Berry Silverman on mon 18 jan 99
There's been lots shared on the list about how to protect your wrists.
What suggestions do any of you have to protect your back? I am
careful to lift with my legs bent, but by the end of the week I am a
bit stiff and sore, especially in the mornings -- although that may
just be a function of age. Any tricks of the trade out there?
==
Berry Silverman,
Berryware, Tucson, Arizona
berrysilverman@yahoo.com
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John K. Dellow on tue 19 jan 99
Berry ,
If you are a thrower try sitting lower to the wheel head. Have a seat
that is a little higher at the back. I use old motor bike saddles with my
wheels . Build an adjustable frame that bolts to the wheel, so you don't
pig- root the wheel all over the place :) .
--
John Dellow "the flower pot man"
ICQ : #2193986 {jacka}
E-mail : dellow@usa.net
25 Hugh Guinea Ct, Worongary Q 4213
Ph:+61-7-55302875 Fax:+61-7-55253585
Home Page : http://welcome.to/jkdellow
Grace Epstein on tue 19 jan 99
maybe i can offer a little advice, berry
yes...age has something to do with this, unfortunately...just ask me
*stretch before throwing, etc
*in between work that requires a lot of bending, stretch tall bracing your
back with your hands and bend back a little..as a break
* do abdominal exercises ...it's supposed to help support your back
* as you throw bend from the hip not the waist...keep your back as straight
and aligned as you can
* don't sit too much...if you have to ...think straight back ( sitting is the
worse )
* stretching at the end of the day ? (think of rules of any exercise )
i'm sure some more people will have more suggestions
just think spinal-alignment all day long...don't work so long and hard ?
what are your clay activities which you think put a stress on your
back...could be simple things like standing in a slouched postion too long on
hard surfaces ...get a good back book ...ask a sports medicine person,
physical therapist etc. for general info for keeping a healthy back....
be careful
Grace in rainy CT
arturo m devitalis on tue 19 jan 99
John Glick's article "To Sciatica and Back - A Potter's Journey" appeared
in Studio Potter magazine several years ago and details John's experience
with back problems. Many many potters who have worked on the wheel for
years and years and handled tons and tons of clay have NOT had serious
back problems for a variety of reasons, including: gene pool; wheel
posture;work habits, etc. etc. I think there are going to be many
responses to this subject and each of us has to select and experiment and
work out what is best ala trial and error.
My two cents worth; throw for short periods of time many times each day
with the fanny at wheel-head height...this has kept my 73 year old back
going!
Arturo DeVitalis
devpot@junol.com
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Carol Seidman on tue 19 jan 99
I put my brent wheel up on a small old end table so I throw standing up.
It took awhile to get used to this but my back no longer aches. Place a
soft doormatt to stand on and your feet will be happy too.
Carol Seidman
Kathi LeSueur on tue 19 jan 99
In a message dated 1/18/99 12:41:31 PM, you wrote:
>There's been lots shared on the list about how to protect your wrists.
> What suggestions do any of you have to protect your back?
My number one rule. Never carry anything that you can roll. My glazes are in
containers that I got from an auction at a grocery store ( they were used for
cake flour in the bakery and have a fiberglass liner). My ware carts are from
the same auction (meat carts. I cut the cross posts and expanded them by
riveting aluminum angle onto them). I have two rolling trays like used at a
hospital bed that I got when the hospital got new equipment. I pug my clay and
place it on the tray. Then roll it over to wherever I'm working. At shows I
always use the cart to take things to the van and my boxes done weigh 100 lbs.
My last thing will make you laugh but it works for me. It's a Lazy Boy chair
(not Barcolounger or any of the others. The mechanism is different). If my
back hurts I sleep in it. I went around to all of the stores that carried
them, found one that seemed to fit just right and bought it off of the floor.
That was in 1985. I'm on my second one now and haven't been back to the
chiropractor since I bought it.
Kathi
Veronica Honthaas on tue 19 jan 99
At 12:31 PM 1/18/99 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>There's been lots shared on the list about how to protect your wrists.
> What suggestions do any of you have to protect your back? I am
>careful to lift with my legs bent, but by the end of the week I am a
>bit stiff and sore, especially in the mornings -- although that may
>just be a function of age. Any tricks of the trade out there?
>==
>Berry Silverman,
>Berryware, Tucson, Arizona
>berrysilverman@yahoo.com
>_________________________________________________________
>DO YOU YAHOO!?
>Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
>I started sitiing on a large excerise ball when working at the wheel and
find it helps in a number of ways:
1) Because you are moving a bit it actually increases blood circulation to
you lower extremities rather than restricing it as regular sitting a chair
does. This allowable movement does not hinder your wheel work at all.
2) Becauses the ball moves when you do it actually keeps you more centered
over your work and in better back alignment...good strainght back, etc.
3) Reduces fatigue
4) Balls come in a variety of sizes to fit different size folks.
>
bluemoon on wed 20 jan 99
Berry, I was having the same problem with my back. I read Johanna
Demay's article , Preventing Back Injury, in Clay Times, Volume 4, No.2
March/April 1998. Basicly it is a article on the benefits of standing at
the potters wheel. I built a small table to put my wheel on and it works
wonderful, my back is much better and so are my pots. Reg at Blue Moon.
Marty Anderson on wed 20 jan 99
Another option for a tired aching back is an Ajustable bed. It is better
than sleeping in a recliner to me. Use to do the recliner, but the bed is
great after getting use to now having my waterbed.
marty
-----Original Message-----
From: Kathi LeSueur
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Tuesday, January 19, 1999 10:00 AM
Subject: Re: Oh my aching back
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>In a message dated 1/18/99 12:41:31 PM, you wrote:
>
>>There's been lots shared on the list about how to protect your wrists.
>> What suggestions do any of you have to protect your back?
>
>My number one rule. Never carry anything that you can roll. My glazes are
in
>containers that I got from an auction at a grocery store ( they were used
for
>cake flour in the bakery and have a fiberglass liner). My ware carts are
from
>the same auction (meat carts. I cut the cross posts and expanded them by
>riveting aluminum angle onto them). I have two rolling trays like used at a
>hospital bed that I got when the hospital got new equipment. I pug my clay
and
>place it on the tray. Then roll it over to wherever I'm working. At shows I
>always use the cart to take things to the van and my boxes done weigh 100
lbs.
>
>My last thing will make you laugh but it works for me. It's a Lazy Boy
chair
>(not Barcolounger or any of the others. The mechanism is different). If my
>back hurts I sleep in it. I went around to all of the stores that carried
>them, found one that seemed to fit just right and bought it off of the
floor.
>That was in 1985. I'm on my second one now and haven't been back to the
>chiropractor since I bought it.
>
>Kathi
>
Lili Krakowski on thu 21 jan 99
Did someone else offer this? Throw standing up. Elevate your wheel (I use
#10 cans filled with cement) so that you have the wheel head at right
lever. Teach yourself to set the foot pedal and NOT USE IT till you have
to do something else (ie.e one speed for centering ADJUST SPEED one speed
for raising ADJUST SPEED one speed for finishing. This allows you to
shift your weight on your legs as your work. ONE SPEED? Is taht woman
MAD? Not rally. Look at photos of the old industrial throwers whose
wheels were driven by some form of machine or water--don't quite recall.
And they threw magnificently.
Lili Krakowski
Carolynn Palmer on thu 21 jan 99
I've known KLeSueur for years and when I first heard about the Lazy Boy chair
for her back, I kind of snickered and figured it was just a way for her to
sneak in a nap. But when I began to have back problems myself, I tried
sleeping in my husband's Lazy Boy - the relief was unbelievable.
I too, went from store to store trying them out - every chair fits different -
until I found one that fit my back. And I really believe the only reason I
can still throw as much as I do, is that chair. When I take a break during
the day, I make certain I sit in my chair for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. It
is better than asprin, ibuprofen and Aleve all rolled into one.
This makes sense to me especially, because when my husband's father injured
his back many years ago while working as a carpenter, his doctor ordered him
to sleep in a hospital bed with both the foot and the head up - like a wide V.
He always claimed it eased all of the pain and "fixed" his back.
Carolynn Palmer, Somerset Center, Michigan
Bob and Hulda on thu 21 jan 99
-----Original Message-----
From: arturo m devitalis
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Tuesday, January 19, 1999 02:31
Subject: Re: Oh my aching back
My experience as a potter, was a complete physical breakdown, i.e. knees,
upper and lower back, sciatic nerve, elbows, wrists, hands and feet, to move
hurt!
My solution was to stop throwing and start a new venture. I believe we have
pain and our bodies complain for a reason - it's telling us to stop, because
we are out of sinc, in other words, body, mind and soul are not working
together and we are not realising it.
We carry on with an old job out of habit, a fear of losing our security and
a fear to change, our hearts crying out for something else, but we keep
shoving these new thoughts and desires away, considering them merely
fanciful, the old physical will have the last word.
Stop and look at what's happening, we have to love what we do and must be
able to express it from the inner most core of our being.
Hulda.
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>John Glick's article "To Sciatica and Back - A Potter's Journey" appeared
>in Studio Potter magazine several years ago and details John's experience
>with back problems. Many many potters who have worked on the wheel for
>years and years and handled tons and tons of clay have NOT had serious
>back problems for a variety of reasons, including: gene pool; wheel
>posture;work habits, etc. etc. I think there are going to be many
>responses to this subject and each of us has to select and experiment and
>work out what is best ala trial and error.
>
>My two cents worth; throw for short periods of time many times each day
>with the fanny at wheel-head height...this has kept my 73 year old back
>going!
>
>
>
>
>Arturo DeVitalis
>devpot@junol.com
>
>___________________________________________________________________
>You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
>Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
>or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
>
Robert Wilt on thu 21 jan 99
This article is available online at
http://www.studiopotter.org/articles/
arturo m devitalis wrote:
> John Glick's article "To Sciatica and Back - A Potter's Journey" appeared
> in Studio Potter magazine several years ago and details John's experience
> with back problems.
bob wilt
rjw@studiopotter.org
arturo m devitalis on thu 21 jan 99
I forgot to mention that Claudia Zeber, a Personal Trainer, Mom, and a
potter to boot (how does she do all that!) provided an illustrated
handout "Physical Fitness for the Crafts Person" . Not certain if this
is current, but give it a try:
Claudia Zeber
43 Furnace St.
Akron, Ohio, 44308
Ph. 216-253-37808
Arturo DeVitalis
devpot@juno.com
___________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html
or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Bill Williams on fri 22 jan 99
One of my clay magazines suggested standing up to throw. They didn't
mention, however, how you would manage that if you use a kick wheel. Connie
-----Original Message-----
From: Lili Krakowski
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Thursday, January 21, 1999 6:40 AM
Subject: Re: Oh my aching back
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Did someone else offer this? Throw standing up. Elevate your wheel (I use
#10 cans filled with cement) so that you have the wheel head at right
lever. Teach yourself to set the foot pedal and NOT USE IT till you have
to do something else (ie.e one speed for centering ADJUST SPEED one speed
for raising ADJUST SPEED one speed for finishing. This allows you to
shift your weight on your legs as your work. ONE SPEED? Is taht woman
MAD? Not rally. Look at photos of the old industrial throwers whose
wheels were driven by some form of machine or water--don't quite recall.
And they threw magnificently.
Lili Krakowski
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