Anybody have back problems when working in the shop?

[OCtoolguy]

How do you folks work in your shops without making your back scream at you. I can't stand on my feet anymore. If I sit, it makes my back sore. Anybody have any input on how you help your back? I inherited my Dad's bad feet so I have a terrible time getting shoes that are comfortable too. I'm a mess. I'm just curious as to whether anybody else fights the lower back pain.

Ray

 

 

[Rockytime]

I'm a mess also but an old mess. I cannot stand up for long. I have nephropathy in hands, feet and legs, therefore I have poor balance. I don't lean into the saw. I sit on a stool and the saw is elevated about three inches on casters. My face is close to the table. I only bend my neck and not my back. I can't scroll for long lengths of time because my attention span is about as long as my shoelace.

[Hawk]

With back issues also I have found with my Scrollsaw I found a bar stool that is high enough that it's almost like standing. I put my Scrollsaw on the bench, took it off the stand, with everything higher, and not bending over so much I can work longer.

I do take quite a few breaks, do 1 or 2 cuts then take 5, then back at it.

I found that a chair had me bent over too far.

Chris

[Brianr24]

Haha! After finishing concrete and laying block my whole life my back is a mess. I really don't have any solution for you tho. I pretty much just fight the pain till it's unbearable. sometimes I check the floor behind me cuz it feels like the disks came right out of my back. But the times I do slip a disk I'm pretty much laid up. Prednisone works wonders for those occasions.

[OCtoolguy]

My wife has prednizone around for her rheumatoid arthritis. Maybe I'll snag a couple of them from her. I know it's not a good drug to take on a regular basis. How about chiropracitic? How many of you do that? I used to go years ago but I decided I was being milked for my money. I want a couple of treatments then stop until needed again. No prolonged programs. Who has that kind of money?

Ray

 

[Karl S]

I have lower back pain and my Doc. told me to  take 1Advil and 2 Tylenol for pain and surprisingly it works pretty well for me. I have pain pills for when it gets really bad but I don't like to take them any more than I have to.

[ed martin]

I have back problems 3and4 discs are herniated and I took shots in the back for it. I had real bad sciatica at the time. This was about four years ago. Every know and then I go to the chiropractor, he is the one that sent me to get shots. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ev

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

Bad back here as well 43 years in construction. Wear a back brace and when back goes out I am usually out of the shop 2 to 3 weeks at a time. That is one reason I would never get into a program where I have to scroll to make quota or dead lines. The heck with that. Life is way too short. 

[WayneMahler]

Looks like your in good company with the back. I spent my life bent over fenders working on cars, plus laying on the floor working under the dash boards. My back is a wreck as well as a few other parts . I purchased a bar stool at a store that was going out of business. Then I built a stand for my scroll saw. I basically sit straight up looking down using my neck. I take breaks and move around as needed. I also don't stand on concrete. I have those rubber floor things on the concrete floor. And where my saw is is carpeted so softer to walk on. Every little bit helps.

[lawson56]

I to have Back Pain,I have had 2 Lower Back surgeries.I also suffer with bad feet.So I go back and forth between standing and my swivel stool.after about 4to5 hrs in the shop,I'm done time for some Tylenol and a foot bath,muscle rub.

[amazingkevin]

7 hours ago, Brianr24 said:

Haha! After finishing concrete and laying block my whole life my back is a mess. I really don't have any solution for you tho. I pretty much just fight the pain till it's unbearable. sometimes I check the floor behind me cuz it feels like the disks came right out of my back. But the times I do slip a disk I'm pretty much laid up. Prednisone works wonders for those occasions.

Hum doc just gave me prednisone , I just got bronchitis???????????? I always wanted to be a block layer.But did everything else but.Have you tried a 10's unit ? I stops pain every other second which is a blessing .The drugstores have cheap ones, Maybe less than $30,00

[tomsteve]

10 hours ago, Brianr24 said:

Haha! After finishing concrete and laying block my whole life my back is a mess.

change it to rough framing houses,roofing, and siding and ya have me.

i cant sit at the scrollsaw for more than an hour or so without getting up and moving. if i do sit longer, i have a very hard time getting up and feel it the rest of the day.

ive got that degenerative disc stuff down in the L's. had surgery in the T's. and arthritis upp in the C's. i had to really slow down and think through a lot of processes.

Edited January 28, 2018 by tomsteve

[new2woodwrk]

12 hours ago, octoolguy said:

How do you folks work in your shops without making your back scream at you. I can't stand on my feet anymore. If I sit, it makes my back sore. Anybody have any input on how you help your back? I inherited my Dad's bad feet so I have a terrible time getting shoes that are comfortable too. I'm a mess. I'm just curious as to whether anybody else fights the lower back pain.

Ray

 

 

I found this to be a problem for me as well.

What I did was:

Bought some of those rubber mats at HF and laid them down behind my work bench - that helped a lot because they are about 3/4" thick and cushion the area.  Much easier to work there now.

Also, I had some thin rubber mats - not sure where I got them but I've laid them down in front of all my rolling tool carts. If I'm standing at a cart to work, having that cushion below my feet really helps - I can stand for a much longer time with those. I'll probably replace them with more of the HF mats soon

For my new scroll saw, I plan on building a short bench and getting a short back support chair to work - that way I'm not leaning over as much - of course Rockler has a sale on the chair I want usually 59.99,  now 39.99 - not sure the wife will let me since I just spent my budget on tools LOL

I have other chairs any way, some are high back and very good to sit in which I may have to move to the shop!

Hope that helps

 

Edited January 28, 2018 by new2woodwrk

[RangerJay]

Wow - looks like there is a bunch of us that keep pretty good company .....

I've always had lower back issues but in recent years have developed mid-back pain that gets aggravated when sitting too long at the scrollsaw.  To keep it to a minimum I try to rotate between workstations every 1/2 hour or so - the point being not to stay hunched in any one position for very long.  Seems to work unless I forget - and if I do my back will soon remind me ..... I also do the Tylenol/Ibuprofen thing (which helps) and, on a long day in the workshop, take longer breaks outside of the workshop (i.e. take the dog for a walk, cut the grass, throw darts at pictures of my favourite politician .... anything to break the cycle of being hunched over).  All seems to work - but it is a conscious effort to make it work.

 

Jay 

[Brianr24]

4 hours ago, amazingkevin said:

Hum doc just gave me prednisone , I just got bronchitis???????????? I always wanted to be a block layer.But did everything else but.Have you tried a 10's unit ? I stops pain every other second which is a blessing .The drugstores have cheap ones, Maybe less than $30,00

Not sure what a 10’s unit is. Advil works wonders for me but over the years of abusing Advil my stomach lining took the brunt of it small ulcers so now I don’t touch it. All the technology in the medical field today and soooo many with back issues u tell me these bums can’t create some type of bionic man back replacement crap?

oh yeah! And while there at something to stop hair from growing on my face so I could stop having to shave.

[edward]

I also have lower pack pain, L3 L4, had an MRi and it shows  degenerative  arthritis , but really don't stop me from doing things right now, but don't know whats a head. Doc told me just to take Tyenol .Standing in one spot for a period of time, doesn't help me. Siting or laying down doesn't bother me. Maybe in the future I may have to get a cortizone shot.  The golden years suck!

[Scrappile]

Yes.

[JackM]

Same here, all sorts of back problems.  I found comfort by using a wooden stool, with bcak, that has the seat at 24-inches above floor level.  I then raised the scroll saw table to 43-inches, which makes it just below eye level and allows me to just about look straight ahead when cutting.  Being that close also cut down the need for magnifying glass most of the time.

Jack

[jbrowning]

I have found that using the rubber mats from Harbor Freight has helped my back a lot. I have also raised my scroll saw with blocks so I can stand and cut. That has also helped me. If my back does start to hurt, I take a couple Aleve to help.

[OCtoolguy]

8 hours ago, amazingkevin said:

Hum doc just gave me prednisone , I just got bronchitis???????????? I always wanted to be a block layer.But did everything else but.Have you tried a 10's unit ? I stops pain every other second which is a blessing .The drugstores have cheap ones, Maybe less than $30,00

Tell me more Kevin. I don't understand what a 10's unit is.

Ray

 

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

I found this to be a problem for me as well.

What I did was:

Bought some of those rubber mats at HF and laid them down behind my work bench - that helped a lot because they are about 3/4" thick and cushion the area.  Much easier to work there now.

Also, I had some thin rubber mats - not sure where I got them but I've laid them down in front of all my rolling tool carts. If I'm standing at a cart to work, having that cushion below my feet really helps - I can stand for a much longer time with those. I'll probably replace them with more of the HF mats soon

For my new scroll saw, I plan on building a short bench and getting a short back support chair to work - that way I'm not leaning over as much - of course Rockler has a sale on the chair I want usually 59.99,  now 39.99 - not sure the wife will let me since I just spent my budget on tools LOL

I have other chairs any way, some are high back and very good to sit in which I may have to move to the shop!

Hope that helps

 

I'd stay away from that chair. The back is way too low. My neighbors have bar stools with low backs like that and I can't sit on them for more than a few minutes before my back starts screaming. For my low saw, I have an old office chair that has a high back. It's the new one that I just bought. It's a Hegner on the tall stand and I tried standing by it yesterday for less than an hour before my back started hurting. I may have to forego the Hegner stand for another home made one like my Dewalt. I was hoping not to have to do that.

Ray

 

[OCtoolguy]

4 hours ago, Scrappile said:

Yes.

Thanks for that input there Scrappy. I love a man of few words. 

Ray

 

[Scrappile]

30 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

Thanks for that input there Scrappy. I love a man of few words. 

Ray

 

Welcome.

[OCtoolguy]

16 minutes ago, Scrappile said:

Welcome.

I can tell, you were never an air traffic controller were you?

 

[barb.j.enders]

6 hours ago, Brianr24 said:

Not sure what a 10’s unit is. Advil works wonders for me but over the years of abusing Advil my stomach lining took the brunt of it small ulcers so now I don’t touch it. All the technology in the medical field today and soooo many with back issues u tell me these bums can’t create some type of bionic man back replacement crap?

oh yeah! And while there at something to stop hair from growing on my face so I could stop having to shave.

It is a Tens unit - https://physioworks.com.au/landing/tens-machines.htm.  Physiotherapists use it to stimulate the nerves/muscles.