Injuries or chronic problems related to wood harvesting/splitting

[lisapizza]

No serious injuries to speak of but I have suffered from Chainsaw elbow for yrs, I have been using an Elbow Strap like this and it`s helped me alot ~

http://www.painreliever.com/Tennis-Elbow-Straps_ChoPTsEbSp.html

 

[boilerwood]

I usually use a flatbed wagon to haul wood home. Thanksgiving weekend I cut and loaded 3 wagon loads of really nice oak. Felt great about getting a good start on my cutting for the year. When I got the last load home I bent over to pull the hitch pin and POP went my lower back. It was pretty sore for a couple weeks. Cutting, loading didn't bother a thing, get injured pulling the pin. Figures.

 

[sixgun]

Firewood elbow has been my buddy for quite some time now. I've got one of them straps, too, just can't seem to get it to stay on the fat part of the muscle (like the doc says it should). I use Mr. Icepack then jump in the hot tub.

Temporary relief only, as I usually get into something I shouldn't quick enough. Work smart, folks. Hurts less in the long run.

 

[topgut]

Managed pain

Hit 46 this past year. I have to fuel an outdoor wood stove also. I mostly cut pine and lighter less dense wood because its usually free. Storm damage mostly. When I first started cutting in large quantity my back really hurt the day after. Now I guess I'm in better wood cutting shape since the day after is no where near as bad. A great benefit I found is less splitting since the OWB accepts much larger pieces of wood than a traditional wood stove. Don't get me wrong, a long day of cutting will provide me with sore lower back and numb hands for a short period after. Arthritis or what seems like it in my wrists is now showing up. What I do is use the equipment more and my body less whenever I can. The tractor lifts the heavy stuff now and I take less chances. I will always love swinging that Husky 51 around and not buying oil..........Machines dont feel pain therefore use them more and your back less.

A wise man once told me. "you can use your brain or you can use your back"

Cut on!

 

[logging22]

Sorry dude but once you hit 40 all manner of body parts start to fall apart.

For me I get numb arms after using my 660 or my 051 for more than about 4 hours. It goes away after a few days but if I was to cut 8 hrs/day I would be in trouble.

My brother was forced to get a processor because he could not do all the sawing the splitting by hand that he needed to do to keep up. So the processor allowed him to increase his operation and now he is suffering in other ways. Standing all day is bad plus he does a lot of resplits to make sure his wood is uniform after going through his 4 way or 6 way wedges. He insists on consistency and that comes with a price to his body.

I use a saw 8 to 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. Its finally taking its toll on the arms and hands. Wrists and fingers stay numb most of the time. Carpal Tunnel? Cant help it. Part of the job. Gonna run a saw till my hands fall off!!

 

[boilerwood]

One of the benefits of getting older is the wisdom that accompanies age. 20 years ago I'd go to the woods when I'd thrown my last piece of wood in the stove and go at it like I wuz killin' snakes. Now I'm 2 years ahead and find that there's nothing wrong with sitting on the tailgate and taking a break now and then.

 

[indiansprings]

Forty Seven, had four stents put in at thirty eight, two back surgeries at 41 and diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease at forty six.
Don't ever let them cut on your back unless it is the last resort. I need two artificial disc put in but at 125-150k and with insurance not covering it not an option. Life expectancy for people with mixed connective tissue disease is around ten years anyway. I get out an cut wood with the boys everyday I feel like it. I usually ache all over after a hard day, but it keeps me from sitting around and being depressed. Take care of the back, use good lifting techniques, wear a back belt if at all possible, wished I listened to my late father who warned me when I was 18-30 picking up huge rounds or lifting around on machinery. Sleep on a heating pad almost every night, take predisone daily along with pain patches. Can't stress taking care of the back enough.

 

[KodiakKen]

a young spry 33

6'3'' 280 pounds..more in the middle..I have had lower back problems most of my life..from being overweight..I like to eat. wear a dam back brace regardless of age. If you are ten feet tall and bulletproof and don't want to show your "weakness" to you cutting partner..put a shirt over it. take care of the only body you have..Talk to some of the old coal miners..once you hurt your back once..it will never be the same. Water makes the blood flow better. blood flow stimulates nerves and tells you faster if something may be at risk. keep your muscles warm in cold weather. you will pull a cold muscle far faster than something warm and stretched.

 

[howellhandmade]

This is a philosophical statement, not a religious one, but the old preacher had it right: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."

Jack

 

[whitemountain]

I feel I should chime in again here.

Back braces are a double edged sword. They can be great support while lifting, especially a heavy and or awkward lift. Like big/heavy rounds can be. Don't get sucked into wearing it all the time. This will actually weaken the stabilizing muscles of the area over time. Proper use of a "back brace" would actually mean wearing it around undone most of the time.

Let's take your Wally world employee who has a company issued back brace. It's a good one that has straps over the shoulders, is properly sized and the employee knows how to tighten the brace properly. If the employee walks around the store all day, all week with the brace clamped down, doing its thing the body will naturally begin to break down the tissues that would normally provide that support. If on the other hand the employee only tightens the belt when lifting, maybe 25-50-100 times a shift, then the brace has only been worn a couple of hours at most. The back has had support when extra may be needed, but not allowed the body to start the accomodation process that would ensue following what amounts to a "soft cast".

I don't have a problem with braces in general, but often they are used incorrectly.

In my mind a long term solution would involve strengthening and balancing the musculature of the back. There are many ways to do this, and most exercises involving an exercise ball will help.

Allow me to chime in briefly on one other aspect of injury and healing. Ice is your best friend in the days following an injury, tweaking the back, inflamming the chainsaw/firewood/axe elbow/shoulder/etc. Heat should be avoided for atleast 2 days, and usually 3. After 3 days heat can be used in the absence of infection, cancer, etc. If you have trouble remembering you can always use ice. 10 minutes every hour is ideal. Too much ice can be harmful as well, but 10 minutes every hour is safe and effective.

Dehydration of tissue is the main ingredient for disaster. A hydrated tissue will have better blood supply, be more flexible, and in the event of injury will heal faster. This seems to be particularly important to the Disc. Water is good.

Be safe, have fun.:greenchainsaw:

 

[KodiakKen]

good point

I feel I should chime in again here.

Back braces are a double edged sword. They can be great support while lifting, especially a heavy and or awkward lift. Like big/heavy rounds can be. Don't get sucked into wearing it all the time. This will actually weaken the stabilizing muscles of the area over time. Proper use of a "back brace" would actually mean wearing it around undone most of the time.

Let's take your Wally world employee who has a company issued back brace. It's a good one that has straps over the shoulders, is properly sized and the employee knows how to tighten the brace properly. If the employee walks around the store all day, all week with the brace clamped down, doing its thing the body will naturally begin to break down the tissues that would normally provide that support. If on the other hand the employee only tightens the belt when lifting, maybe 25-50-100 times a shift, then the brace has only been worn a couple of hours at most. The back has had support when extra may be needed, but not allowed the body to start the accomodation process that would ensue following what amounts to a "soft cast".

I don't have a problem with braces in general, but often they are used incorrectly.

In my mind a long term solution would involve strengthening and balancing the musculature of the back. There are many ways to do this, and most exercises involving an exercise ball will help.

Allow me to chime in briefly on one other aspect of injury and healing. Ice is your best friend in the days following an injury, tweaking the back, inflamming the chainsaw/firewood/axe elbow/shoulder/etc. Heat should be avoided for atleast 2 days, and usually 3. After 3 days heat can be used in the absence of infection, cancer, etc. If you have trouble remembering you can always use ice. 10 minutes every hour is ideal. Too much ice can be harmful as well, but 10 minutes every hour is safe and effective.

Dehydration of tissue is the main ingredient for disaster. A hydrated tissue will have better blood supply, be more flexible, and in the event of injury will heal faster. This seems to be particularly important to the Disc. Water is good.

Be safe, have fun.:greenchainsaw:

cut and use mechanical advantage to roll logs ( cant or peavey or winch) and use back brace when loading and unloading truck. I work with a guy that has one of those 1960's heavy leather weigh lifting belts and I laugh at him every time we cut and he pulls it out..but I know better than to let him lift wood without it. He has missed multiple days of work because he couldn't even roll out of bed when he didn't use it and tried to keep up with me. like most stupid kids..I still lift with my back and if I can grip it..I load it. I know I know..it will catch up to me.. but as long as I can..I will..when I can't..I will find another way.

 

[NDtreehugger]

The 50s tell me to stop

lifting them 350 pound logs.
blew a disk last year, I'll see what happens this year it may be time for a spliter with a lift and trailer with a drag line and lift

 

[user 166448]

I am a 47 year old female. I was helping my dad in early spring get firewood. I picked up an ax and tried to split a log. I discovered I was a pretty good log splitter even with a plain ax. I just went out an bought a couple new axes. One was a 8lb wood splitting Maul. I love this thing.
I discovered I loved going to the wood and grabbing my maul and splitting a load of wood.
What happened a couple weeks ago caught me off guard. I swung with my maul and felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I tried to swing again. This time was worse. I babied it the rest of the day. The next weekend I wore a back brace and still babied it.
I was feeling much better this weekend. I still had my brace on. On swing three, I was hit with a blinding pain right in the middle of my stomach. It hurt so bad I could not catch my breath. Minutes later it was still bad pain. I rested and decided I would not swing anymore. I did try to pull to start a chainsaw and the pain hit me worse than ever. I was done.
I got home and managed to get a shower. I managed to get into bed with some work. I tried to roll over and could hardly bear the pain. The next morning I could not get up. I had to get my son to come sit me up. I discovered I can no longer use my stomach muscles because it is just to painful.
I do not see a sign of a hernia. I don't really know what to do. I do not have health insurance. I am just hoping the pain gets better if I try to be very careful.
I am sure my wood splitting days are over. I feel broken

 

[Erik B]

I am a 47 year old female. I was helping my dad in early spring get firewood. I picked up an ax and tried to split a log. I discovered I was a pretty good log splitter even with a plain ax. I just went out an bought a couple new axes. One was a 8lb wood splitting Maul. I love this thing.
I discovered I loved going to the wood and grabbing my maul and splitting a load of wood.
What happened a couple weeks ago caught me off guard. I swung with my maul and felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I tried to swing again. This time was worse. I babied it the rest of the day. The next weekend I wore a back brace and still babied it.
I was feeling much better this weekend. I still had my brace on. On swing three, I was hit with a blinding pain right in the middle of my stomach. It hurt so bad I could not catch my breath. Minutes later it was still bad pain. I rested and decided I would not swing anymore. I did try to pull to start a chainsaw and the pain hit me worse than ever. I was done.
I got home and managed to get a shower. I managed to get into bed with some work. I tried to roll over and could hardly bear the pain. The next morning I could not get up. I had to get my son to come sit me up. I discovered I can no longer use my stomach muscles because it is just to painful.
I do not see a sign of a hernia. I don't really know what to do. I do not have health insurance. I am just hoping the pain gets better if I try to be very careful.
I am sure my wood splitting days are over. I feel broken

@Freedomins01 Sorry to hear of your problems that developed while trying to put up some wood. Welcome to the site, also. Many of us develop aches and pains from working with wood and we all have to learn how to listen to our bodies and quit when we get tired or a bit sore. Maybe some good rest for a few days will help. Good luck with your recovery.

 

[MrWhoopee]

Age 68, my back is still (amazingly) uninjured. The sins of my youth inflicted mostly mental injuries (if any there be). I started wood burning (and stopped backpacking) 12 years ago. I gave myself tennis elbow after a particularly energetic session with a maul, wedge and oak which took almost 6 months to heal. Got a splitter after that. Each season I have made some improvement to my equipment or techniques to remove another potential source of injury. It helps that I have a very analytical mind coupled with being very lazy. Hoping to keep doing this until they drag my dead ass out of the house.

 

[svk]

Nothing major, all go away with time.

Elbow issues when I did a lot of hand splitting and was using a 15 lb saw for everything.

Tinnitus fires up when I run high revving ported saws. Dies out after a a few months in the off season.

Tweaked my knee and had soreness in the inside joint for a few months this year.

When I was working up a lot of heavy boiler wood my hands started to hurt because I was grabbing chunks one handed to load.

Oh and if I run a saw without Antivibe (Super XL is notoriously bad) for extended periods my left hand gets numb.

 

[Odog]

I am a 47 year old female. I was helping my dad in early spring get firewood. I picked up an ax and tried to split a log. I discovered I was a pretty good log splitter even with a plain ax. I just went out an bought a couple new axes. One was a 8lb wood splitting Maul. I love this thing.
I discovered I loved going to the wood and grabbing my maul and splitting a load of wood.
What happened a couple weeks ago caught me off guard. I swung with my maul and felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I tried to swing again. This time was worse. I babied it the rest of the day. The next weekend I wore a back brace and still babied it.
I was feeling much better this weekend. I still had my brace on. On swing three, I was hit with a blinding pain right in the middle of my stomach. It hurt so bad I could not catch my breath. Minutes later it was still bad pain. I rested and decided I would not swing anymore. I did try to pull to start a chainsaw and the pain hit me worse than ever. I was done.
I got home and managed to get a shower. I managed to get into bed with some work. I tried to roll over and could hardly bear the pain. The next morning I could not get up. I had to get my son to come sit me up. I discovered I can no longer use my stomach muscles because it is just to painful.
I do not see a sign of a hernia. I don't really know what to do. I do not have health insurance. I am just hoping the pain gets better if I try to be very careful.
I am sure my wood splitting days are over. I feel broken

Sounds like a pulled abdominal muscle. Rest is pretty much your best remedy for it.

 

[Haironyourchest]

38, no chronic injuries. Had chunks fly back at my knees and shins when crosscutting stacked logs, several times. Very sore, very dangerous for the kneecap, probably, so I ware leg armour now...tongs and sappie for moving wood around, the less stooping the better. No hand splitting, machine all the way. Wheelbarrow, sack trolly and mini dumper if the wood needs to be transported more than a few feet. I did a bit of Jiu-Jitsu training a few years ago, and one thing it tought me was how the musculoskeletal system really works. I learned how to bend down, stand up, lift, turn and so on - how to align my body with the work so as to make the most of my stability and large muscle groups. Simple things like looking up with my head when picking up something heavy, instead of looking down at it. Making
sure my spine is straight.

 

[alleyyooper]

Jeez as a old goat nearly 73 6 foot and a over weight 250 pounds I just don't know what to tell all you children on how to work and not injury your selves.
I firmly belive and live in the saying USE IT OR LOOSE IT.

You can't be setting around 8 months of the year swilling beer and doing nothing and expect to do real manual work for 2 or 3 months just to heat the house.

I have this real bad pain runs down my right leg. I atrubite not to a fire wood cutting injury but from all my medical cards I carry in my wallet on the right buttox. I have two cards one for each of my New improved Knees so I can show the reason why I set off metal dectors. A pair of card for my new lens's in my eyes put in when they removed the catractics Neither a result of working fire wood. I also have a card I carry that says I am a diabetic and not a drunk, give me a sugar drink. Also not a result of working a buzz saw, cross cut ssw, chain saw, chopping axe, splitting maul sledge & wedge or carrying wood.
So I am doing aleve every 8 hours and stopped carrying my wallet with all the medical cards in my right rear pocket with all the insurance cards and the New improved body parts cards.

I admit I realy did try to watch colleage foot ball Saturday while it was raining. Can't do it. Can't stnd the talking heads compairing this person to that person and so on.
I went and sat down at my shot shell reloader and loaded up a bunch of 12 ga ammo
then I took time to cresse a bunch of my guns till the rain stopped.

So remember USE IT OR LOOSE IT. get off your butt stop drinking sugary drinks and yes beer has a lot of sugar. and use your body parts and even you may make it to 73.

Al

 

[SuperDuty04]

I’ve got degenerative disk disease and have battled back problems since my early 20’s. Lots of heavy lifting throughout my life didn’t help anything. I’ve had multiple herniated and bulging disks since. My problem is I can’t stop working, not even to heal. I hurt myself this last time the first week of August. Woke up one morning in a world of pain and couldn’t walk. I spent the next month and a half having to sleep on my stomach or my knees and even then it was only about 2-3 hours of sleep a day. The pain wouldn’t allow me to sleep! I even had to eat all my meals on my knees. I couldn’t sit at all or lay on my back or sides. Trying to sit caused such severe muscle spasms it would make a grown man want to cry. I had a family to support and being a business owner, a contractor, I had to go to work every day. Every morning I would have to get out of bed and somehow get my boots on, then I’d have to hobble a mile through my pasture barely walking, JUST so that my back would loosen up enough to actually start my work day. I have been eating pain pills like candy, have been getting pain shots, steroids, and spine injections. And thanks to the $&@! druggies out there, the doctors treat you like a lowlife for needing pain medication.
So fast foreard 3 months and I’m still in bad shape, although now I can at least sleep on my back and drive my truck without feeling like I’m gonna pass out from the pain. I’ve found out I have an issue going on with my S1 vertebrae which connects to my hip. It’s causing sciatica in my right leg so the pain goes from my back, through my butt cheek and down into my shin. The pain is still horrendous but manageable now.
I spent last week up and down a 12 foot ladder wiring up a corporate office running over 9000 feet of wire. Yesterday I cleaned about 15,000 sf of concrete with a surface cleaner. Today, I can barely even move and the wifey will have to put my sock and shoe on so I can go to work.

the best thing I’ve found for a man my age is testosterone. If ya are 40 or older, find a doc who will test your testosterone because you might be surprised what your level is. I’ve been off of it for 5 years now because I was just too busy to go in weekly for the shots. But I never felt better when I was getting them and will be getting on it again very soon.