Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Aqizzar]

I am not and never have been an athletic person.  In high school, I spent one day in a weight-lighting class on good faith, proudly wearing a shirt emblazoned with an NES controller, and quit the next day.  I have never worked out, I have never been very active.  The most physical exertion I got for years was all the walking around neighborhoods and campuses I had to do.  My posture was never bad per se, but I've always had a problem that I can't seem to balance my weight on both feet; I'm always leaning on one.

Then, almost two years ago, out of desperation I got a job lifting boxes and loading trucks.  When I started, I could barely tote 60lbs held to my chest, and was so exhausted by the time I got home I would be shaking uncontrollably.  From a few months later through to today, I can tote 120lbs with good leverage and not too much strain, and I can literally sleep while I'm working and get home restless.  Weirdly, despite improvement (read: creation) of muscle definition, I haven't gained or lost a pound since I started.

The important thing to take away is that I have greatly improved my fitness and physical health, but I don't know anything about proper exercise or positioning or anything.  This has led to some problems.  My health is better, but increasingly over the past few months, some nights I feel like I'm about to break apart at the seams.  I know there are some people here who do exercise and know about staying in shape, so I'm asking for advice on some recurrent pains and oddities I'm having.

More than anything, my right leg hurts a lot.  Right around my ankle and shin is the worst part, and I know I need better footwear for that.  Some of it's just repetitive strain from doing the same movements all the time; even the lightest movement can get painful if you do it enough times.  But the one that worries me is a tight pulling feel under my right arm.  It doesn't actually hurt that much, and only comes up when I make the wrong movements, but when it strikes it's almost paralyzing, like my body knows it'll rip in half if I move that muscle any more.  It comes and goes every few weeks; I'm probably just sleeping wrong though.  There's also the little problem of my upper back fusing into a solid rhombus of bone, but I crack it loose when I can.

Now, I know I'm supposed to ask a doctor about physical medicine and not the Internet, but I already know what a doctor would say, "Try to stay off it until it stops hurting."  And being my job, that's not an option.  So I'm wondering if there's any calisthenics or stretches or whatever (as our safety staff reminds me) which I'm not doing right.  Or any other tips, like muscle relaxers or something.  I'm not asking for a miracle cure for joint pains or anything, but I know there's a lot of experience and technical knowhow to physical stress that I have no clue about.

The other problem is my body is taking on strange shapes.  For reasons probably related to the aches, when I'm standing or walking in a "natural" position, my right foot points out almost sideways.  It doesn't hurt to keep it pointed forward, but it does require a conscious effort.  It could also be that I spend an hour or two a day driving, so my right ankle is always glued to a pedal.  But for no good reason, the change that worries me most is my right arm.  It's the dominant one obviously, so it gets the most work; consequently it's a lot bigger than my left arm.  Especially in the shoulder; enough to make me self-conscious about it.  I could just work out my left arm more, but I don't know if it works that simply.

[Vector]

Don't worry about one arm being bigger than the other.  Professional fencers have to get their pants tailored because their left leg won't fit in the same size as their right.

As for the rest... have you tried yoga?  It might help some with your muscle pain troubles.

[Heron TSG]

Well, the pains in your right shin are probably caused by a combination of shinsplints, walking funny, and walking with a lot of weight.

Shinsplints are caused when you repeatedly step down with considerable force (like when running), and added 120 pound boxes to your normal step probably isn't helping. As shinsplints are what we call 'the tendon tearing a little bit away from the shin bone', twisting your leg to the side while walking is either tearing it more (if its torn on the left side) or you trying to avoid pain (if its torn on the right side).

My suggestion: Try to keep your foot straight, so that it'll heal better. Use ice, but never for more than 15 minutes at a time.

DISCLAIMER: This is all on the idea that it's shinsplints. If it isn't... well, I dunno.

[Aqizzar]

Yeah, my shin doesn't hurt hurt, it just gets sore and stiff when I walk, like it's overworked.  When I'm standing still or shuffling around I don't notice it as much.

The 120lbs is mostly hyperbole.  Anything large enough for the geometry of my job I'll roll around and angle off other stuff to move it, or get help.  I'm saying I'm in much better shape than when I started.  It's a rare night that I have to move anything heavier than 60lbs over more distance than shuffling-space.  But I didn't really know about shin splints, so I might look into that.  Thanks.  The problem with self-diagnosis is that you don't know what something feels like until after it happens.

Don't worry about one arm being bigger than the other.  Professional fencers have to get their pants tailored because their left leg won't fit in the same size as their right.

Fascinating, but pity I'm not a fencer.  Self-conscious is what it sounds like.  When I look at myself shirtless in the mirror, all I can think of is I look like the Masturbation Network guy from Idiocracy.  But I'm self-conscious about everything.

As for the rest... have you tried yoga?  It might help some with your muscle pain troubles.

Never tried yoga.  Ironically, I just found old yoga handbook I forgot I had.  Of course, I've never been very flexible, and without an actual instructor it's hard to know whether I'm doing it right and accomplishing anything, or just lazily contorting for no reason.

[Heron TSG]

Well, shinsplints aren't so much a stabbing pain as they are 'your muscle is stretched too far across a bone', so that might explain a sore and tight feeling.

[Vector]

Don't worry about one arm being bigger than the other.  Professional fencers have to get their pants tailored because their left leg won't fit in the same size as their right.

Fascinating, but pity I'm not a fencer.  Self-conscious is what it sounds like.  When I look at myself shirtless in the mirror, all I can think of is I look like the Masturbation Network guy from Idiocracy.  But I'm self-conscious about everything.

Ah... what I'm mostly trying to say is that it shouldn't be a health concern.  Having one arm larger than the other is pretty normal, to be honest.  Way back when I actually got exercise, I had similar problems (though honestly, it was more like "hey, one arm is much less twiggy than the other one.  Hrm.").  The only advice I can give you is... don't worry about it?  And if you can't do that, then yeah, you'd better work on making your other arm just as big.

As for the rest... have you tried yoga?  It might help some with your muscle pain troubles.

Never tried yoga.  Ironically, I just found old yoga handbook I forgot I had.  Of course, I've never been very flexible, and without an actual instructor it's hard to know whether I'm doing it right and accomplishing anything, or just lazily contorting for no reason.

Don't let the lack of flexibility stop you >_>  I'm suggesting it largely because I was always the least flexible kid in all my p.e. classes (my tendons are all too short or something), but I've gotten a lot out of it in terms of relaxation and so on.

Oh, and you can get yoga DVDs reasonably cheap, I think.  They can help a lot even if you don't have access to a real instructor (though around here, the YMCA gives courses).

[Il Palazzo]

Get your spine checked. Assymetry, aches and ungainly walk might be the signs of spinal abnormalities. That'd of course spell the end of your hauler's career, but it's better than ending up with hands-on experience of the new healthcare's approach to cripples.

[inteuniso]

Well, if you are hauling normally, it might be a good idea just to start doing arm curls or some basic weightlifting. You can pick up some small weights for about $30, and they never get destroyed or damaged.

Do you stretch well before you lift? I may be preaching to the choir, but stretching is always important, be it lifting barbells or lifting boxes.

[Maldevious]

Just a thought about certain pains. Speaking from experience (bad ankles and former rotator cuff tear), some of the worst pains come from over-compensating for a weak area. Like if my right ankle was hurt, I'd end up walking funny, so my left knee would end up aching from the odd way I'd be moving.

As far as practical tips, I would say try to be very conscious of the way you are moving your body when you are exerting yourself. Even a small weight when applied at an odd angle can put a lot of strain on your body (try holding a five pound weight with outstretched arms for any period of time to see what I mean). Try and always maintain a good posture, even if you feel a little silly or self-aware about it. One tip that a lot of people miss is to never hold your breath while lifting. It just creates an additional tension that you'll have to overcome beyond whatever weight you are lifting.

Hope that helps.

[SIGVARDR]

Like others have said,stretch,do actual routine work-outs as well.the job might be getting you some muscle,but the way it's working you're tearing yourself up.some routine exercise should help to condition your body better for it.
 
My knees have always been the problem joint for me,i find the more i continuously work with them on light lifting and stretches the more tolerable it is.Then again i'm getting old,so the pain isn't going to get better for me.
 
 I've been in good shape for most of life thanks to the military. Before i joined,i felt bad about my physical condition. It's a big morale booster to keep yourself fit,at least in my opinion.

[JoshuaFH]

I would definitely recommend seeing a doctor, ASAP. My mom had a hauling job, lifting and pulling containers of liquids and foods for feeding hospital patients and staff, and her back is totally destroyed from the exertion over the years combined with her naturally bad posture. She literally can't work anymore, despite being only in her forties, and she's constantly complaining about her back pain and can't remain standing for longer than five minutes.

I'd hate to see that happen to someone else.

[Mikko]

Hi. As the others have said, you really shouldn't worry the arms being of different size. I have asymmetric abs and nobody cares.

For muscle soreness I recommend low intensity execrise, like taking walks or jogging a bit. Enough to break sweat but not really enough to tire you. It really helps.

As your job is physically demanding, I'd suggest you to always warm-up before getting in to it. No, I'm telling you to. Short stretches after working, while the muscle is still warm, should help the pain a little bit.

Make sure that you keep your back straight and work with you legs when you lift heavy weights.

Also, being strong does not really improve health as much as having healthy lungs and heart. These can be improved with aerobic execrise, which is pretty much everything that makes you exhausted for extended periods of time.

For funny walking I'd suggest seeing a doctor.

[Aqizzar]

Do you stretch well before you lift? I may be preaching to the choir, but stretching is always important, be it lifting barbells or lifting boxes.

As your job is physically demanding, I'd suggest you to always warm-up before getting in to it. No, I'm telling you to. Short stretches after working, while the muscle is still warm, should help the pain a little bit.

I do stretch every night before work, but I doubt the stretches I'm doing are wholly effective.  I do plenty of extensions on my calves and back.  There's probably stuff I'm missing though, and because I do the stretches a half-hour before I actually start working, it's probably worn off by then.  I never thought of stretching after work, but the end of my night has a lot of slow-exercise cooldown anyway.

Keeping my back straight is less of an issue.  My posture isn't bad except when I'm sitting down, I just get worn out while working.  Keeping straight while working really isn't an option, since I have to bend over and squeeze into containers so much.  I'm a little surprised my posture is as good as it is.

For funny walking I'd suggest seeing a doctor.

To be clear, I don't have any problem walking normally, it just requires a conscious effort to keep both feet pointing forward.  I'm not terribly worried about that (ironic compared to the shoulder thing, that some asymmetry is okay and some is not), but being the same foot that gets sore first, it's a cause for concern.  I certainly need to see a doctor and get a proper physical anyway.  I think the last time I went in for a general check-up I was ten years old.  Ditto for the aerobics, definitely need to work on that.  I tried doing some jumping jacks the other day, and apparently I'm rather uncoordinated.

[Heron TSG]

The butterfly stretch is really good for your upper legs and upper back, if you can bend that far. The idea is to bring your heels close to your groin, your knees close to the floor, and (if you've mastered the previous) your head to your ankles.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I've found it's great for relieving pain in the back.

[Jude]

You should probably still see a doctor. I don't think you give them enough credit.