Back problems

[paul_midway]

Anyone else suffer from the occasional lower back problem .
Mine has kicked in again as of monday evening , could barely stand up straight . Spent the night driving and it twinged a bit , spent tuesday night driving and ended up scuttling about like a little hobbit this morning . Walking was a pain .
Woke up this afternoon and its all locked up , dont think i will be ateending work tonight to ease it off . I blame it on crap drivers seats ( never get theright posistion) Stiff landing legs .

Does hurt today mind

[jammymutt]

I get a nagging in the small of my back every now and then but its to be expected being 6’6" and having a 34" inside leg by back is very very long and was told years ago by doctors to expect back problems when i get older.

Te main problem i think is those stupid sun visors fitted to most trucks i have to stoop down to see under them especially in the FH12 im driving at the minute.

[dean36014]

I’ve got 3 knackered discs which in turn have closed up the canal my spinal cord runs in, resulting in nerve damage, meaning I can’t walk far now either. i’m on a waiting list to have the canal opened out to reduce the damage whats being done to my spinal cord.
I was told to pack up driving by the doc 2 years ago, but as he didn’t recomend jobs involving sitting down, or physical labour, or continous standing up, I was a bit bemused as to what else to do for a living
At the grand old age of 35, i’m dreading being 50
But on the plus side, i enjoy my job, but the hours spent out in the rain during winter loading/unloading do take the shine off it.

[simonrs2k]

The only back problems i get are the bosses knives sticking in it

simon

[powershot]

I have back problems and I have had it for the last 25 years A trapped nerve in the lower spine the Doctor said it was caused by bad seating in them old lorrys also jumping out out of cab don,t help and all the unloading and loading by hand did not help either.So my advice is to take care of your back or you will end up like me Powershot

[dapper_scavenger]

I injured my back after one too many shifts with Pickfords. Had to take two weeks off work. Couldn’t even bend over to take my own shoes off!

I got my hiab after that No more handballing for me!

[cm]

Strange things is back’s, once you have a bad back your stuck with it for life.

To all with bad backs you have my sympathy, a reminder to us all to look afetr ours.

[disgo]

Funny that paul. My lower back pain started up again last week,by about 2 pm I have the backrest at 90 degrees and the lumbar support sticking right into my back.Been no problem for a couple of years and now it’s back.
I will tell you all what started mine. I was delivering a load of veg to one of those unmentionable cheapskate supermarket dc’s that expected you to unload yourself with a handtruck out of the back doors.
The load was jammed in by the forktruck that loaded it from the side. I was pulling and pushing etc. etc. to release the pallet when the nerve went and has been weak ever since.
Moral of the story I have never and will never deliver to one of those places again,those of you that do stop.

[ollie]

dean36014:
At the grand old age of 35, i’m dreading being 50

I was diagnosed with damaged discs at the age of 35, 3 discs were totally knackered and grinding bone against bone.

I stopped driving for a while, but inevitably went back on the road. This was in the days before power steering, seats with very little adjustment and enough noise to stop you falling asleep.

Most trucks I’ve driven in recent years are more comfortable than some cars, so I do wonder how you can get a bad back if the seat is adjusted correctly, there’s very little physical effort in driving a truck.

So my guess is that most spinal damage is done outside the cab, not inside.

For the last few years I’ve had a Volvo FH12, to me this is the ultimate in comfort. I’ve only had one naff truck (comfort wise) which was a MAN TGA (put me off work for a few days).

I dont have many years left before retirement, but I’m not going to let a knackered back stop me from driving.

[dean36014]

Mine started when i was 16, but unfortunately at that age the doctors always fob you off with pulled muscle etc. Didn’t help when i slipped of the back of a truck and walloped the loading ramp on the way down, at age 25, and finally having been rear ended when I was on a 50cc scooter . it wasn’t till 3 years ago that they finally put me in for a scan and all the damage was found. Unfortunately, in my case the eventual outcome will be a spine fusion over 5 discs , hoping to have the op to open up the canal in the new year.
What made me really laugh was when the specialist asked me if i played alot of sport as my back resemble that of a retired rugby player , the only sport i’ve played is trying to avoid playing sport!

[brit_pete]

EXCUSE me folks have any of you who have back problems got in your lorrys the seats from recardo for back suffers,these are what we have fitted to the lorry when our medical insurance gets informened ,yes I know that the system iis different in the UK but surely it will be cheaper for the insurance to do this than have to pay out when you are off sick,

MY next point is that not one of you has mentioned a masseur, have you not tried this as over here this is used a lot to help combat the pain one gets ,and might help you have some relief, if not total disapearance of the pain, and yes it does work for me any way,

[dean36014]

Tried acupuncture, did no good, never tried a massure, don’t think the missus would let me!
I did used to see a faith healer over Ibstock way. I went thinking it was all mumbo jumbo, but it seemed to work for me. All crystals and stuff, my missus who was watching thought it was amazing, she could actually see blue light coming out of his hands. Unfortunately, the healer became seriously ill and then emigrated to france.

[brit_pete]

It is worth a try and by masseur ,we did not mean from the red light area talk to your homeothearphist ,they may be able to put you in touch.

[paul_midway]

Not in work tonight anyway …

God bless that forklift driver at carlsberg golbourne on the night shift , he laughed watching me lower my self out the cab and attempt to stand up straight and undo the clips on the curtain . H e did get off and help me undo the clips though and pull the curtains . He is there shunter/forklift driver and hes back problems due to driving etc …

Doubt i will be in work tommorow night if this keeps up , currently useing deep releif gel and ibuprofen tablets .
Oh and some beer

[saratoga]

paul@midway:
Anyone else suffer from the occasional lower back problem

Back in April I decided that I needed to get fit and I’d manage this by cycling into work. Managed for 6 whole weeks before… At the time my car was due for dying. IE MOT due and it wasn’t going to pass for sure!

After a month of cycling in and I was really enjoying it. Until after one particular shift I felt like death warmed up. Really didn’t feel like cycling home but did.

Next morning, I had a bit of problem standing up. I managed to half cycle half walk into work and went out on the job.

One day of hell later…

Sitting down and standing up was ok, it was the leaning over or bending down which was a problem. Lower back agony, very stiff and unable much to move.

Ended up with a week off work and this was the week before i went on holiday to Spain (first holiday in 6 years!).

So I went to see an Osteopath. Best thing I ever did. My 6 weeks of cycling had prooved a few things. THe Osteo cleared the rest up.

After my accident several years ago I’ve got a pair of trapped nerves (hint; dont jump off a step ladder cos it’ ll feel like someones kicked you in the, er, well, you know

I also have a tendancy to put more power into my right side, so if I had been walking I would have gone in circles… I was cycling and putting undue pressure in the wrong places. The muscles had tightened up around my spine as well and it meant I couldn’t turn my head 180 degrees (side to side before you comments!)

After one session I felt a lot better, and after 2 weeks rest in spain (still driving, but no real work ) I was in good condition again

What this guy did (stop snickering at the back please! ) was use some sort of massaging tool on my back with some gooey stuff and massaged until I thought my back was going to vibrate off from the base of my spine all the way up to my neck. It was also soooo relaxing!!! I’ll have to go there again, and it only cost about £30 I think…

Since then; Well. I’ve not done much exercise but i have to get back into it as I’m a lazy [-zb-] otherwise!!!

Regulated Gym Use…

Have you been doing other exercise apart from driving?

[paul_midway]

Used to exercise , by lifting weights and doing press ups and sit ups until the point it became a chore rather than a routine …
Had nice biceps and triceps and a ■■■■ good 6 pack though …
That was 6 years ago now have remnants of arms and the 6 pack has been replaced by an 11 gallon keg …
Spoke to a bloke at work though and he said my back pain because of where it is ,is straining and twisting at the same time …I think he is right i can bend over ( NO COMMENTS GUTTERS )fine , but when i twist left or right it goes …

I,E winding stiff/bent legs up/down, pulling stiff curtains back ( gutters)

Driveing for hours on end like that makes it settle down in the posistion you are in , get up from that …OUCH

[hitch]

i pulled a miuscle in my back and was off for over 2 weeks last week i went to work this week the pain has started again…fortunatly i am doing FLT course so not much effort required

Dapper i do hiab work jeeeeeeeeez the amount of pushing and shoving we have to do is unbelievable just to get jennys to look half straight on the truck

[jammymutt]

So am i the only one who gets back problmes beacuse im too ■■■■■■■ tall… ANIMAL want to swap with me?.

[dapper_scavenger]

hitch:
Dapper i do hiab work jeeeeeeeeez the amount of pushing and shoving we have to do is unbelievable just to get jennys to look half straight on the truck

Well, yes, there is still a fair bit of manual labour involved but at least its not lifting all day. I have a fairly decent crane so I can get into most drops wihout too much hassle. Got a good reach on it. But yeah, I’ve had to swing the grab a bit to get it just that liiiittle bit further!

The worst part is when you go to pick up. Half the time the stuffs not on a pallet, 5 miles away rom the nearest road or just plain broken. rolls eyes Pray tell how am I supposed to lift the 30 broken 3 by 2s that are lying scattered all over your front garden? Pick them up by hand? I don’t think so.

People are dumb.

[spardo]

Dapper Scavenger:
I injured my back after one too many shifts with Pickfords. Had to take two weeks off work. Couldn’t even bend over to take my own shoes off!

I got my hiab after that

Bit extreme isn’t it? Just to get your shoes off

Sure I’ve mentioned it on here before but when I first emigrated and was waiting for the first job offer I could barely lift my back off the bed one morning it was so bad. Struggled to the newsagents, then, coming out, I met Paul Gauthier who offered me a job. Accepted with misgivings but glad I did. No sign of the back pain when I started work.

Salut, David.