Pain in the neck

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Denny Budd

Active member
I mean a real pain in the neck. Around last September I stated having severe pain in my neck and upper shoulders so I went to the Ortho Doc I've used in the past who recommended physical therapy. Upon the initial visit to the therapist he asked what I have been doing the past year or so that was different from the normal routine. Giving it some thought, I told him about carving 8 doz. dekes for my layout rig. When I showed him how my posture was while doing so, he said "I recommend you stop carving or change the way you sit and work on your decoys. Do NOT look down for any extended time". I have tried a different way of carving but its not working out. I HAVE to hold the carving close to my chest and look down at it or I can't get it carved like I want. My computer is sitting up on 3 very thick books (The Army of the Tennessee, Vicksburg and Grant & Sherman, notice a trend here?)
and trying to type looking like I'm about to flap my arms to fly is killing my arms. Not sure if and when I will be able to resume carving. This sucks.
Anyone else having this type of problem?
 
Not quite the same thing but I feel your pain...a little. Late summer and into the fall I was making some fish and there is a lot of fine sanding on them. Started to notice my elbow would be sore for a while after this but didn't think too much of it. Then after a few days straight of detail carving and sanding my elbow stayed hurting.
I always thought tennis elbow was more of a joke then a real thing, I now know differently. With rest it is getting better but about when I think it is gone I do something stupid and it pops right back up. I thought my arm was going to fall off after skinning a deer.

Hope you start feeling better soon.

Tim
 
It's just like making a funny face...if you do it long enough it will stick that way. Most of the old prolific carvers ended up with hunchbacks. You may have to go with a fordom and get the work down and out onto your lap...at least for some of the work. Try getting your painting up in front of your face.
 
Denny
Did your Physical Therapist give you some stretching and corrective exercises? Just a "stop carving " comment is a cop out. Just identifying the problem isn't enough for complete treatment. An internest told me, when I said raising my head fast causes almost a black out, not to raise my head fast. A clogged carotid artery was discovered by a more discerning doc later. Just my $.50 cents. I used to say "my 2 cents" but these are hard times. :)
wis boz
 
Denny,

I've had similar problems back in my mechanic days. What I did was put my vice on an adjustable stand & made some armrests that clamped on under the vice. That way when I was welding small parts or doing various repairs to stuff like starters, alternators, etc. I could get 'em up to a comfortable height so I wasn't hunched over so much. I wish I had a pic but I gave it away when I quit turning wrenches. The thing I found was having the armrests for some repairs took the weight of my arms off my upper back.

Maybe you could fabricate some type of a stand that could support the weight of the decoy & your arms. Could be as simple as black iron pipe welded to a steel base plate for the column, if you wanted maybe use a couple 45 deg elbows & more pipe to bring it back to you in your chair so you can keep your back supported by the chair back. The main thing to me would be to build the stand so the decoy & your arms are where you like them but you can relax & let them rest.

Jim S
 
Lee, I've got the foredom but its how I hold the wood thats the problem. I tend to hold it close to my chest, forcing myself to look down. I'm trying to get away from doing that but its an old habit and you know how hard those can be to break. And you are right about the face thing. Always thought it was cool to look half peed off when I was a kid and now people are always asking me what I'm angry/sad about. Wish I hadn't ever done that.

wis boz...That was his explanation as to why the pain is there and that in reality, I will have to change my method or give it up. Same with the way I sit at the computer. My head/neck/spine must be in as straight a line as I can manage and limit the amount of time looking down as much as possible. I read alot and again, old habits are hard to break. I've been going to see him 3 days a week for the last month and a half and now its up to me to change those habits or suffer.

Jim S...I'm rigging up a table that will hold the material out and up more to eye level. Its just weird doing it this way as compared to the other. It will take time to adjust.

My thanks to all of you for your suggestions on coping with this.
 
I have neck and shoulder pain,I went to the ortho who sent me out for a mri,It seems i have a bad disk so ive been getting injections and they help alot,you should get a mri and really get to the root of your problem
 
Denny, what type of therapy are they doing? Stretches and range of motion exercises I would guess.

One of the things I learned this fall with my hip/back/leg/feet issue was that there is the fascia between all the muscles and it is in bands around some of the muscles to help hold them together. Regular stretching will not effect this stuff. It appears that Osteopaths are the main medicos that work on getting these little pieces of fiberous tissue to break apart when nothing else works. I went to the chiro several times and got only minor relief. I went to the Osteopath and was fixed in three visits.
 
I have a similar issue when painting decoys...not to your extreme, but when I paint, I sit at a stool at a workbench. The shelf under the workbench is full, and with the stools height, I cannot get my legs under the workbench, so I sometimes rest my elbows on my knees, hold the decoy in one hand and the brush in the other. If I sit there too long doing detail work, I can really feel it. I've been meaning to set that up a little different, but the little time I get to carve or paint, I hate to spend cleaning up the basement.

For carving, I usually stand at a workbench and work on the bench, Almost could use a taller than standard bench to get the work up in from of me, but I haven't had an issue yet. I'll sit when at Paul's, but I pause to look up in conversation enough that I haven't felt your pain but understand what you are doing. Play with different postures (standing, sitting at chairs or stools) along with different level benches. You may want to get a workstation type vise to hold your work in front of you securly, as well as elevate it. I believe Hank Garvey has a workstation mounted on a barber chair stand, so it can be raised and lowered. Others have mounted them on a pedistal, but you need to choose your height and stick with it.

Good luck in your search for comfort,
Chuck
 
Chuck is correct, I have a base to a dentist chair and have a Power arm mounted on the top of that. It works very well. You could raise the vise to hold it high while you sit or you can raise it high enough to stand and work. If you can not find a dentist chair base you can have a mount made that would support the vice. Two tubes one in side the other and have a vice attached. If you have other questions let me know. I hoep it helps. HHG

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Hank's powerarm setup. I have a similar setup, with the powerarm mounted on a horse that you can sit down on.

Nate



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Stress is what gets me. When I get stressed, every other day, I get a pain in the neck/left shoulder that feels like a white hot poker down in the muscle that goes from my neck to my shoulder. I also get it where I tore muscles from my spine....just below my shoulder blades...feels like snapping toffee and hurts like a sumbitch. I've learned to semi calm myself down to relieve it as the doctors said there is nothing that can be done without drugs....and I won't do those.
 
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