Back pains

Hi all, would anyone know where the weight of your back pack should be , up high or bottom of spine to avoid lower back pain?

the back pack should be put even on your back so your not slumped over forward or your back arched... so just play with until it feels your back is evenly balanced with it on
sorry about befor
cheers
stoppsy

sorry about that...it was pointed out it's the wrong person that made a comment on one off my posts.....
cheers
stoppsy

If your using a minleab harness get as much weight forward as you can. I.E water bottle at the front, pick on the side. The water bottle on your chest will counteract the battery weight pulling back on your shoulders.

oww the pain-- the pain

Anyways, back to the topic.... Ditch the old battery set up and go wireless. Its much lighter, ditch the minelab harness and get a camelbac aswell. These work wonders for me.
I spent months in rehab with back issues, I still get pain, but this helps heaps..
It is the difference between swinging in agony after a few hrs to swinging all day with no frustration from the pain.
Get a hipstick, it also makes a huge difference, it transfers the weight to you hip and off your shoulder.. I made my own hipstick as i wanted one a little different from what comes off the shelf. Mine is upside down compared to all others, so i couldnt buy anything close.
In total i carry 2.5 kilo on my back, including 2 litres of water, my back pack, and first aid.

Thanks Guys, It's a great weight off my back seeing all the solutions possible, the main problem seems to be the 2 litres of water in the camelbak, just need more exercise I think, Maca Avator....( great shaking of head)

hi shiraz,
Just a heads up, I have a lower back disc problem and I tried out a HIP stik. What I had heard was really good reports, but for me it triggered a shhoting pain to the end of my spine. Borrow one and test it out to see if it suits you back issues.
PS and do core strengthening exercises.

Thanks Ange, Went prospecting yesterday and had to give up after about 4 hours, I was willing to go on but my back said no .Yes I've got a Hipstick but that was back in the car about half a kilometre away.

Hi
I will give you $10 for the nasty old hip stick.
I can take away that nasty memory for you PM me if intrested
Regards Neale

Rather than trying to find a work around for the pain go see an osteopath and get the back pain dealt with, it has worked wonders for me.

Changing muscle length helps a lot for me. Sit down every half hour for 5 mins. You can tell when my back hurts, i kneel to dig. When its really bad the GF digs for me...lol... Then i make her dig every target.....

Crap weather = back pain same time last year cordal injection in the spine, had a walking frame for 3 weeks!
Physio/osteo great advice but the rest is essential to keeping the back pains at bay! Pete theatened to leave the goldfeilds if i diddn't rest, I reluctantly stopped and I must say saw so much more while I was out there.
If i go out with a buddy that knows about my back I'm forced to stop and have a break, but if I plan to go out on my own I've promised to set a rest timer every 45mins! Changing the position of the gear you carry from one side to the other helps too.

Exercise is also essential speak to health professional.

That be me (Quasimodos me real name) No just kidding shiraz.Its a serious problem for many,but do make sure your Camel-back harness is strapped on nice and tight so that its not dangling loose behind you,which can create discomfort.

Cheers kon61.

Wow, quite a knowledgeable group here, Thanks all

Hi Shiraz,
Something that is worth a try.
Make two loops about 200mm long (bootlaces) thread these through both "D" shackles on your harness and then connect your bungy.
The weight is now distributed to each shoulder, pulling from the centre of your chest.
Adjust the bungy anchor point on the stick so when you hold the machine by the bungy (arm not through armrest) the coil hangs below the level of the box.
When your bungy is hooked to both loops be sure to tension so the coil hovers just above the ground when your arm again is not in arm rest.

Thanks Nightjar, i'll try this

Put a sharp pebble in you right boot, then you wont think of your back..
I can laugh because i suffer bad backs very often.. pains in the legs and groin are the biggest killer with pinched nerves or bulging discs.
I have no discs in my bottom 2 vertabrae they have rubbed flat so the bones have worn away. , scholiosis, spodylyosis, arthritis, spurs, pinched nerves , 1 fractured vertibrae.etc..
Life of a hard worker has its toll, so does being run over several times.
And i am not even 40.

You just gotta know your limits and stick inside them or pay for it..
I know mine, and if i over step them my left leg fails me during a step, and i drop like a bag of you know what, lmao...

One thing i learnt at 3 moths in rehab was relaxation helps. I.E meditation or self hypnosis. I have mastered self hypnosis and it really helps.
And i am not a hippy either, lol
A panadol a day opens your blood cells enabling faster healing, better blood flow, and slows the muscle cramps when your backs sore..
90% of the pain is muscle spasm trying to hold everything in place. So if you can undo the muscle spasms you have it half beat.
Thats why sitting helps, its changes the muscle length, and reduces the cramps.
I can sit when mine is sore and cough or breath in deeply and it cracks, and away i go again for a few hours, lol...
Stand near a tree about arms length away on your tippy toes for as long as u can ( several minutes)and stretch your back that way, and then sit.
Works a treat in the shower too.
Theres a billion exercises for your core strength, but they all make mine worse, each case is different, you will find your limits and what works for you..
I try to avoid hills when my back is killing me, i do the hills first, and the easy walk later in the day.. Planning helps...
Good luck..
If all else fails we can get 2 mobility scooters, and drag coils, lmao

Hi
I fell head first of my monster Hilux truck tray a month ago.
As my head hit the ground and pushed it sideways it resisted and then with the weight of my body my neck gave way and cracked loud.
Then I bruised the side of my body and was winded lying motionless and my two dogs licking my face and one of them was running in circles around me.
I thought that was it no more detecting for me.
As I came to my senses I found I was moving my toes and fingers got my wind back and slowly got up.
My neck felt different and the side of my body was saw and bruised.
As I moved my head around It felt different as I have had a bad neck pain all my life I am 50 when this happened to the day.
Well since then I have had no neck pain at all.
No lump in my neck no chiropractor appointments that were sometimes 2 a month.
I might start a business where I will throw you of my truck head first and see if it cures you too.
The next 50 years are of to a great start I scream (NO NECK PAIN) with joy every day since it happened.
Regards Neale

Thanks Shelby23, I've got a Hilux too, so if all else fails..............

Lmao, Thats awsome... Lucky the dogs just licked you and werent on heat while you were motionless on the ground.. I can see the chihauwa humping your leg while your laying there unable to move in agony..
I did a similar thing with my neck from the back of a tipper truck,mine has never come good, Do you still have the hilux? paint a blue pool on the driveway and get all the sick and injured to swan dive off it.. ( theres actually a blue running track not far from here and the ducks try to land on it , like its water) ouch

Gday Shriaz,
being a taller unit,the standard length lower shafts are of no use to me because i have to lean forward to get the coil on the ground. Its a extra long shaft all the way and it helps my back not having to hunch over.
When my back does go out,I use a velcro, wrap around elastic support on my waist which is worth its weight in Gold. Normally fixes the problem in a day or two.

Hi Maka
The Hilux was covered in water last Christmas floods.
I was putting a new motor in the truck when I fell of it.

Regards Neale

I have been digging neally every weekend since i came out of rehab for a back injury, and no probs until i layed in bed all day yesterday and watched 8 episodes of Gold rush Alaska..
Now i can barely walk... Gotta keep moving or i am stuffed for weeks.. Until i can cough or breath in deep enough to crack it...
And no its not shaggers back....

I think it's called, getting older!

maka wrote:Anyways, back to the topic.... Ditch the old battery set up and go wireless. Its much lighter, ditch the minelab harness and get a camelbac aswell. These work wonders for me.
I spent months in rehab with back issues, I still get pain, but this helps heaps..
It is the difference between swinging in agony after a few hrs to swinging all day with no frustration from the pain.
Get a hipstick, it also makes a huge difference, it transfers the weight to you hip and off your shoulder.. I made my own hipstick as i wanted one a little different from what comes off the shelf. Mine is upside down compared to all others, so i couldnt buy anything close.
In total i carry 2.5 kilo on my back, including 2 litres of water, my back pack, and first aid.

Hi "maka", what it means to go wireless, is not the first time that I hear about it but do not know what that means, use a smaller battery?
Cheers
Goldquest

I think someday hit the nail on the head , I suffer pretty bad sometimes due to broken back in 1996 , best to have a rest now and then when I feel it coming on , when I feel up to it I keep going , sometimes the pain killers help


Cheers Mick

When I was falling trees for a living, some of the older men in the game swore that wearing braces (on your trousers, not teeth) gave their backs some relief from pain. Could be worth trying if nothing else eases the pain.