A word of advice if I may

[azsnowman]

To all you younger folks out there and the "Rambo wannabes"......DON'T play Rambo to prove how strong you are, when lifting heavy stuff, LIFT with your LEGS and NOT your back, trust me on this one, I know first hand the end result When I first started cutting meat, 1979, beef was delivered to the stores by the side (hanging beef). The store I first started cutting at and got my journeyman certificate, we would order 15 heads of beef every other day, 30 sides of beef....now the sides, on the average weighed 300-350 lbs, we would pick them up from the truck, hang them on a hook and roller system and push them in the cooler. I don't remember exactly when but they stopped shipping beef like that and now it's all quartered and boxed into the different parts, the chuck (shoulder) hindquarters (rounds) etc, etc.....the boxes still weigh OVER 100-150 #'s. Instead of ASKING for help, I (very young and a MACHO-Rambo wannabe) would lift the sides by myself etc, because *as he says this sarcasticly* " I was a MAN!" It wasn't until 1987-88 I believe, that back braces came out and the insurance companies MADE us wear them.

So.....bottom line, GET HELP when your lifting, no MATTER how strong you THINK you are!

Dennis

[j]

you know Dennis.....you would think with my wife having the back problems she does, that I would know enough not to lift more than I should. I'm guilty of ill-advised lifting...I lift my John Deere tractor up into the shed, not because I think I'm Rambo, but because I'm too lazy to build a ramp.

I'm going to give it some serious thought before the Spring though, and your posts have really made me think twice.

[coriolis]

Yeah, me too, Dennis. I'm guilty of overdoing it as recently as last summer and I have a couple of bad discs to show for it. I'd kick myself in the butt, but it would probably make it worse. Did yours start as discs and then progress to the bones? If you discover any techniques that help, please share them. This is probably one of the biggest challanges you've ever faced. I don't know what else to say except that I'm feeling for you. I sincerely hope that you can manage your situation for the best possible outcome.

[streetsoldier]

My back problems started with a call on a burglary at a STL beer distributor...barely saw the perp, but not until after he tried to "shank" me with an icepick (yes, you guessed it; in the spine). Fortunately, I had purchased one of the very first Kevlar "under-the-shirt" bulletproof vests by "Second Chance", which deflected most of the blow save for about 1/4" into the mid-lower thoracic area.

Initial tests at Barnes Hospital found nothing, but...

That was in August of 1975, folks...problems didn't surface until 1981, and it's been a slow "downhill" ever since.

[StormCrazyIowan]

Good advice, and it doesn't have to apply to only men!! I lift heavy boxes every night at Wally World, freight is what I do, and I know I should be more careful, just for you I will go get one of the braces they hand out just to be safe!

[GalvestonDuck]

I lift my John Deere tractor up into the shed

?

You mean mower, right, J?

[streetsoldier]

It should be noted that, as a teen, I was stacking riding mowers up to beyond eye level (boxed) for $1.65 an hour (Western Auto store), and later off-loading 55-gallon drums full of soap for $2.45 an hour (Christian Hospital, janitor)...without any help other than my two hands, and NO back support brace, either.

"Well, it's good to be a young man
And to live the way you please
Yes, a young man is the king
Of every kingdom that he sees
There's an old and feeble man not far behind...OH,
And you know he's gonna catch up to him
Somewhere Along the Line"...Billy Joel

[george_r_1961]

I recently popped a disc trying to be Superman and lifting 200 plus pounds by myself. After a few days of not being able to walk without considerable discomfort I am back to light duty at work( no heavy lifting) and no longer require painkillers. The moral of the story is when lifting something heavy..if there is ANY doubt in your mind as to your ability to lift safely...get help.

[azsnowman]

Yep Ed.....started out in the discs and now the discs are crumbling (for a lack of better word). I'm starting massage therapy (in my Storm2K thong "LOL!") tomorrow, I've started on Glucousamene (sp...too lazy to look at the bottle), I'm back on the Atkins Diet to drop more weight and as soon as my ribs heal a little more, I'm going back to the gym. It's now a matter of wait and see.

OUCH George.......I feel for ya Brother!

Jacki, I'm glad to see you using a back brace!

Bill, it's AMAZING how strong (and BULL HEADED)we *were* back in our days isn't it?

Dennis

[Skywatch_NC]

Whenever I've push-mowed in the past (Dad does it now since I have such severe hay fever reactions...despite shots)and also lifting some medium-weight furniture around the house with my Dad...I always use a back-saver belt. I do have some sciatica trouble, too, that flares every now and then ever since a mistake with a Weed-Twister tool in the summer of 1994.

For real heavy furniture we use sliding disks (whatever they're called) on the bottom of the legs...for ie. a couch.

Eric

[j]

I lift my John Deere tractor up into the shed

?

You mean mower, right, J?

It's a John Deere Riding Mower.....not huge, but heavier than I should be lifting.

The problem is, we humans are very capable of lifting huge cargos using our backs. It may hurt, but we can lift a lot of weight.