Wrist hurts while splitting

[ranchjn]

I was splitting rounds today (by hand), and my wrist started to hurt a bit on my 7th one. It was a big oak round (36'' DBH, green), and my wrist hurt to much for me to really make any progress on it. It wasnt painful or anything, just felt kinda sore, so i decided it would be best to stop and give it a rest. I moved on to smaller rounds (15'' dbh), which i could easily split and felt significantly better. I am using a fiberglass 8lb maul. I havent split anything in the past 2 weeks and am just getting started back up again. Is this normal? I dont want to hurt myself, and am not on a time schedule or anything of the sort. i guess i shoulda started off with the smaller rounds first and then work my way up instead of going in the opposite directions What are other common pains that can result from splitting wood? I dont know if any of you have been to the doctor for a "firewood-splitting" related problem, but it would be interesting to hear what they have to say about it. I feel like all the muscles in my body are being used when i am out there , but if someone knows the particular muscles, that would be helpful as well. I dont know if there has been any research on wood splitting and wether or not it leads to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (which i really dont want to get anytime soon!)

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I was splitting rounds today (by hand), and my wrist started to hurt a bit on my 7th one. It was a big oak round (36'' DBH, green), and my wrist hurt to much for me to really make any progress on it. It wasnt painful or anything, just felt kinda sore, so i decided it would be best to stop and give it a rest. I moved on to smaller rounds (15'' dbh), which i could easily split and felt significantly better. I am using a fiberglass 8lb maul. I havent split anything in the past 2 weeks and am just getting started back up again. Is this normal? I dont want to hurt myself, and am not on a time schedule or anything of the sort. i guess i shoulda started off with the smaller rounds first and then work my way up instead of going in the opposite directions What are other common pains that can result from splitting wood? I dont know if any of you have been to the doctor for a "firewood-splitting" related problem, but it would be interesting to hear what they have to say about it. I feel like all the muscles in my body are being used when i am out there , but if someone knows the particular muscles, that would be helpful as well. I dont know if there has been any research on wood splitting and wether or not it leads to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (which i really dont want to get anytime soon!)

Hi there-now I'm no doctor, but it SOUNDS to me like you've strained your wrist, asking it to do too much too soon. I'm wondering were you REALLY pounding away hard with just the 8-lb maul, or were you using a wedge with it? This sounds opposite of what you would think, but try using a HEAVIER maul and/or say 16-lb sledgehammer and some wedges; it sounds to me like you were trying to hit "homeruns' with a "wiffle ball bat":greenchainsaw: I would ice your wrist to calm it down, maybe wear an elastic drug-store bought wrist brace for support, and work into shape easily. There are lots of nutritional supplements that you can take for tendons, cartlage, muscles etc. if you are into that stuff-check your local health food store. I've had tendonitis in the elbows, strained back, knees etc. from woodsplitting-but with some modifications and attention to detail you CAN do it without hurting yourself. Perhaps you do something else that HELPED your wrist to be strained BEFORE you started splitting. Best of luck-I'm sure that you'll "work it out">

 

[Millman]

Aches and Pains

Two years ago I developed "golfers elbow" from gripping my pitching wedge too tightly while practicing. The past years I have had bought wood alread split and deliverd. All I had to do was stack. This year I bought logs and am doing a lot of sawing. I feel the same pain in my left elbow as before. The point is I agree with PA. Ice it down, take the supplemnets and ask your doc about what pain killers you can take. Mine told me to take either alieve(sp?) or ibuprophin to take care of the swelling. What happens with carpel or other problems are the tendons of your joints travel through and by the bones of your joints. When you bruise them or stress them, they swell and cause stiffness and pain. Good luck and those drugstore braces do really help. They keep the tendon in place while you work.

Greg
:spam:

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

There are lots of nutritional supplements that you can take for tendons, cartlage, muscles etc.

Chrondoitin and glucosamine. I have yet to talk to someone who has used this for any lenght of time that does not swear by it. It helps REBUILD cartilage. Vitamin C is also necessary for building cartilage & tendons, and very few people get enough.


If you are going to be working hard at something and expect muscle soreness, take a good dose of C before and after, and you'll have much LESS soreness. I don't mean a couple of tablets - I mean 5 or 10 grams of the stuff.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Chrondoitin and glucosamine. I have yet to talk to someone who has used this for any lenght of time that does not swear by it. It helps REBUILD cartilage. Vitamin C is also necessary for building cartilage & tendons, and very few people get enough.


If you are going to be working hard at something and expect muscle soreness, take a good dose of C before and after, and you'll have much LESS soreness. I don't mean a couple of tablets - I mean 5 or 10 grams of the stuff.

Yes, you're exactly correct. Also MSM which is a sulfur that is in your body that helps with pain and maintaining connective tissue is also used along with Glucosamine and Chondroiton. I use a product by Source Naturals that has those 3 in plus Vitamin C and it works great. Bromelain is a derivative from pineapples that taken in pill form reduces inflammation and helps you 'recover'. And Enzymatic Therapy (a great company) makes Myo-tone, a product to keep tendons, ligaments and muscles strong. I'm dealing with strained tendons in my right knee as we speak from improperly-fitted foot inserts and overuse; I've got great inserts and sneakers now, take all of the above (and more) and went to my Orthopedic doctor this past Tuesday. He said that everything is structurally fine-just strained-and he ALSO recommends supplements; and he also said "stay active". Hope that this helps-sorry to sound like a vitamin "pusher" but I can say from experience that at age 45 I feel pretty good and I think that the supplements are a MAJOR part of it. Best of luck!

 

[moss]

Learning a lesson from blacksmiths, never grip the handle too tight when you're slamming down a maul into a log or a sledge onto a wedge. Relaxed grip, enough to keep the tool in control but not to translate the impact shock into your wrists. You're probably already doing this but it's good to remind yourself once in awhile. If you let a sledge fly on impact (assuming no one's standing in the line of fire) it's better than holding it too tight.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Yes, you're exactly correct. Also MSM which is a sulfur that is in your body that helps with pain and maintaining connective tissue is also used along with Glucosamine and Chondroiton.

Ah! Thanks for mentioning that - bad oversight on my part.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Ah! Thanks for mentioning that - bad oversight on my part.

Nah, not an oversight. You mentioned the other two main ones that work!

 

[elektrobot]

Sounds like tendonitis

I dont know if there has been any research on wood splitting and wether or not it leads to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (which i really dont want to get anytime soon!)

I don't think you need to worry about carpal tunnel syndrome, which is usually caused by small repetitive movements of the wrist -but you should consider the possibility of tendinitis. I have tendinitis in my left wrist that is always inflamed after splitting wood. Anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen, or anything stronger you may be able to get a hold of can help to relieve the pain. I receive cortisone injections every once in awhile for other various injuries and this always seems to reduce the inflammation for a good 2-3 weeks, so I always try to plan my wood splitting around these injections. I realized that the way I sleep has a lot to do with how inflamed the tendinitis in my wrist gets, and I now sleep with a wrist brace on. Pay attention to how you sleep, and if you find your hand tucked under your pillow with your head putting weight on it, you are putting a strain on your wrist that can further aggravate the problem. The combination of wearing a wrist brace at night and regularly taking anti-inflammatory medications really helps. If you catch it early by taking regular doses of ibuprofen for at least 2 weeks, you might be able to just knock it out all together and only take medications as maintenance when you start to feel the symptoms reoccur.

Just Google tendinitis / tendonitis and see if it the symptoms sound similar, and follow whatever advice that sounds good.

 

[Sprig]

Learning a lesson from blacksmiths, never grip the handle too tight when you're slamming down a maul into a log or a sledge onto a wedge. Relaxed grip, enough to keep the tool in control but not to translate the impact shock into your wrists. You're probably already doing this but it's good to remind yourself once in awhile. If you let a sledge fly on impact (assuming no one's standing in the line of fire) it's better than holding it too tight.

Excellent point moss, and so are the others mentioning nutrients and sleeping on hands. I just wanted to add that I am not a fan of fiberglass or nylon handles, they seem to transmit more shock, give me a nice solid, long, oak or ash handle any day. Personal prefference is a modified pick-axe handle, nice and long with excellent control. If your technique suffers somewhat a couple of things; a 2-3" piece of 2"rubber hose and a couple of hoseclamps does wonders to save the wood, wear webbed gloves (better shock absorbsion imo), and lastly if your prone to sore wrists some extra support (mentioned above) is a good thing for sure. But it bears repeating, let the tool do the work! Long handle good! btw I preffer 6-7lb heads, can go all day and get through near anything. Just my 0.02$
Happy Splitting! :greenchainsaw:

 

[ranchjn]

hey guys,

thanks for all the replies and your information about your experiences!

I have actually been fine since the day i created this post... I think that i did something earlier that day that irritated my wrist and i continued to aggravate it by splitting wood. I am generally pretty good with about my form, however reminders never can hurt I hope everyone is doing well!