Trying to maintain joint health while working heavy physical job

Hey everyone,

I have a very physically demanding job, and I have lately been feeling some discomfort in my shoulders (when reaching out at certain angles) and in my back (stiffness and sometimes aching). My job entails bending and lifting boxes (some light as 20 lbs, some as heavy as 100 lbs) for about 6 hours a weekday with very little rest and at a very fast pace. As a result, my back, shoulders, and distal bicep tendons are pretty sore and sometimes ache after a hard week of work. 

I do Kit's five daily stretches, a few other hip/hamstring stretches, and a 20-30 second dead hang after work each day, and I intend to slowly reincorporate GST Foundation, but are there are other stretches / mobility exercises you recommend for back, shoulders, and biceps to help me recover faster?

Thanks!

How long have you been doing this job? That is really a big deal because if you are not used to this kind of work it can take a few months to get over soreness, if you are still sore then you are doing something wrong at work.

Be careful with this.  I blew out the tendons in my elbows doing a manual labour job.

As long as you can still straighten your arms, I'd say you're okay...

MattProulx said:

How long have you been doing this job? That is really a big deal because if you are not used to this kind of work it can take a few months to get over soreness, if you are still sore then you are doing something wrong at work.

I've only been doing it since the beginning of December 2013, so I guess it will just take a little bit more time.

Hi,

I suggest you to make a warm up routine for the joints and the muscles before starting your daily work,  It doesn't seem that you perform one from what you have written. This should better prepare your body for the stress that will follow, reduce the probability of injury and leave you  less sore at the end of the day.

For warm up routine I don't mean stretching but active exercises to warm up the shoulder, elbows, wrist and fingers joints and muscles and the lower back.

If you have Foundation you can choose from the Im exercises the ones the suit better this purpose, I don't think you need suggestions from me for this.

If you have also Handstand One, the wrist series performed with moderate load, below your training one, are excellent to warm up the wrists and fingers and dissolve contractures in the forearms muscles that surely your job will cause.

In addition to this you can find plenty of suggestions on youtube making a specific search for warm up routines.

I get on well with Scott Sonnon Intu Flow one for preparing the joints before start training and I suggest you to check it, the first two levels are on youtube for free.

Another one I use always for warm up the lower back is in this video:

You can do it even sitting on a chair.

To speed up your recovery for the lower back and the shoulders I have found as useful as economic the use of  massage balls like these ones:

http://www.amazon.com/Massage-Balls-3-Ball-Set/dp/B003NE2GNE/ref=sr_sp-btf_title_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1390437008&sr=8-9&keywords=massage+ball

In my exeprience these are superior than a foam roller as a means to relax and remove contractures in those zones; I'm sure you will find very useful to make a little automassage session with them at the end of your work combined with your stretching exercises.

Are also worthwhile for the forearms and the triceps, however for the biceps the use is not easy but you can supply with a massage with the hand.

For the lower back I think you'll find useful to also perform an exercise of spinal twist after removing contractures and blocks.

With a bit of trial and experience you should find the exercises that are more effective and create a routine with them.

A greeting

Stefano, thanks for the lengthy post! Very helpful.