Wrist & Back Pain

[oneheadlite]

I'll add +1 for yoga. I've been an automotive technician my whole career, and I've never felt better than when I was doing yoga 2-3 times a week. I've had on and off shoulder pain that doctors can't figure out ("Here: have some heavy pain pills and muscle relaxants." No thanks!), but with the stretching and strengthening you get with your own body weight with yoga it helps out a ton. I've also seen chiropractors, and prefer the ones who pair adjustments with physical therapy to help things stay where they need to. Another benefit I found with yoga is building an awareness of your muscles and how you're using them. (Correcting posture by making specific adjustments vs just standing up straight).

[rlmccarty2000]

This is a great discussion! Thank you all.

I do have a rolling pneumatic seat, which is nice to use sometimes. However, sometimes sitting on the ground is just needed to get as low as possible and to see things better. I am 23 now, but when I was 15 I use to do some landscape maintenance in Tampa, picking weeds for a few hours a day. Doing that I believe was the start of my back being really sore doing certain activities. I definitely need to stretch and work on mobility more! I also need to get into a chiropractor more often, as it really does make a difference. As far as my wrist goes, I'd honestly really like to get it scanned to see if anything looks really abnormal, because it is kind of a mess. I pop it all the time! I have played tennis since I was five, so who knows what that does to a wrist. I'll start trying to strengthen my wrist more.

Ok, there is your problem, tennis. I finally blew out my back at 47 playing tennis. I played high school, college, and then USTA 5.5. If you hit a kick serve your back will just wear out. Tennis also is rough on the hands, wrists, elbow, and shoulder (rotator cuff surgery). But I would do it all again. I had back surgery (l4-l5) and it enabled me to walk again. I'm probably going to have more surgery before it is all over. Take care of your back by sitting and not putting yourself in odd positions while polishing the vertical panels. Is see a lot of detailers bending sideways trying to get into position, bad idea. A hot bath/shower and some ibuprofen will help. And a Rupes to cut down on vibrations in the hands and wrists will allow you to detail for much longer.

[Coach Steve]

Lift the car. Seriously, bring it up to a level that you aren't constantly bent to that degree. Your back will thank you.
I used to work at a bench for hours at a time that was standard table height. I decided to raise it by 6 inches. I also bought a couple of back-saver ergo floor mats that feel like you're standing in thick pudding. That combination relieved all of my back pain.

As for the wrists, I would suggest getting a pair of those braces you see people wear for carpal tunnel syndrome. People who use them swear by them.

[GSKR]

As a gym owner, I would work on mobility (yoga) and strengthening your back. I have trained hundreds of 30-50 year olds that have told me they have "back problems" make great progress stretching and strengthening. If you haven't done much in the last year or so, mobility (stretching) is much more effective than weight training. once you get the mobility back in your hamstrings, hips and shoulders, then you can move on to strengthening. I would bet your back pain could be gone in 12 weeks or so with a proper trainer.

agreed strengthening your core helps also

[StealthXJ]

Thanks guys! I forgot to mention that I also still work at a feed store and often lift a ton of 50 pound bags of feed. That really gets to both my back and wrist! I am hoping to drop the job all together, once I am confident that I can get enough detail jobs to survive.

[Calendyr]

Gout?

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After reading about gout it seems very probable. Symptoms are almost spot on and causes are likely for me (I drink a lot of soft drinks and am slightly overweight). Thank you, I will have to talk to a doctor about it.