# aches and pains



## builttoughf350 (Apr 15, 2007)

i know im not the only one who wakes up every morning feeling worse than the day before. im 24, in good shape, but always have something that hurts... usually my shoulders. i dont know if its from chipping brush, or roping down branches... every couple months i have a shoulder problem. clicking, grinding, sharp pain, etc. i usually work around the pain, take it easy on certain excersizes at the gym, but always have something aching a few weeks later... im 6'1" 205-210, i should be built just fine for this kind of work, i guess im not! 

a couple years ago i twisted my ankle working, took about 3 months to get back to normal... are there any ankle wraps that are comfortable to wear daily inside the boots while working to prevent ankle sprains? 

any tricks you use to prevent aches / pains ?


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## ASEMASTER (Apr 15, 2007)

*excedrine*

strech every morning and some sort of pain reliver to knock out the inflamation.


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## FBX1986 (Apr 15, 2007)

*aches*

a good streching (prework) and a hot bath after...... i tend to go easy on the advil etc. bad for the kidneys.


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## John Ellison (Apr 15, 2007)

builttoughf350 said:


> , take it easy on certain excersizes at the gym, any tricks you use to prevent aches / pains ?



 Stay out of the gym, that stuff is hard on ya.


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## PA. Woodsman (Apr 15, 2007)

Try to find a good massage therapist that can help you with your specific problems; they can usually recommend some good stretching exercises as well as other strengthining exercises for you. I might also talk to a doctor or an orthopedic doctor and check out that "grinding" noise in your shoulder and make sure that it's not old "arty" arthritis. Talk to your local health food store about supplements like glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM to rebuild and keep your cartilage healthy. You're very young to be having these problems, in my opinion. Best of luck with everything.


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## Beast12 (Apr 15, 2007)

I know how you feel Rob. I am back into the trees again (got back into it in July after taking a year off) and now my back is bothering me again. I am only 25. I guess it is because I am such a hard worker and started doing this when I was 11. :bang: 

-Matt


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## Bermie (Apr 15, 2007)

Chingas bye! You're way to young to have these pains...

Do you one hand your chainsaw a lot? That can lead to shoulder pain plenty quick. Besides arthritis, shoulder pain can be caused by repetetive stress injuries (doing the same things over and over) you could have tendonitis, bursitis or rotator cuff injury...(had them all) 
Get yourself to a good orthopedic doctor or physiotherapist, find out what the problem and cause are, then take remedial action. You need to tell them what you do for a living, so they can understand the forces you are exerting on your body, then they can make sure they design an appropriate treatment and recovery regime for you. The physio should be able to tell you what kind of exercises you should be doing at the gym to best fit your work.
In the meantime...
Reduce inflammation - ice, rest, ibuprofin - whatever is practical
Remove scar tissue - deep tissue massage, manipulation, ultrasound
Repair muscles, ligaments tendons - massage, ultrasound and gradually increasing strengthening exercises.
Work sensibly - check and remediate your work positioning, saw handling, lifting.
Stretch before, during and after work.

Good luck fella, you have many more years to stay healthy:biggrinbounce2:


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## PA. Woodsman (Apr 21, 2007)

I also think that the change of the seasons, particularly from Winter to Spring, is difficult and really can make the aches worse. I had a very physical mid-to-end of this week at work, and went out today to split wood for my own use. I felt like I was about 2,000 years old; I REALLY had to push myself to keep going. I'm 46 and in pretty good shape yet; but today was a bear! It went from the upper 40's to low 50's on Thursday to near 70 today. If that ain't the reason then maybe I've had it!


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## BlueRidgeMark (Apr 21, 2007)

Check your diet.


Your body needs vitamin C to build & repair collagen. Few people get enough. If you are getting the official RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance), you aren't getting near enough.


If you are hurting like that at 24, you'd better get educated about diet and make some changes, QUICK.


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## clearance (Apr 21, 2007)

John Ellison said:


> Stay out of the gym, that stuff is hard on ya.



Right, if you are going to the gym, you are not working hard enough.


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## Locoweed (Apr 21, 2007)

My theory is, that if it is muscles that ache, no problem. If your joints hurt, you could be doing some damage that you will pay for when you get much older. I would certainly avoid some of the things I did at your age if I had to do over again.


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## Gologit (Apr 22, 2007)

The good news is that a certain amount of aches and pains is normal. Especially if you're engaging in physical activity that uses limbs and muscle groups in ways that you don't regularly use them.
The bad news is that, as you become older, this happens more. Nobody that uses their body escapes the reckoning. If it's something chronic and debilitating get it checked out. Otherwise just get used to it. :bang:


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## treejackyl (Apr 28, 2007)

*suck it up snack fairy*

just kidding partner,im 43 sore every day all the guys i work around are in there 20's they say they hurt too...beats stayin home with the old lady all day


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## nytreeman (Apr 28, 2007)

*sore or not*

I feel your pain,LOL,I'm 44 and do all the climbing for my small outfit and alot of the groundwork so even hurt or sore I gotta keep going,but the aches and pains do stay with me alot longer than they used to.Been sawing since i was a kid and have carpal tunel thing going on,and shoulder pain I do cut one handed alot,esp with my tophandles.I've got flat feet,was hit by a car on my motorcycle when I was 17 and all busted up,right leg is 3/4" shorter than my left and missing some toes on my rt ft.have to wear really good boots 16" wesco highliners @ 400 bucks,gonna try Baileys Red Dawg Climbers though they look good and are half the price.Stretching def does help.I still lift weights a little some mornings (but usually I'm too damn tired)helps give you a better range of motion too.Soaking in a hot bath helps loosen up tight muscles and joints too.A half dozen beers or so in the shop before I finally drop for the day helps too,  prob should stop smoking maybe a little more oxygen would help oh well gotta have some bad habits??
:smoking:


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## ShoerFast (Apr 28, 2007)

It has been mentioned, stretch, eat right , drink plenty of water, exercise regularly. Soft drinks and to much Gator-aid can cause mineral deposits, that will offset movement, there is no way to truly explain this by writing, but problems sort of zig-zag the body. Short example, sore left foot could cause a sore right knee, and a sore tired right knee could cause a sore left hip, right syaticia ect. 

I tried the pain-killer route for a few years, early - mid thirties , and could work like a banshee, but paid the price, my personal record was 33 horses shod in 3 days,,,,,,, I could not even walk the 4th day! And to this day I think that I can trace stiffness es and pains back to that stupid event. 

Best advice, other then what was mentioned is pace yourself, Farmer Fran has good advice (Movie Waterboy) 

"Lib do blay nuttr daa!" (Live to play another day!)


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## smith02 (May 1, 2007)

Hey 
I heard that if someone practice in a gym they faced various problem like back pain, heart disease, shoulder pain, nerve problem etc.

Is it right???????


:help:


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## turnkey4099 (May 1, 2007)

Probably not practical for climbing but has anyone tried using a back brace belt while doing ground work? I am debating trying it. We used to have several that we required inmates to wear if they were going to be doing any lifting at all.

72, overweight and short of breath but I am still out there. Started splitting my first load yesterday manually. Shocked to see how much stamina I lost over the winter.

Harry K


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## PA. Woodsman (May 1, 2007)

smith02 said:


> Hey
> I heard that if someone practice in a gym they faced various problem like back pain, heart disease, shoulder pain, nerve problem etc.
> 
> Is it right???????
> ...



Practiced what in a gym to get these problems?


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## Slvrmple72 (May 2, 2007)

clearance said:


> Right, if you are going to the gym, you are not working hard enough.



I started running at the gym and doing low weight high rep circuit training 5 years ago. It has helped increase my endurance and overall strength in treework making it possible for me to get through some pretty rough days and keep up or outwork younger guys. Do not do it every day but balance it out with work. Work smarter not harder! Your body is the most valuable "piece" of equipment on the job and getting spare parts for it is a :censored: . Except for that "spare" tire.


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## Sunrise Guy (May 3, 2007)

New day, new ache, is the way I see it. I've had cracked ribs, pulled muscles in my back, sprained thumb, tennis elbow and now tendonitis in my shoulder, not to mention handsaw nicks and scratches. I love climbing though, so I just put up with the negative side that comes with it. At 54, I've thought seriously about getting into a new line of work, but I know I'd be unable to stay out of the trees for long, and if I wasn't climbing professionally, I might lose the edge and risk some really bad stuff on a rec climb. Time will tell if I stay in the biz much longer. It does get tough, at times, to justify the pain.


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## beowulf343 (May 3, 2007)

Going to go out on a limb here, but wonder if genetics have anything to do with how well we stand up to the abuse. Bear with me. I can't believe these guys who are 24 and already hurting. I'm 29 and i get out of bed every morning feeling good and ready to go, and this is after 12 years of climbing. But alot of people tell me that i am built for hard physical work-it's in my genes. For example-my dad is 60-been a farmer and logger his whole life. He still gets up, milks the cows, works in the woods all day, then comes home and milks the cows again. He can still work me into the ground any given day. And he is in excellent health-a few aches and pains from broken bones and old injuries, but nothing that can't be worked out in 15 minutes. My grandpa died at 84 and in his last year he still milked every day and cut and split (by hand) 200 cords of wood. I've had to work hard every day since i was a kid, yet unless it's been an 18 hour day or i've had to hump an obscene amount of wood through a yard, i feel good. Yet have worked with guys my age that have done the same amount of work and they are so sore they are worthless the next day. Why? 

Don't get me wrong here-not trying to brag here or anything, but why can some guys handle this job into their 70's and others burn out in their 20's?


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## PA. Woodsman (May 3, 2007)

beowulf343 said:


> Going to go out on a limb here, but wonder if genetics have anything to do with how well we stand up to the abuse. Bear with me. I can't believe these guys who are 24 and already hurting. I'm 29 and i get out of bed every morning feeling good and ready to go, and this is after 12 years of climbing. But alot of people tell me that i am built for hard physical work-it's in my genes. For example-my dad is 60-been a farmer and logger his whole life. He still gets up, milks the cows, works in the woods all day, then comes home and milks the cows again. He can still work me into the ground any given day. And he is in excellent health-a few aches and pains from broken bones and old injuries, but nothing that can't be worked out in 15 minutes. My grandpa died at 84 and in his last year he still milked every day and cut and split (by hand) 200 cords of wood. I've had to work hard every day since i was a kid, yet unless it's been an 18 hour day or i've had to hump an obscene amount of wood through a yard, i feel good. Yet have worked with guys my age that have done the same amount of work and they are so sore they are worthless the next day. Why?
> 
> Don't get me wrong here-not trying to brag here or anything, but why can some guys handle this job into their 70's and others burn out in their 20's?



You might be onto something with it being hereditary. I guess that it's like sports; look at guys like Jerry Rice, Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Gordie Howe, etc. playing at an advanced age and playing well-when others burn out a lot younger. You are very fortunate!


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## nytreeman (May 11, 2007)

beowulf343 said:


> Going to go out on a limb here, but wonder if genetics have anything to do with how well we stand up to the abuse. Bear with me. I can't believe these guys who are 24 and already hurting......
> 
> ...... I've had to work hard every day since i was a kid, yet unless it's been an 18 hour day or i've had to hump an obscene amount of wood through a yard, i feel good. Yet have worked with guys my age that have done the same amount of work and they are so sore they are worthless the next day. Why?
> 
> Don't get me wrong here-not trying to brag here or anything, but why can some guys handle this job into their 70's and others burn out in their 20's?



I know the feeling,I was brought up farming and learned how to work from the start,my grandfather farmed til he was 83 and died at the barn working.I'm 44 and my main groundman is 49 and we can outwork and outlast some guys weve had helping that are 20-25 yrs younger,esp if they have never done this kind of work.I'll climb all day and go to the ground dragging brush and humping blocks and the're all whining that they are sore and I still have to go finish it up,go home unload and get it all ready to do again the next day,some long freakin days .It's def genectics but it's also your attitude and being tough from doing it so damn long.But it does last longer when you do get banged up or pull something as you get older.


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## PA. Woodsman (May 28, 2007)

*This might help*

A few months ago I purchased a product called "Sonic Relief" which is a portable home ultrasound machine to use on my various "aches and problems". This is a very well made product, and I'm finding out that it actually does work. It's easy to use, and although not cheap at $250 I find that it'll pay for itself many times over in the future. If you're interested, look it up at www.mendmeshop.com I think that it works-it takes time but it works. Also, a good massage therapist is great, too. I finally got into mine the other night after a 2 month wait (this tells me that she's good if it takes that long to get in) and she noticed just by looking at me that I was "crooked"-out of line from the accident that I had back in March which torqued my upper body. She "straightend" me out again and worked on me, and I feel better than I have in the last few months. ALSO-a real good pair of custom orthotics (made especially for your feet) is a tremendous help-your feet tell your legs, knees and back where to go, and if they're going at the wrong angle you'll experience pain-lots of it. Get fitted by a GOOD foot doctor or person that can make CUSTOM orthotics for you. We have to take care of our bodies to help them take care of us!


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## treevet (May 28, 2007)

I think I ll look into that sonic device for aches and pains. Everyone gets them, but when they go past into debilitating injuries, you have down time and that can lead to financial problems. I am with the gym and stretching theory. I think tree work finds the weak link in your body just like the weak link in a rigging system, it is the only one that matters regardless if the others are strong.

My work out takes less than a half hour a day, 6 days a week. Do double sets of opposites, pushing and pulling. Press then pullup (or lat pulldown), bench press or pushup then rowing. Upper body one day and legs and arms (curls vs tricep extensions; legextensions vs leg curls, etc) the next. All this crap makes you feel fit, too.

Look at how far sports have evolved w weight training. Also nice to bang on heavy bag for 10 mins or so a day for fitness and stress. If I wasn t doing this stuff I d just be wasting more of my life away on Arborsite, haha.


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## ropensaddle (May 28, 2007)

At the risk of sounding like an a??, 24 year old
you don't even know what pain is yet. I have climbed over
twenty years and when I was green there was discomfort
not pain. Ten years ago I was in a bad wreck smashed left
scapula, dislocated right ,broke both collar bones fractured
a rib the punctured a lung, and fractured my back! I was
told I would have trouble climbing or doing physical demanding
work. I climbed three months later sore and worked through the
pain and when I hear boys complaining it makes me weep and I
can still outwork most of them! When you can't sleep for a month
you will never again call discomfort, pain.


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## jrparbor04 (May 28, 2007)

alright old man saddle,,im 27,,,been doing this work for only 7years,,,before doing that i worked on a farm for 8 yrs,,,and played soccer for 14 yrs,,,last year i had a tree fall on my back from storm damage,,,the new guy cut the tree and didnt listen to me,,,i ache and pain everyday,,,i just get up every morning,,kiss my dear goodbye and go to work,,,,never know what will happen in this industry,,,we will always have pain,,,what i do is just live with the pain and i have never been nice to my body,,,i am very fit,,,6ft even and 169lbs,,,so not scared of hard work,,,just part of the job


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## ropensaddle (May 29, 2007)

What I am saying is that when you get older
the pains of your youth will seem trivial in comparison!
I have been where you are twenty years ago so I know
that it does get worse with age and you babes will when 
you get here.


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## nytreeman (May 30, 2007)

ropensaddle said:


> At the risk of sounding like an a??, 24 year old
> you don't even know what pain is yet. I have climbed over
> twenty years and when I was green there was discomfort
> not pain. Ten years ago I was in a bad wreck smashed left
> ...



I know the feeling,been climbing 20 yrs,part time for ten,full time since I started my own company ten yrs ago,had a cpl bad accidents when i was a teen and broke thirty something bones and still can do the work but the old injuries come back to haunt you too ,soaking in a hot tub helps too


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## Kingsley (May 30, 2007)

Beer


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## ropensaddle (May 30, 2007)

Kingsley said:


> Beer


No way that is what got me hurting
and sober is the only way for me.


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## Kingsley (May 31, 2007)

Sorry, I wasn't serious anyway.
Marty


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## treevet (Jun 2, 2007)

Another source of aches and pains outside of injury is stressing muscles while not hydrating properly esp this time of year but even in winter. Try a hard day w/out h2o and another and sip all day w no lapses. It will convince you.


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## CoreyTMorine (Jun 4, 2007)

Why does roping down branches put stress on your shoulders? The only thing that should be stressed is the rope, the tree, and the friction device, be it stub or port-a-wrap. 

Perhaps you are doing the work the hard way, and that is causing your body stress. I often think about the work that people had to do 50 and 100 and 200 years ago, to survive. Were they that much stronger? The older I get the less I believe that strength is what allowed the old farmers to do so much. More likely that they just knew how to work; how to lift without twisting, and how to pull without shock loading. 

The old barns and mills I’ve been in often have a strange array of hand tools; pulp wood hooks, peavey’s, pickeroons, shovels, spades, and pitch forks, tools without names whose functions are mystery. Perhaps having and using the right tools allows one to do work without stress.

Genetic make-up may certainly be the “secret” for some individuals. But I think it to be just as likely that human beings who grew up working learn how to better use their bodies. And those who were fortunate enough to grow up in an environment where the same work has gone on for generations have the experience of all those before them to draw on.

I believe that school athletics are a huge part of the problem with today’s workers. These kids get trained for a 2 or 3 hour game during which they spend 60 minutes on the bench. They get taught that the way to succeed is to hit it as hard as you can for a few moments then to take a rest. Anaerobic respiration of the white meat twitch muscle is stronger until the lactic acid builds up enough to cool things down, but its no good for the long haul, and its hard on your skeleton.

Do you grab the first piece of brush on the ground and pull until it comes loose? Or do you take a minute to identify the piece on top, then lift it up and carry it to the chipper? I hate seeing kids wrestle with brush piles, its almost as frustrating as Clearance being right, lol. I find that it is also worth the time to separate the brush into size categories; 2 or 3 long ones to a pile, 6 or 7 mid length branches, and as many small ones as you can put your arms around, and stubs go in a barrel not the twig pile. Think about your work, watch other people, study it and always consider the effects of a given action on your body.

As for ankle support I wear shin-guards under 8” all leather boots, I assume they are for field hockey or soccer. The foot stirrup has a lot of padding around the ankle and when laced up, the boot plus the padding provides a nice even compression for my ankle. Stay away from thinsulate, it packs down and then you can never get a good fit again, wear wool socks if you want insulation. I wear light wool socks over cotton all summer, Stansfield workmans socks from Canada are the best. The pads will stretch the boot out some, so once they are broken in don’t plan on wearing your work boots without the shin-guards. 

Good luck.


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## nytreeman (Jun 4, 2007)

CoreyTMorine said:


> Do you grab the first piece of brush on the ground and pull until it comes loose? Or do you take a minute to identify the piece on top, then lift it up and carry it to the chipper? I hate seeing kids wrestle with brush piles



yup,it def helps to use your brain as well as brawn but it's always interesting to see if they can figure it out,lol,:monkey:


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## ropensaddle (Jun 4, 2007)

I hate to wrestle with brush and that is why I grab the whole pile as one limb at a time is not using your head grabbing the whole pile and loading with a grapple is!


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## CoreyTMorine (Jun 4, 2007)

ropensaddle said:


> I hate to wrestle with brush and that is why I grab the whole pile as one limb at a time is not using your head grabbing the whole pile and loading with a grapple is!




Hydrolics are for weenies!!! Plus to drive your log truck over the front lawn, get stuck, pay a wrecker $300 usd to get you unstuck, buy 6 yards of loam to fill in the ruts, bring the tractor over to spread the loam, seed, fertilize, roll, cover with straw, later find out about the 2 broken sprinkler heads, come back dig up old heads drive to store buy new heads drive back and install heads then see that you need a ½ to 3/8 adapter, drive back to store, buy adapter plus handful of other stuff that you don’t need but you don’t want to drive back to the store again so you buy anyways, just in case, drive back again, install ½ to 3/8 adapter and half assed fill and reseed, need a beer, need morin one. Aw hell I shoulda woulda coulda just drug that ole’ pile to the chipper. 
 cause ime on fire here.

The lazy man he works twice.
:hmm3grin2orange:


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