The Discomfort Thread

Quote: AZDuffman

Assuming I am not missing a joke here, ...

No, I have seen the error of my ways ... no more jokes.

Oh, another thing, the standard wheelbarrow has one wheel. Excellent way to hurt your back is having one of those loaded heavily and have it tip too far to the side and try to correct as you twist sideways. I hurt just thinking about it.

Quote: rxwine

Oh, another thing, the standard wheelbarrow has one wheel. Excellent way to hurt your back is having one of those loaded heavily and have it tip too far to the side and try to correct as you twist sideways. I hurt just thinking about it.

I have worn out wheelbarrow's.

A neighbor taught me a trick, when you bring one home and they are fresh and new, paint them again with zinc paint. They last a lot longer.

Wheelbarrow's "dump" the load pretty well and will go down a trail or over a 2x12 laid out across a muddy construction site.

My last purchase is so cool. It has four wheels [pneumatic] and a dump box. So cool for gardening, it even has a removable tray. It will sit there by itself and not tip over. Pull it like a wagon or the handle is detachable and could be pulled behind an atv.

Another neat thing about it is, I found out Lowe's will assemble them for 10 dollars [well spent], I payed 140 for it, it is rated for 600lbs. My wife doesn't have to lift those heavy handles anymore. : )

It's air conditioner day. Put in the window units,
take the heaters to the basement. With both
hips bad, rest every 5min. But it gets done
eventually. Worst is in Vegas, sooooo much
walking. By the 3rd day I can barely make
it to elevator from my room.

Stop it, stop it! Just stop it! All those devices are the Devil's work*, all the talk of how to manage them the Screw Tapes !!

*except maybe the ones with 2 wheels. Hmmm

Quote: odiousgambit

Stop it, stop it! Just stop it! All those devices are the Devil's work*, all the talk of how to manage them the Screw Tapes !!

Just get a 2 wheel barrow, makes all the
difference in the world. It never tips to
the side.

Air conditioners are in, only cost was 4 ibuprofin.
I have a new unit in the basement but the old ones
never wear out. Till they do. I bet the GE in my
office is 13 years old. The first unit I bought was
7000btu in 1969 and cost $400, which is $2000
today. The 6000 unit in the box in the basement
was $90 at ABC Warehouse.

HA! Hahaha! I don't know what it is about a rant, but they always get me XD

But really,... I've always pictured you as a retired chap. If not retired, then certainly not a laborer. So I'm led to believe that any use of "Satan's Implement" must be voluntary, on your own property, and for your own projects. So, like... if a wagon is better... BUY A F$%^ING WAGON! XD

Hilarious =) Anyways, yeah, that slight crouch of a barrow mimics the same crouch of doing dishes. Absolute torture for me, I can relate. All good advice was given re: positioning of the load. Personally, when I have to use it but the back is out, I carry it backwards. It's sort of awkward as I have to take smaller steps lest I run over my own heels, but it puts me in a fully erect position and takes all stress off the back. It's not an "answer", but anything in a pinch, I figure. The job ain't gonna do itself.

You don't (shouldn't) have to worry about surgery. While it's come a very long way, it's still reserved for worst case, because recovery is such a bitch. You think my pain was bad, and it is, but they wouldn't touch me. When you're on 10 oxy a day and still can't get out of bed and are on SSID because you can't work, that's surgery territory. Tweaking on a barrow roll and having to drink for a month ain't to that level.

I suppose now is a good a time as any to get into "my ways", as it's the closest to natural remedies that you'll get from me.

Yoga / Tai-chi. It does help. Of course, by help, I mean it'll allow me to curse the gods in pain while I do work, as opposed to being incapacitated on the floor. It still f$%^ing hurts. But it's an improvement, and working in pain is better than being a prisoner in your own body. You don't have to suffer the embarrassment of wearing tight pants and trying not to oogle the 20somethings, nor get dressed up in a gi and practicing with 8yr olds. You can do it right in your own home, whenever you want. 10 minutes of Googling and you'll be set on different poses and techniques. As always with things of this nature, regular participation yields the best results. You can't just pop a downwards facing dog and then skip along for a month. You kind of got to do it every day. There are worse things in the world.

Core strength. The best period during my Era of Agony was when I was heavily involved in freestyle motocross. Which is odd, when you think about it. I was always jerking with my back to lift the front tires, always in a hunched position, always yanking with my back out of a mud pit, always suffering horrendous crashes. But by May, I was also jacked. Back, shoulders, abs, all lost their winter softness and got ripped. And every time I was, I got actual relief. I would actually have an entire day where I had no pain at all, and that for me is about as rare as snow in August. I still notice it to this day. While hockey isn't really a core sport, it's better than summer where all I do is drink beer, fish, and sit on my ass in a race car. There is absolutely a noticeable improvement, and I attribute it to muscle tone. Again, it still hurts like a right bitch. But it's manageable.

And, probably least desirable, is pain overload. Next time you bark a shin on that damnable trailer hitch, scoop a bee out of the garden and press it into your armpit. Guaran-damn-tee you your shin will stop hurting instantly lol. This obviously isn't a treatment, nor recommended for simple aches and pains. But there have been times... man, chronic pain is such a bitch. Sometimes you need something, anything to just get something to stop. When I turned my finger inside out, I just snapped it back in place and kept on playing. I can take pain. But constant, everlasting, inescapable pain isn't something I've been able to easily cope with. It's very much a periodic battle with hopelessness; it ain't always there, but it always comes back. And if I've got to punch a tree or snap myself in the face with a stout rubber band, then that's what I gotta do. Sometimes you just need a break, ya know? So if it ever comes to that, the rubber band is my suggestion. Wrapping one of those bankers bands around your head, stretching it to the max, and letting it crack you in the forehead will make you forget everything. Plus, unlike punching things, there's no danger of causing actual injury. Win-win?

Quote: Face

I can take pain. But constant, everlasting, inescapable pain isn't something I've been able to easily cope with. It's very much a periodic battle with hopelessness;

I wish I didn't know.

Here's one a friend taught me. If you don't have a rubber band and need a quick fix [albeit pretty short lived] reach up there and jerk out some nose hairs.

Also helps when stiff arming won't keep you awake at the wheel. : ) You can get 5 minutes out of it pretty easy.

Ya'll ever try one these

You chronic pain guys must of considered it.