Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: macmac on February 15, 2007, 06:37:04 pm
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hi all
just wondering if any of you lot suffer from this, i do & its driving me crazy just latley. i know there is a minor opperation you can have that may help but i'm not sure of the recovery time, so if anyone has had this done & can give advise i'd be grateful. been on high pole work last three days, couldn't sleep for the pain last night. ::)
tony
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Has this got something to do with nerves in the ankles being constricted, especially during excercise and causing pain in the feet?
I'm probably wrong as usual. Anyway, my answer would be stretching.
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Has this got something to do with nerves in the ankles being constricted, especially during excercise and causing pain in the feet?
I'm probably wrong as usual. Anyway, my answer would be stretching.
no mate, its a tunnel in your wrist that all the nerves go through. this tunnel swells & so squeezes the nerves causing loss of feeling in the hand & severe pain anywhere from the elbow to the tips of the fingers. strangley, it usualy strikes in the middle of the night. it comes & goes, sometimes i dont get it for months then it just comes back with a bang (the pain bit that is), the loss of feeling is always there. i think it makes it worse with the repetetive work of w/c ing. every day i go to work i have no feeling in my right hand until mid-day, i,ve split fingers on concrete sills, splinters with detailing wooden frames the lot 'cos i just cant feel anything. to be honest it's beggining to p**ss me off big style, its been going on for years. >:(
tony
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my mate had both hands done.the recovery time is about 4 to 6 weeks
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Yeah, get some good medical advice. I have repetitive strain, 20 years w/c. My thumbs are almost numb permanently. When I rub them I get pins and needles. I put up with it, it's too late. I do stretching exercises with my hands in the mornings, but no cure, occupational. If you can't stand it get them sorted. I wore wrist supports for a couple of years, not much good though. I just accept it.
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Try this it works great for Carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow. www.ctcream.com ;)
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Mother in law had hers done and was ok in about 4 weeks.
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The cream looked good, b1 and anti inflammation etc. I did a quick search and there is a lot of conflicting advice mostly trying to sell you something.
Didn't mention feet at all, but i'm sure there is something similar with the sheath of the achiles tendon etc.
Anyway, if you are in pain and can't afford 4wks recovery time you could try stretching. Remember it's progressive and won't work immediatly.It's suggested you stretch -neck- chest- shoulders.If you can get an improvement without involving the area of pain you shouldn't be making it any worse.
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stretching? might just put myself through a mangle ;D could do with less weight & more height.
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I gave up office work last year due to severe repetitive strain injury in both hands, arms and all finger tendons (but not my wrists strangely), as I'd spent years using mouse and keyboard incorrectly and for hours at a time without break, be it working during the day or playing games all night. I probably should have sought advice as to what I could do without using my hands too much but my brother-in-law trained me as a w/c and it seems ok. Recently I have felt tingling in my left hand, maybe I'm spending too much time on the computer again, or maybe the trad work is affecting me again, I don't know but I'm worried.
Tony, it def sounds like you need to do something last week, not tomorrow. I waited far too long before seeking help with my RSI - I'm 25, had this for 18 months, and am scared of arthritis and carpal tunnel in the years to come. My physio gave me stretches to do to stop the tendons tightening, which work when I remember to do them.
If you can afford the 4-6 weeks off work do it - I researched various websites recently due to the tingling (which hasn't come back thankfully). The surgery procedure is something like cutting a piece of the tunnel out, to make it wider. Obviously it'll swell while you recover but should be good again after, as long as you don't abuse it and take it easy.
Pj, I can't believe you still clean windows with what you go through. No offence, but I hope I never get there, I still hope that if I take it easy, it'll mend itself. Wrist supports are no good for RSI as you need to keep your wrists free, just don't use them as much, and stretch them. They may be good for sleeping as they will stop you bending them when you turn over etc.
Try taking ibuprofen to keep the swelling down, and put frozen peas on your wrists. If you have to work, work slower and try not to grip poles, squeegees etc so hard, it all helps. Am sure the cold weather isn't helping either, but then putting your hands on the radiator is no good for the swelling!
Chris
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Well, I think my doc was right when he told me pragmatically, "Surgery is not a cure, it's a last resort"! And he is a surgeon. Those words have stuck with me. The pain in my wrists used to be almost unbearable, but, I don't know why, it's eased off as I got older. I'm no stronger, maybe my bones and ligaments etc just loosened up or shrunk, I don't know, maybe I have bigger worries. I know that some things I used to call pain are now just niggles, if you know what I mean. I'm 53, what can I expect??
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Hello Macmac,
As a pressure washer, this sort of problem go's with the job really sometimes.
But I use the anti-virbro gloves from here www.strauss-direct.co.uk
Comfortable, and they has stopped he carpal tunnel problem.
Hope this helps.
Roger
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I have cts, yes it hurts. my doctor offered two solutions an opperation or injection. i chose the injection. that was over ten years ago and appart from a small relapse touch wood no probs. ask your doctor if an injection direct into your wrists is available?
regards
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Hi Macmac, your joints are are being put under a lot of strain doing the high level WFP. Are you using a heavy, wide circumferenced WFpole?? If you are I would recommend that you try using a lighter WFpole like the slimmer, lighter 'Facelift' carbon pole or even better 'Gardiners' supalite carbon pole to reduce the weight you hold to avoid putting your wrists under excessive strain. Ask yourself another question, can you afford to cut out cleaning 'high level' windows and stick to lower levels? Your body is telling you that you are doing something wrong somewhere and that you are overdoing it. Your health has to come first and you must act soon! I suffer from chronic arthritus and have found that cleaning high level work is a lot more strenuous so I've invested in some expensive lighter poles which allow me to continue cleaning high level windows. I try to spread the high level work out between lower level jobs to give my body time to rest as I find this helps a lot! One other point I should mention is that I always rinse the windows with the brush head on the glass not off the glass like some window cleaners practise. Why hold all that weight when there is no need to!
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got a facelift carbon to replace the old heavy glass pole, to be honest its not just the pole work that makes it worse, even sometimes a good few hard days of trad can do it. its such a strange condition, i can even get it when i'm not working, like on holiday or xmas. i think somethings can bring it on though, like the other day, was just row after row of windows on a country mansion. only had the pole at 24ft but it was continuous/repetetive.
thanks for the comments guys.
tony
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Macmac, when you do trad w/cleaning do you wring out your cloths ?????? If you do then I would suggest STOP because what you would be doing is twisting the tenons in your wrists and over a period of time develops into lumps on the wrists. I had the same problem when I was trad and stopped wringing out cloths, (just used more cloths every day instead). The lumps on my wrists disappeared completely so i didn't need an operation in hospital, thank goodness. WFP is much less strain on the wrists, (also less twisting on the tenons), then cleaning windows traditional and having to carry ladder/s and a bucket.
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I suffer myself with carpel tunnel syndrome, not to a great degree though.
Mine was as a result of using a High Pressure Water Jetting unit when I was a decorator over 23 years ago, we used it to strip old paint and millscale from steelwork prior to painting, 5,000 psi and a high flow rate and you had to grip the trigger and wand so hard it was unbelievable, had to work in pairs, hour on, hour off, the strain was just too much otherwise.
But ever since I've had problems with numb fingers, pins and needles and so on in my hands.
for me it isn't too bad, it's just annoying at times >:(
But it's funny isn't it?
Some will say that you'll get through WFP but I've found that trad is just as bad, it seems that no matter what we do, if it is sufficiently repetitive we will always run the risk of these problems, whether you spend hours on the computer, or all day sending mobile phone texts R.S.I will jump up and bite you on the arse :'( sigh....life's a bitch and then you die :-\
Ian
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my right hand goes totaly numb when using the pole (wfp) also.
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The most common cause is through spending too much time clicking the mouse on your computer.
Better stop now, while I can still move my wri
;D
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The most common cause is through spending too much time clicking the mouse on your computer.
Better stop now, while I can still move my wri
;D
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
nice one squeeky, maybe its nowt to do wi w/c-ing :D
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I have suffered with carpal tunnel syndrome since 1996 when I blockpaved my drive.
When I switched from trad to wfp the first month was a nightmare. The pain and swelling in my hands meant I did not sleep for 3 weeks. The pain then moved up into my tricep muscle, The pain was very intense and I lost feeling in my hands at nighttime and my hands used to ballon in size so I could not even bend a single finger due to the swelling.
Things improved when I put Gazza brushs on my poles. The differnce they make to me is meant I have been able to continue wfp and now I just get pins and neddles in the middle of the night.
I have just had a 2 week holiday in Lanzarote. After the first night I had 13 nights without pins and neddles.
Now this is the intresting part. I went to see a New physio about my back on wednesday. Hes sorted my back out, Muscular problem. I tell him about carpal tunnel syndrome, and how long I have had it, I was Gobsmacked when he said most people dont have it, Its a common Diagnose to a problem that is Occurring elsewhere in the body. IE the neck and shoulders. He then said If he cannot cure it I do not need to pay for the Physio.
The practice deals with a lot of people with carpal tunnel sydrome. I am now Excited that I might get cured. He gave me one tip that as allready helped. If you put these herbal bean sacks or hot dogs in the microwave for 3 mins when you come home from work. Put a tea towel round the back of your neck first then put the hot bean bag on the towel so you dont burn your skin it will help reduce the swelling in your tendons. then repeat before you go to bed.
I will keep you posted if its a false dawn or a cure.
Nel.
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thanks neil
will try your tips & keep me posted about the cure please. last week i split the ends of my fingers open on a concrete sill, as i had no feeling in them i must have lost my sense of co-ordination. i,ve also sliced my finger on a roof slate had countless splinters in them from detailing wooden frames all because they are totaly numb when i'm working.
tony