Back Pain! How to relieve and how to avoid

[EPS]

I worked on my wood pile quite a bit in the nice weather we had last week and then the back pain arrived over the weekend. Much worse than usual and while I would love to work on my wood pile every free minute, the pain is so bad that the thought of doing much more than walking around puts me in greater pain.

What are your remedies to lower back pain and how do you avoid getting it in the first place, and still be productive with all of your lumberjack work?

Thanks!

 

[Montanalocal]

Two things help me.

1. I use a compression/decompression back brace. It is a back brace that you can use an air pump to inflate so it will become tighter. Google Dr. Ho.

2. Pain meds, but I take them BEFORE I go out to work. Works much better than waiting until the pain sets in. Also, my dentist told me that taking both Advil and Tylenol together works better that either one alone, it seems they work on pain in slightly different ways. It works.

 

[JimBear]

I find that occasional help from nephews 16 & 11, & my niece 11 seem to help with my back pain quite a bit. Then there are my nieces 3 & 4 that find it quite entertaining to walk on my back, seems to help as well. Then there are the bi-monthly back rubs from my daughter who went to school for physical therapy. That aside I usually use Goodys Extra strength cool orange headache powder, seems to knock out all the aches & pains I have & has for years. The wife has a foam cylinder that you lay on & roll back & forth on your back it seems to work well also.

 

[Bad LP]

I just don't try to do it all at once. I pick at it some as well as mix up the tasks. Avoiding some bending over was huge for me. Split into the wheel barrel or when stacking in the house leave it in the tractor bucket versus dumping it on the floor.

I also don't deal with the Oh My God logs. Leave them for the younger guys.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I recently got the “log ox” and this thing does help out. A bit pricey but helpful. Check it out.

 

[livetosail]

I use a pickaroon to pick up and carry rounds, rather than bending over.

I split by hand, but have something to catch the splits so I don’t have to constantly bend over and pick things up.

I split small, so carrying and stacking isn’t backbreaking.

I am mindful of my back as I swing the axe, making sure to bed my knees slightly and maintain good form.

I do yoga and stretches before and after. I also use a hard foam roller and spiky tennis balls that I lay on and massage the back muscles in the evening. It is roughly the equivalent of a deep tissue massage, and really has an effect. Going to bed with tight, sore muscles = bad mornings for me.

Epsom salts in a nice bath also helps.


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[Tar12]

I quit splitting by hand altogether and I am selective about what I do cut...bought a cat stove to decrease the amount of wood needed to be processed..this savings is real...and as has been mentioned...take pain meds ahead of time...this will help combat inflammation before it starts...and it never hurts to have someone help....toss a local lad some green backs...invest in what ever tools necessary to make your job easier..

 

[pernox]

I'd second the idea of stretching first. Getting the blood to flow and get your body ready before work can reap huge rewards by the end of the day. Also to avoid twisting whenever possible helps me - shuffle your feet instead.

 

[Allagash350]

When I was a younger man (I’m 30, let the eye rolling begin lol) I would spend a day with a rented splitter and do 3-4 cords just splitting. It hurts to think about that.
Now I do smaller rounds, split, stack, and take a good break every couple hours.
I guess I’m not as rushed, I can still do a cord split and stacked in a day, but it’s a slower pace.
I don’t take pain killers ever really, and sometimes you just tweak your back no matter how careful you are.

 

[Poindexter]

The best thing I can do is spread it out, 30-60 minutes daily splitting and stacking. Over that I am going to feel it and I am going to have to do something about it. So I try to split it up, spread it out.

I can get a lot of wood stacked in a week if I am relentless about the 30-60 minutes daily part.

Many good ideas here already. I consume a fair bit of ginger and turmeric. Accupuncture. My neurosurgeon talked me into putting down my chainsaw two years ago, I have two of the three kinds of arthritis possible. That helped a LOT, still working my electric splitter.

Dress for the weather, layering, stay hydrated.

NB: Liquor doesn't help the pain.

 

[blacktail]

I've been dealing with buldged/herniated discs in my lower back off and on for 18 years. Splitting by hand doesn't bother me. It's all the bending and lifting associated with splitting that does.
There's a few things you can do to greatly reduce the number of times you bend over.
1.) Split your rounds in a tire or with a chain & bungee around them.
2.) Use a pickaroon for picking up rounds and splits off the ground. I just recently got one and it's awesome.
3.) Remember that every time you toss a round on the ground, you'll have to pick it up again. I move rounds from the truck to the splitting block whenever I can. If a truck load of rounds hits the ground that's another 1200lbs or so of rounds I have to pick up again to split.
Also, stay hydrated. Drink lots of water before, during, and after.
I ice my back the day it starts hurting. As it starts to feel better the following day or two I ad a heat pack in the rotation.

 

[cjgoode]

Find the medicine that works for you, for me its advil. Nothing else will relieve my back pain. I suffer through the pain and only take it to sleep. The mountain house we bought has a hot tub, never was a fan, but a week of packing a trailer, loading furniture from craigslist into the garage back into the trailer and then get to the new house and unloading it all I thought I was going to die it was so bad. Went to the walmart with the wife and I actually considered just laying down on the floor to get some relief. Got in the hot tub and it was a miracle relief for my back pain, a hour soak in the tub and 2 advil and I was able to sleep all night with no problem.

Best place to avoid it, do the work more often. Thats my problem, not in good shape and then huge spurts of work. Heading to the mountains on Friday and I know there are some huge trees down I need to cut up and stack. Going to be a painful week, but a happy one out lumberjacking.

 

[BoiledOver]

Preventative exercise, pre-work warmup, proper twisting, and proper lifting techniques will do more good than all of the medications on the market. Here is one link to an article on prevention.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Preventative exercise, pre-work warmup, proper twisting, and proper lifting techniques will do more good than all of the medications on the market. Here is one link to an article on prevention.

This is so very true, some stretching exercises, some McKenzie pushups (Google it), core exercises etc. will go a long way to making you stronger and not having to rely on pain meds.

I had a ruptured L5-S1 in 2007, but I rehabbed and learned a lot of these exercises and I still am active at 57 although I am very tight at times, need to stretch more and thanks to Boiled Over's post I am reminded to do so!

Good luck, take it slow, use smaller rounds etc. like others have said....

 

[tadmaz]

If you can spare any time in the gym, do deadlifts. Even so, my lower back will be somewhat sore the next day after many hours straight of cutting, splitting, and stacking. I'm 30 though...

 

[peakbagger]

Advil before hand, plenty of liquids and I alternate between cutting and hand splitting. Usually I am just roaming around the woods cutting it in place and I can pretty make through one tank at best before the back is not happy. I switch over to splitting and then I am usually ready for another tank. I try not to make a day of it, I would much rather spend a couple of hours and go find something else to do.

 

[Scoutin Wyo]

Lots of great advice already. I will add that what helped me is doing core exercises (stomach muscles) YEAR ROUND. When my core gets weak I use back muscles instead, which leads to over use of the back, then leads to bad spinal alignment, which leads to pain, which leads to more bad posture, which leads to... you get the point. I also found that tightness in my glutes and hamstring muscles can pull my spine out of alignment and lead to lower back pain. I do core exercises and stretching as part of my "going to bed" routine. Load the Blaze King, close the bypass, exercise stomach and stretch for 15 minutes while the moisture is driven out of the load of wood, then set the magic knob on the back of the stove based on desired room temp and hit the sack.


It's easier to stay in shape than get in shape once past your 30's.

Good luck!!