Back Pain & The Marine Industry

Oh, yes ... John's safety videos are Pacific Northwest classics. He made a ton of videos like that for the fishing industry and many of them were used by shipping companies. We used them on tankers running from Valdez down the West Coast. They are pretty good really.

The objective is to teach people to work smart, not hard. As you probably already know, there is always something heavy to lift and it is almost always in an awkward place so the risk of back injuries is high. You aren't alone in suffering from back pain, what we laughed about in our early twenties will give us tears tomorrow.

Find a way to live with it that doesn't involve a lot of drugs and avoid the lure of instant relief through surgery. Exercise, yoga, walking, biking ... do anything except take drugs and think you can still do what caused the problem in the first place.

Back Pain

Google "McKenzie Exercise" and do 10 reps three times a day. Pill free way to a pain free back. DO NOT take oxycodone or any of the other hillbilly heroin that your friendly pill pusher will prescribe.

You will be amazed at the results. PM me for more info.

My back gave up its ghost in when I turned fifty! Get an independent exam that includes an MRI. Don't trust the company doctor!! If it is a muscular issue the exercize will help dramatically. If its a disc issue good luck I personnelly had to stop sailing when I couldn't trust my hands to support my weight in heavy weather. I didn't have surgery I just stopped doing heavy manual labor and the pain decreased. If you have tingling in your hands or legs see a spine doctor right away

Hi,

Fish- I can't believe you are falling to bits so fast, you should go back to basics and enjoy Mount Gay Rum, the rum that invented rum without moderation

Yes, internal alcohol rub for medicinal reasons.....

I'm 57 and mostly drive a desk, but deal with occasional manual labor and/or time spent on the water going too fast or pretending I'm back in my 20's sailing... and have had the outer fingers/arm tingle for a while. Went to my chiropractor and discovered there's a specific spot between 2 vertebrae (just below the neck) that if pinched get the exact symptoms I have. 8-12 weeks to heal the nerve if the source of the problem is resolved, and my trend line is going the right direction, but still hasn't cleared up fully after about 15 weeks. So I'm starting yoga... I'm hoping restoring some "core body strength" will help.

I agree, avoid the pills/surgery!!!! From what I've read if you only have the tingle/numbness but aren't losing strength its probably a nerve/spine thing. If your losing strength too, then that's a bad sign. Also, the shooting pains in the legs I've never had... that seems worrisome.

I was surprised to read someone having similar symptoms here... among my non-online acquaintances I've not found anyone with similar symptoms... so its nice to have some folks to compare notes to...

Chuck

i too have back problems and found that the back and leg pains were caused by spinal stenosis which in laymens terms are misaligned vertabrae and the fingers tingling were from a misplaced nerve in the elbow of all places. No surgery on the back but I recieve a steroid shot every six months which works well. The nerves I have had sugery and the problem is gone.

I have had the same issues.....numbness and tingling down my left arm. My lower back varies in amount of pain and never without unless I am up and moving. I completely resolved the arm issue by doing pullups (palms forward) and upright rows (opposite of a pushup) within one week, and the pain and tingling were gone.

I have found that most aches and pains which are not injury specific are due to lack of exercise / activity which grows as we grow older.

When in doubt, avoid any drug and ramp up the movement.

Hope it helps.

Relief

I am a retired doctor and I have tried the Rotex Exercise Machine talked about by Yacht Forums member "YES" about a year and a half ago.

The Rotex was originally made for Navy Seals that had acquired back pain/injury while serving our country. Compressed vertebra, neck injury, and hip pain are among many problems that can be improved.

My results were excellent and very fast. A daily use; both morning and evening, give me the results I have been searching to achieve for years. The time spent for each morning and each evening regimen is less than 10 minutes.

Portable and well made; stainless, the Rotex could easily be used on a boat/yacht or in the home/office. Numerous sports teams and individudals have also incorporated this exercise machine into their training with excellent results.

No, I don't work for Rotex, but I sing their praises!

Thanks to "YES" I found this solution.

ZIA

Tingling feeling or numbness in hands can be traced to a pinched nerve, which is typically in your upper back. I have some back pain, but mostly neck pain resulting from getting rear-ended in a suv in 2004, and still have it if I do something strenuous (after 3 months of therapy). I have never taken any presciption medication for it and it's livable, and I take 2 Tylenol if it hurts a bit.

Do the exercises people are mentioning as they do help considerably. Drink Orange Juice and Milk, as the OJ has potassium which helps and the milk has enzymes in it that a doctor told me that helps your joints (forgot the name of it). Wear a back brace for lifting if you are doing a lot of lifting. Supposedly it takes 7 years for a pulled ligament in your back or neck to fully heal. Stay away from any of the pain medication if you can. Try Tylenol, Motrin, or Advil if you MUST take something and see if it works well enough.

Fish, I feel your pain. All the stupid stuff I did as a kid finally caught up to me. What was I thinking when I strapped a 6" wide x 1/4' thick leather belt around my waist, wrapped my knees with compression bandages and proceeded to do squats with 315 lbs. on my back, twice a week for years???

I still train 90 minutes a day, every day, but these days... it's all about protecting my back. I'm in agreement with Palegic Dreams, if the pain is bearable, then moderate exercise with light weight can work wonders. In some cases (at least with me), you can literally rehabilitate yourself over time.

I've also spent time hanging around, upside down, with anti-gravity boots to help in spinal decompression. There are chiropractors that have decompression machines and they truly help, but I'm not a big fan of chiropractic. For me, massage worked better.

Feel better bro!

FISH, I get injections (steroid) between the vertebrae every few months for my neck. Not as painful as you may think. Sometimes it lasts a few weeks, sometimes months.
After 2 years I know the worst thing to do is the drugs. Many have said this already, but sometimes it is just too easy to reach for the pills, occasionally followed by a drink!
Chronic pain is common and the bigger problem among sufferers is addiction to the pills.
I also get good results from acupuncture. However, doing this regularly seems to lessen the results.

Good luck and unfortunately, welcome to the club!

Fish,

I found this invaluable

'Sarah Key's Back Sufferers' Bible; You Can Treat Your Own Back.'

I have to admit I don't have the discipline to do the exercises every day - but when I do them they work wonders. I also recommend that you look at getting a proper back chair for your desk at work. Expensive, but worth it. You are probably doing more damage at 0mph than you were at xxxx knots in the speedboat!

When my back goes I'm totaled for a week and walk like I'm a 100 years old. Best advice I can give? Stay off the drugs as much as possible, move around as much as you sit still and get the woman you love to give you regular (but gentle) massage.

Hang in there buddy.

Fish, it sounds like you have multiple back problem. The finger tingle comes from one area. The pain shooting down the leg sounds like sciatica. For me it would start like a charlie horse just below my waiste, just right of my spine. If I stood for more that a minute the pain would travel across just above the buttucks to the hip and down the outside of my leg to the knee and calf. Within about 3 minutes I'd have to sit or go to my knees. It went on for years. Chiropractors just did voodoo and tried to sell me creams. One night laying on the couch I rolled to my left side and swung my right knee over. It hurt, but it was a weird pain that told me to push further. So I did. Good as gold for the past 5 years or so. Bottom line, stretch. Probably your best bet. Surgury is a last resort with back trouble. Seen too many who came out worse than they went in. Drugs mask the problem so you feel good while you screw it up worse, and addiction is a major fear. Amazing how fast that happens to people you'd never suspect. Good luck. It sucks getting older. We now pay for the folley of our youth. But it beats the heck out of the alternative. Just remember, pain tells us what we shouldn't be doing if we're too stupid to figure it out on our own.

Forget that. Have you seen what kids do today? It makes our antics look like an English tea dance. I'm buying stock in walker and wheelchair companies.