundry out of the washer, etc. Sad to say, but it likely won't go away until you can rest it for about 8 weeks. The tennis elbow band got me through my details this summer though. Ice in between when you can too.
 
Okay, HateSwirls I really hope you read this.
I was in physical therapy for the whole previous semester and will not return until this summer or next fall because of my trapezius muscles. They do a lot, and looking down for too long causes an immense amount of pain (which means it hurts to study and caused me to finish with a 3.0 GPA). Also means I can barely wash my car.
The cause is trigger points, and my traps have caused satellite trigger points in my forearm that cause very similar problems to yours. I know you just opened a shop and are very busy. I really recommend that you research them a bit because if you can relieve them the relief is near instantaneous. I'm not saying that's what you have, but it could be a possibility. Trigger points are those really sore knots in your muscles.
 
wdmaccord said:
If this is on the outside of your arm, I would say tennis elbow. Mine hurt at the outside of the elbow and also along the top of my forearm down to the wrist. Like you said, hurt to pour coffee, pull laundry out of the washer, etc. Sad to say, but it likely won't go away until you can rest it for about 8 weeks. The tennis elbow band got me through my details this summer though. Ice in between when you can too.
Click to expand...
This is what I was thinking. The ache from Tennis Elbow can be unbearable. If I recall that is the tendon and they don't get a lot of blood flow so the healing can take a while. Outside of the meds (I would check with a Doc on that) I would recommend you freeze a bunch of dixie cups filled with water. Then use the ice to massage the area in a figure 8 pattern. It will help, try it.
Good luck!
Short term sacrifice for a long term gain!
GO BUCKS!
 
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