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[real bill]

Hello Everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has had any back problems and how it has affected your cutting wood and loading your stove?

[MD20/20]

who doesn't!

[slimjim]

I think normally for most folks, the exercise is good for us!

[RSI]

For me it made the wood get cut much smaller than it used to. 

[mlappin]

Depends on what your calling back trouble?

Too much driving makes me sore, usually the harder the I work the better I feel.

After having to carry our whole dart team on random nights the back can get sore.

I'm not right, so lets not argue.

I have a friend that got his purple heart and a few other medals on his first tour in afghanistan, then signed up for another, his back problems were so bad he was about to loose control of his bladder from nerve damage.

My father has degenerative disc disease, gets much worse and they will start fusing vertebrae.

Back pain is one of the hardest things to diagnose and the easiest to fake, not pointing fingers or anything. What one person might call debilitating back pain might be a minor annoyance to another. The friend I mentioned ran his shift as an EMT then went in a few hours after he was off for his latest back surgery.

I'm of the age now I have no desire to make use of the 20" x 30" door I put in my first wood boiler and instead have recently built a inverted wood splitter for my skid steer. Next boiler will have most likely a 18x20 door instead. Comes a certain time to work smarter, not harder. I also have a grapple for the skid steer to avoid picking any of those big pieces up. Also have a 3/4 ton Chevy with a dump bed and can borrow a 5 yard dump truck anytime I want it. I don't plan on having two artificial hips, an artificial knee and a back surgery by time I reach my fathers age.

[real bill]

I think I pinched a nerve in my back running to my legs and as a result, pain down my legs.  To make a long story short, I had back surgery the first part of May.  I have recovered nicely now, but am still concerned about the heavy work involved in keeping the wood boiler going this winter.  I don't think I'll ever try lifting the 100 pounders again to load the stove.  I'm still going to try to keep going, but with a lot more common sense.  At one time I thought my back was indestructible, but I guess that was not the case.  So everyone enjoy your stoves, chain saws, pickup trucks, but please be careful.

[mlappin]

Yah, Dad deals with sciatica once in awhile, absolute no no for him to leave his wallet in his back pocket while sitting.

When I built my first boiler I made it with a 20" wide and 30" tall door, roll a big ole nasty piece of burr oak up to it that no way was I going to split by hand, roll that chunk on a shorter piece in front of the door, then roll that into the stove. Was young and dumb then with emphasis on dumb. Next stove will most likely have a 18" x 20".

I'm at the point now where with a grapple and inverted log splitter for the skid steer I don't have to touch the stuff until I stack it or it goes in the stove.

[Bud Man]

Been getting shots in my back for 4 years to kill the pain. Lasted about 3 months then got them again. Last time they didn't work, to much damage to get the needle in. Going to Mayo Clinic for new procedure next week. Hope it works.

[mlappin]

Buddy had his done by a local Doc in South Bend that handles the Notre Dame athletes.

Another friend had a round bale roll down the loader frame when it was fully raised and landed right in his lap. He swears by going to the chiropractor at least once a month and his sleep number bed.

[farmboythegreat]

L5 disc is screwed . Went to Dr. a couple years ago  and he said  " loose 60 lbs and take up swimming " then when he saw MRI  images sent me to pain management Dr  and he gave shot in spine .
 I use a longer bar  on chainsaw , that helps a bit 

[mlappin]

Actually he might be on to something with the swimming. Exercise but the water takes the weight so less stress on the spine. Old guy down the road has gout, doc told him to go swimming more, the movement helps to break up the crystals without actually placing weight on his feet.

[victor6deep]

Buddy had his done by a local Doc in South Bend that handles the Notre Dame athletes.

Another friend had a round bale roll down the loader frame when it was fully raised and landed right in his lap. He swears by going to the chiropractor at least once a month and his sleep number bed.

Guys its called chiropractic. Start going to one.

[mlappin]

For everyone complaining of back trouble, how is the stress in your life?

My wife was doing absolutely fine this year, then her Dad had to go to the f*cking VA for surgery for colon cancer.

Wife left a week early to help her dad get some stuff in order just in case, then spent five days at the VA after his surgery. VA tried to kill him again thru shear incompetence. Ever since she's been home since the 2nd of July her back has been killing her, had to even tie her shoes for her for the first week or ten days she was home, hell, she even went thru our stash of Vicadin to sleep at night the first week. This is not pain from sleeping in a strange bed kinda thing, we spent three weeks in the UK with her Moms side of the family and neither of us had any more than sleeping in a strange bed kind of stiffness while there. Her problem is just plain stress, her mother is enough to cause anybody to drink damaging amounts of alcohol even when the b*tch is behaving herself, add the stress of her Dad being in the Va and voila, back pain from hell.

[slimjim]

You are probably not going to believe me but my wife suffers from the same problem, I have found her on the kitchen floor twice, she has learned that when she feels it coming on she needs to relax and to help her relax, I normally subscribe that old standby, 4:20 and it works for her, you might want to try it with her!
  Sorry to hear about your Dad, it's a real shame how the VA treats our Vets!

[mlappin]

If the rest of the country had to be treated by the VA something would change, if the idiots in washington had to goto the VA for care it would have already been changed.

The wife is on such a slew of medications I'd wonder about any interactions from natural herbal relief. Might not agree with her quasi COPD either.

She's on prescribed D3 and Iron supplements, then has her thyroid medication (levothyroxin) and her heart medication (metoprolol) and of course the good old standby of a baby aspirin a day. Has labs ran every three months to see if any of the dosages need adjusting.