Nice People Thread No. 15, a Cyber Summer

chris_m

For future reference, when lifting at all you should use your legs to do the work and keep your back straight, preferably as close to vertical as you can so the weight is being transmitted up your arms in tension and down the spine in compression to the hips from where the legs can do the work.

A useful tip I got on a lifting & handling course is, once you are down, have got your grip on the item and are ready to lift - tip your head back before starting the lift, this helps to tense the spine and keep it straight.

So, it's knees bent, bum out and head back - feels silly, looks even sillier but not as much as hobbling around for a few days afterwards.

michaels

I know bending over to brush my teeth is not great for my back, but the key bit is the 'over' bit - mouth over sink to catch the dribbles, bending at the knee would not have the same effect.

Pyxis

michaels wrote: »

I know bending over to brush my teeth is not great for my back, but the key bit is the 'over' bit - mouth over sink to catch the dribbles, bending at the knee would not have the same effect.

The idea is that bending the knees lowers the torso, then you can bend your head over the basin.

It does work, because I do it; it just takes practice, as it feels odd to start with.

GDB2222

It strengthens the legs, too.

Pyxis

GDB2222 wrote: »

It strengthens the legs, too.

That's true. When you first start using your knees more, you might find that your thighs weaken quite quickly, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Another really bad thing for your back is to bend over from a sitting position.
Sitting and bending with a twist is even worse.
Bending with a weight in outstretched arms also puts a huge load on your back, and worst of all, surprisingly, is sitting and bending forward with a weight in outstretched arms.

michaels

Pyxis wrote: »

The idea is that bending the knees lowers the torso, then you can bend your head over the basin.

It does work, because I do it; it just takes practice, as it feels odd to start with.

It all make sense now - you have a traditional basin with a pedastal/space underneath whereas we have an integrated one with a cupboard underneath so if you squat you have to move back to make room for your knees - unless perhaps you did some sort of yoga thang with your knees angled out at right angles.....

PasturesNew

I had two out of date ibuprofen earlier and the pain stopped (for now).
I thought I was crippled for the week/month if you'd asked me this morning!

All that lifting info sounds great.... but it looked like a smallish bag ... so I'd have looked a right lemon treating it as if it were 2 sacks of spuds

I've tried to google the weight.... looks like it was somewhere between 10-18Kg... probably closer to 10kG knowing my abilities.

Pyxis

michaels wrote: »

It all make sense now - you have a traditional basin with a pedastal/space underneath whereas we have an integrated one with a cupboard underneath so if you squat you have to move back to make room for your knees - unless perhaps you did some sort of yoga thang with your knees angled out at right angles.....

You could open the cupboard doors!

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

I had two out of date ibuprofen earlier and the pain stopped (for now).
I thought I was crippled for the week/month if you'd asked me this morning!

All that lifting info sounds great.... but it looked like a smallish bag ... so I'd have looked a right lemon treating it as if it were 2 sacks of spuds

I've tried to google the weight.... looks like it was somewhere between 10-18Kg... probably closer to 10kG knowing my abilities.

Pastures, it doesn't really matter what the weight is, that is, sometimes it's just the bending that does it. Even a small weight in a bent position can, and does compromise a vertebral joint that has a degree of dysfunction already, (which hasn't yet resulted in pain).

You could be bending over to pick up a feather, but that action becomes the proverbial straw on the camel's back.

Obviously, the heavier the weight, the more quickly that dysfunction will occur.

As I said, I can PM you my info source, if you like.




Edit. You wouldn't have looked like a lemon - you'd have looked like someone who takes care of their back!

You should see the way I get in and out of my car, but who cares, if it stops me wrenching my spine!

ivyleaf

Sorry about your poor back, Pastures.
About the alkanet - yes, the longer the plant is left in the ground, the bigger the bottom leaves get. This does have the merit that even if you pull out only a few big plants, it looks much better at once