After spending Three weeks in W.C.B. rehab i have an expressed interest in injury’s in the window cleaning field, especially joint injury’s. As all injury’s seem to be stuck under construction, it is hard to find details. it would be interesting to see how many injury’s to joints happen in daily operations. I had a Shoulder cuff injury that could have been prevented. by a simple change to equipment used. this would have saved me three months off of work
I hit the ground running this February with window and gutter cleaning and I’ve developed a pinched nerve in my right forearm (underneath my “Pronator Teres” restricting my Radial and Medial Nerve which control my Thumb, Index and Middle Finger…oh to have a B.S. in Biology and be a window cleaner) which results in numbness and loss of strength in my right hand. While it works itself out throughout the day I tend to wake up every morning, and throughout the night, with a numb hand.
I currently see a chiropractor 1-2 times per week (oh to be dating a chiropractic student!) which helps a lot in the short-term, but all that constant grabbing/pinching/holding motions really make my forearm muscles tense aggravating the issue. Even after 2 months of therapy, there’s little progress - not at the fault of the chiropractor.
I stretch, ice, and massage the forearm but I’m afraid of being 28 years old and already having this issue so soon in the business and in life.
i read somewhere that old time window cleaners swap tools/methods to ward off getting carpal tunnel. ive only been a fulltime windower 3 years but ive had carpal tunnel in both wrists (tingling ) but once i changed tools to a different squeegee,different type of mop it cleared up
i now leave my favourite (wagtail squeegee) in my van and use a different squeegee or mop at least 1 day per week and my body feels okay
Super interesting… The body just does not like redundancy, does it?
Try a hot springs, Your in Portland, one of the best cities ever. And I know you have a natural hots springs. Give it a shot, it did wonders with old injuries for me. One weekend sesh and my wrist has been 110% for a few months now
After having 2 rotator cuff surgeries on the same shoulder in a 3 month period, Surgery really did nothing to help the problem. I had several
Cortisone shots that hurt like a real mother each time.Being a window cleaner there are so many different hand and arm movements that you do not even realize.So after 3 months of rehab i decided to get into the gym. I go to the gym 6 days a week for 3 hour workouts. From working out it will build muscle but if your not carefull you could do more damage than helping.
I would look into taking ( glucosamine ) It is great for joint pain and it works awesome. I found my wrists were very sore at the end of the day from doing so much fanning and when i went for my workouts it made it tough to do a workout.Now i have now problems and can do my 3 hour workout with out the pain. I know this thread kinda went off in left feild but if some or alot of you are feeling pain in your wrists or shoulders or your whole body try ( glucosamine ) It is very cheap and you can get it at a grocery store or any nutritional store.
For those that do a lot of WFP work … I am sure you feel it for sure after a day or days later.
Yes i am all about staying fit and healthy but after being in the gym for 7 months i have noticed my workload has not made me so tired at the end of the day or week.
Well that’s my .2 cents
i have carpal tunnel in both wrists and have had tendonitus in elbows…doc says combo of window cleaning and working out…
Four years ago I suffered a serious back injury while carrying a ladder the same way i had carried it 10,000 times before. I have had and continue to have at times wrist injuries, carpal tunnel, tendinitis, shoulders are constantly tight, lower back pain. I have spent thousands of dollars over the years on massage, chiropractic and physical therapy.
If anyone is interested I was thinking of scanning and posting all my physical therapy injury and exercise info sheets they have given me over the years. If i actually do the exercises and stretches, it works wonders. If i don’t…well than its my own fault if I’m in pain.
Btw… I have had tremendous success with the chiropractor (and PT). I was in such intense pain with my back injury, and the ER gave me Vicodin and said there was nothing they could do! I walked in to the chiro off the street and in the first session the intense pain was gone! this was about 4 years ago now, and i tend to go unless i start to feel pain, but yes, i have drunk the Kool Aid. I only say this to encourage others to try alternative treatments. Occupational Therapy and accupuncture are other therapies suggested for our industry, but I haven’t gone.
Over the last few months i have been able to trace many injurys (no i am not a doctor ) just an employer and window washer, but we seem to lose a lot of down time due to injurys that we should be looking into, that do not come under accidents, the fitter we are the less injurys we recieve, a simple change of posture position on a stage, boson chair and even on the ground, can save us a lot of pain, so send the exercise sheets. may be we can stop some one else pain
I am putting it on my list of things to do. Also, I wanted to add that i keep a copy of the exercises for my employees in their van manual as a resource. They have used them on occasion.
KISS keep it simple stupid…stretch every freaking day!!!do swimming stretches, do forearm stretches. before you work during you work and after…keep lose, use your brain,
I worked for toyota, and they stretched and warmed up before every shift to prevent injury…
Stretching is crucial! Do it every evening.
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Hey Guys,[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]I believe that most of us are in the habit of holding the squeegee way too tightly and pressing on the glass more than necessary. Lighten up![/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]About two month ago I watched a window cleaning training video, by Jim Willingham, and was instructed to hold the squeegee with just my index finger and thumb, not in my fist like a baseball bat. He recommends a very light touch. He was the fastest window cleaner in the US for eight years in a row so I took his advice and I am much faster with his technique now. Also a lighter grip doesn’t beat up my wrists and forearms as much. I’m glad that I lightened up. [/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]On a side note:[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][B]Google pain and dairy products, what you find may totally amaze you.[/B] [/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Apparently food allergies cause inflammation in the joints and that causes pain and arthritis. Arthritis has been linked to eating dairy products. When I stay away from dairy I am pain free. When I go back to it, because I love it so much, the pain returns. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]PS[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3]Googling sugar and wheat will bring up similar results.[/SIZE][/FONT]
