Bad Day In THe Woods

[deadon]

Saturday my wife and I were cutting up several white oaks. Since I have enough cut and split for the next 2 seasons we have been cutting in six foot lenghts and storing in that form until we need to cut into 14" rounds and split. Much faster to get the wood from the woods to our storage area in these size. Well I was unloading a 10" by six foot piece of oak and there went my back. Never had problems with my back until that moment. I hit the ground and that was it. Spent 5 hours at the local ER. Lots of drugs. The Dr let me go after the morphine worked. Saw a Dr. today and am out of commission for 3 weeks, no work, no wood I cant even stoke the stove > moral is guys if you think you can >still get help or cut into manageable sizes. I learnt a valuable lesson on Saturday. It really sucks being helpless.

 

[bsruther]

I know all to well how you feel. My back usually goes out with the changing of the seasons. So far no problems this fall...yet, knock on wood. I find the more active I stay, the less problems I have. Just holding the chain saw up can be a real chore when your back is hurting.

 

[chiefburritt]

Do yourself a favor ask your primary to refer you to physical therapy, someone who has experience in back injuries. This is by far the best medicine out their. Also if you have constant pain ask about lidoderm patches for your back.. I'm just talking from experience. I was laid up for two weeks, couldn't even move out of bed for two weeks. Got the patches and went to physical therapy. In another two weeks of therapy I was pain free.

 

[BrotherBart]

Now the really bad news. What they told me the first time 40 years ago and it was true. After the first one they keep happening.

And it took me that 40 years to finally buy a brick hard mattress to help it get better every time and keep it from happening so often.

 

[xrayman]

Welcome to the club. Last year almost to this date I thought I was 18 again and tried to load some huge chunks of hickory into the truck they won. 3 herniated discs i now get cortizone shots every 4-6 months.

 

[fossil]

We never want to believe it while we're young, and we continue to disbelieve it right on into whatever age at which we finally come face to face with the undeniability of it...we're fragile, and we're mortal, and that's a couple facts we just have to live with. I'm sorry you injured yourself, I hope you take care of yourself, and that you give yourself the time it takes to heal. We don't get younger, but it beats the alternative...gotta learn to live with it. I'm convinced that everything I've injured since I passed about age 45 will just continue to hurt for the rest of my life. :down: Rick

 

[deadon]

I am 52 and this is the first time. I thought I could handle most things and always pushed it. My primary has been lecturing me to act my age and use mechanical help as much as possible. When I went into his office today in a wheelchair his first words were Dean how old are you. He did set me up with Physical Therapy and my wife is an Occupational Therapist. My oldest son took my chain saw to his house, How bad is that??? At least I have 26 cord cut and split this will give me plenty of recovery time. Bright side is I can spent time at thye forums. Thanks guys.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

All this "be careful" advice is crap. I do stupid things with my back on an hourly basis yet the only time I've ever had cripling back pain came a few years ago while plugging in my alarm clock. Plugging in an alarm clock! How does one carefully plug in an alarm clock?

Carry on.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Sorry to hear about your injury. The good news is that most of these do respond very well to routine treatment (no surgery needed). I'm hoping (and betting) that your back will recover completely and you will be able to move without pain. You only have to remember the limitation your body just expressed, and respect it in the future. No more 'heroic', extra- heavy lifting for you.

I've had minor, lower back pain for about 10 years now. It rarely kicks up any more, yet on one occasion I woke up with so much pain I could barely get out of bed. I had overworked on a job the past week. Couldn't bend at all and had to 'finger walk' my way up the wall to struggle out of bed that morning. I really doubt I have any messed up disks- never had x-rays. What I learned was that when I felt the back pain coming on (related to over working the back), I would hammer it for a day or so with a slight overdose of Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin etc. 3x to 4x the dose limit of 200 mg). Many times, back pain is mostly related to severe muscle spasms in the lower back, and the strategy is to use a muscle relaxant, in many cases Ibuprofen being quite adequate. BTW many doctors will tell you this is completely safe if limited to a week or two. They even make 600mg 'horse pills' of Ibuprofen. I have some. You can get them at a pharmacy, not over the counter. The sooner you can get off the opiates, the better! Ditto for Percocet, Percodan, 'Hydrocodone' and such (Tylenol + Codeine). Staying on any heavy duty pain meds for extended periods puts you at considerable risk of developing a dependency (addiction).

Once you get it all sorted out as to whether you have any messed up disks, you may find that you sustained no permanent bone injuries. In that case, the good news is that just paying better attention will keep you safe. One other thought- it is very, very common that people with back problems turn out to have very poor abdominal muscle tone. I know that was my problem. That's why the injuries in the first place- the back has to work extra hard due to the flabby abdominal muscles. If you don't use a gym regularly, this is a very real possibility.

Hope you have a speedy recovery. I'm betting you can make a complete recovery, too. Now stop being a hero- heh! Get some help, and cut those logs a lot shorter.

 

[staplebox]

I had something similar happen a little over a year ago. Was carrying a window AC down into the basement for winter storage and, just like you said, there went the back. Just like that. Never had a back problem before in my life. Didn't think it could happen to me. I did recover fairly quickly and almost forgot about it by now.

Good luck on a quick recovery. And at least you have plenty of wood and a good excuse to take it easy and watch some football.

 

[chad3]

My two happened like this:
First, in my last year of college, bent down to grab my towel off the floor and sneezed. There it went, I'd been shot by an unknown sniper, went down like a ton of bricks. Second, I was rushing out of the house for a run, grabbed my gallon of water and twisted. Sniper hit me again. Small things, not the big things. Fix it, make sure you stretch. Get better and go from there.
Chad

 

[gpcollen1]

Well that sucks for sure - I am only 39 and have been battling back issues for 10 years. I was doing exactly what you were a few months back. Had some free Ash to pick up and when I showed up it was all in 4 ft logs - did not know that. Had my saw but figured I would just carry the 4 footers. Carried one or two and could just feel a twinge - STOPPED immediately - cut logs up.

I guess I have fine tuned my knowledge of my back by now. A healthy mix of exercise, beer, muscle relaxers, pain killers and exercise again will take care of that thing.

And did i say exercise??

 

[deadon]

Well I now know my limits. At this moment I am home in my Den cleaning my guns getting ready for this season. Good time to do all that sedentary stuff and to top it all off at 10:30 last evening the gun and hunting supply store in town burnt to the ground one hell of o fire so now we have to travel to buy quality supplies or fall subject to Wal-Mart. I can not go to work or, even move around without help or a walker. My wife filled the wood box for the day before she left for work and my dog is driving me crazy, he nows I should be taking him to the woods because thats the routine when I am home. My oldest son took my chain saw and my truck KEYS, He always wanted to do that HA HA Ha.

 

[Got Wood]

The best thing I have found to help ease back pain is to use one of those bench's where you lock in your feet and rotate back so you are hanging upside down. I have one, been doing alot of wood work the past 2 months and the back has been hurting some. I hang for no more than 5 min a day and it does wonders for me. I have other relatives who swear by it. Give it a try - it really does help.

 

[caber]

Walking, stretching and back specific exercises will work wonders for rehab. #1 thing you can do is build your core strength. The stronger you midsection is - your abs, obliques, etc. - the better your back will be.

 

[M1sterM]

Sorry to hear about your injury. The good news is that most of these do respond very well to routine treatment (no surgery needed). I'm hoping (and betting) that your back will recover completely and you will be able to move without pain. You only have to remember the limitation your body just expressed, and respect it in the future. No more 'heroic', extra- heavy lifting for you.

I've had minor, lower back pain for about 10 years now. It rarely kicks up any more, yet on one occasion I woke up with so much pain I could barely get out of bed. I had overworked on a job the past week. Couldn't bend at all and had to 'finger walk' my way up the wall to struggle out of bed that morning. I really doubt I have any messed up disks- never had x-rays. What I learned was that when I felt the back pain coming on (related to over working the back), I would hammer it for a day or so with a slight overdose of Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin etc. 3x to 4x the dose limit of 200 mg). Many times, back pain is mostly related to severe muscle spasms in the lower back, and the strategy is to use a muscle relaxant, in many cases Ibuprofen being quite adequate. BTW many doctors will tell you this is completely safe if limited to a week or two. They even make 600mg 'horse pills' of Ibuprofen. I have some. You can get them at a pharmacy, not over the counter. The sooner you can get off the opiates, the better! Ditto for Percocet, Percodan, 'Hydrocodone' and such (Tylenol + Codeine). Staying on any heavy duty pain meds for extended periods puts you at considerable risk of developing a dependency (addiction).

Once you get it all sorted out as to whether you have any messed up disks, you may find that you sustained no permanent bone injuries. In that case, the good news is that just paying better attention will keep you safe. One other thought- it is very, very common that people with back problems turn out to have very poor abdominal muscle tone. I know that was my problem. That's why the injuries in the first place- the back has to work extra hard due to the flabby abdominal muscles. If you don't use a gym regularly, this is a very real possibility.

Hope you have a speedy recovery. I'm betting you can make a complete recovery, too. Now stop being a hero- heh! Get some help, and cut those logs a lot shorter.

Try to take it easy on the Vitamin I (Ibuprofen, Advil, etc.)...lots of info coming out nowadays about how rough they are on your kidneys...

 

[ecrane99]

this has happened to me 3 times over the past few years. Each time was after a period of in activity (sitting in the couch for a week). Got to stay active i think.

 

[chad3]

Best suggestion was the core work. Crunches, planks, etc. keeps the back in line and lets us keep doing what we are so good at doing.
Sorry again to hear what happened. Be aware of two things:
You won't be better until you can go into the woods without thinking about your back (trust me, you will get back to the house at some point and think, Hey, I didn't worry about my back), this will be a great day. Second, it is very easy to do it again once you have done it once, be careful. Not to jump on your thread, but has anyone used a back brace?

 

[mjbrown]

Well I now know my limits. At this moment I am home in my Den cleaning my guns getting ready for this season. Good time to do all that sedentary stuff and to top it all off at 10:30 last evening the gun and hunting supply store in town burnt to the ground one hell of o fire so now we have to travel to buy quality supplies or fall subject to Wal-Mart. I can not go to work or, even move around without help or a walker. My wife filled the wood box for the day before she left for work and my dog is driving me crazy, he nows I should be taking him to the woods because thats the routine when I am home. My oldest son took my chain saw and my truck KEYS, He always wanted to do that HA HA Ha.

HA! sounds like you been grounded...lol. sorry to hear about the back. did mine 4 times last year working the wood up. the wife finallysaid ENOUGH and talked to a dealer about pellet stoves. when she came home, all she said was take the truck and go to the stove shop, the guy is waiting for you. get well soon


mike

 

[savageactor7]

Best wishes on a speedy recovery Deadon...I have a bad back too and picking up a 6' log of any length is out of my lane. Play it safe and start loading rounds only...we ain't 21 anymore.

 

[Todd]

Been there done that. I blew out 2 discs about 15 years ago and it all started with firewood processing. I haven't had surgery yet, just physical therapy, drugs, walking, keep off the weight and know your limitations. All the doctors I've talked to say your better off without surgery til you absolutely can't stand the pain and have difficulty walking. Good luck.

 

[bayshorecs]

Go to a "back cracker". I always thought they were bunk. Threw my back out once (REAL bad) and was down for the count for over a week. Couldn't move. Crawled to the doc and they said I had pulled a muscle in my lower back. Anti-inflamatory, vicotin and muscle-relaxer later for a week and I was moving around again. The drugs didn't really even touch the pain. It took about a month to get back to almost normal.

4 months later I was working on my car and felt it pull again. Wife talked me into trying out the back cracker instead of getting more pills. Went to him, he said I pulled the same muscle and gave me an adjustment. It felt a little better immediately and I was moving around like normal the next day! I was SHOCKED! No drugs, no pain, etc.

That won me over. Back pain is the worst!

 

[d.n.f.]

Man that sucks. Hope you get better. I inured my back three years ago and can no longer ski. I used to get about 100 days of back country skiing in every year. The past three winters (soon to be 4) I have been out two days and both days had to abort. Physio, chiro, massage, whatever. Try it all. Something might work.
I am dealing with it now. First two winters almost killed me. I can now live without skiing. Miss it tons though.

 

[Danno77]

All this "be careful" advice is crap. I do stupid things with my back on an hourly basis yet the only time I've ever had cripling back pain came a few years ago while plugging in my alarm clock. Plugging in an alarm clock! How does one carefully plug in an alarm clock?

Carry on.

Man. is that true. Just last week I picked up my 10 lb daughter and my shoulder is just now starting to feel better. I don't know what happened but i lost mobility above horizontal and it hurt so bad i thought I'd make a trip to the dr.

 

[Danno77]

Man that sucks. Hope you get better. I inured my back three years ago and can no longer ski. I used to get about 100 days of back country skiing in every year. The past three winters (soon to be 4) I have been out two days and both days had to abort. Physio, chiro, massage, whatever. Try it all. Something might work.
I am dealing with it now. First two winters almost killed me. I can now live without skiing. Miss it tons though.

You have my deepest sympathies. I can't imagine living WITHOUT skiing. It kills me just getting in like 5-10 days a year now,so I can only imagine having to CUT it completely!