Lexxy on fri 15 feb 02
Perhaps someone as old as I am [58 but healthy] has had something similar
and can advise me.
I get this pain in my right hip and leg after trimming [especially] cuz I
finally figured out I stop and start more when trimming than throwing when I
remove my foot from the petal. It's the accelarator movement, I think. Has
anyone rigged a knee petal like sewing machines or would sitting higher or
lower help?
I have seen advice before on how to sit at the wheel say for medium sized
work...like cassaroles. I'm short and have an adjustable height stool. I
try to sit in a position without too much bending over and try to stretch
often. I don't have any back problems and my left hip is OK...I place my
left foot on a 4" block of wood.
In the past I have exercised for knee and heel problems and they worked
great...perhaps there are some exercises for "accelarator hip" to build up
strength in my foot. I also noticed it on a long drive recently but only
when I'm the driver. It's almost like sciatica from what I've read...never
had an injury or had it before. Any help or advice is appreciated. I will
talk to dr next month at annual physical if it's not better.
Do you suppose we have a physical therapist on the list????
Lexxey
East GA, Pottery & Gardening
http://www.flummoxed.org/lexxey/index.htm
Dave Gayman on fri 15 feb 02
I ruptured a disc and underwent the common L4-L5 discectomy at age 56 --
your symptoms sound familiar. Sciatica is often caused by protrusion of
one or more discs in the lower spine putting pressure on the sciatic
nerve. The protrusion is caused by a letting-go (herniation) of connective
tissue, resulting in a bulge.
My surgeon explained that the disc is lot like a radial tire, with strong
connective tissue reinforcements that extend radially around the outer
circumference; the inner part is filled not with air like the tire, but
with a soft substance, which he described as being like crab meat. If the
radial supports come part or herniate, the crab meat bulges out.
If you're really having no trouble walking, you probably don't need surgery.
If the pain is in the buttocks, radiating down through the calf; if the
pain lessens with bed rest once you arrange your legs to minimize
pain; and if you've notice numb toes or any "flat footedness" or a loose
feeling of foot-fall, as though your ankle muscles are weak as you walk,
you probably should see a doctor and get an MRI to see what's going on.
Somebody's wheel -- was it Shimpo? -- used to have a foot-pedal that
sprouted a stalk with a knob on top, to provide an option to adjust speed
not by your foot but with your hand. It was simply a rigid stalk that
soared up from the fulcrum point of the pedal. It swung back and forth
along with the rocking of the pedal. You might want to look into this
option, or rig one.
My surgeon explained that driving was among the worst of tortures with
sciatica because of the relative confinement in the car seat for your legs
and torso, and because of the need to keep the foot on a fairly fixed plane
(depressing the accelerator) for long periods of time. And the fact that
car designers don't know much about human posture.
This is analogous to keeping your foot on a potter's wheel foot pedal. As
for awareness of human needs, most power wheels are unnaturally low,
causing you to bend unnaturally and exacerbate back problems, like the
drop-handle-bar bicycles of the 60s and 70s. Perhaps raising the wheel on
a platform would provide some relief, though you'll probably have to
re-learn centering and throwing, and your perspective on your pots will be
strange at first.
Shifting over to a hand-control and arranging your legs and feet for
maximum comfort with angled stop blocks could be a solution. Stores that
cater to people with back pain will have the blocks / foot rests, or you
can make them pretty easily after looking at them.
In my case, pre-surgery, sitting somewhat pigeon-toed relieved a lot of the
pain -- something I couldn't do in my car, because the center hump
prevented my right heel from angling out, and the brake pedal prevent my
toes from angling in.
As a final thought, you might look into finding a chair that provides a
means to adjust not only the rake of the seat back, but also of the plane
of the seat in relation to the floor -- analogous to a 6-way power seat on
a car, where you can raise the front of the seat to provide support to your
under-thighs. These kind of chairs are becoming more common -- I have one
that works for me that I got at a local Office Max for not much more than
$100, and while I don't use it in pottery, it wouldn't be much of a loss if
it got soaked in slurry and clay instead of coffee. Note that you can also
pay well over $1,000 for such a chair, but that's a bit pricey for pottery
installations.
Dave
whose back surgery was successful, thanks to a VERY conscientious surgeon
At 04:33 PM 2/15/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Perhaps someone as old as I am [58 but healthy] has had something similar
>and can advise me.
>
>I get this pain in my right hip and leg after trimming ....perhaps there
>are some exercises for "accelarator hip" to build up
>strength in my foot. I also noticed it on a long drive recently but only
>when I'm the driver. It's almost like sciatica from what I've read...
Cindy Strnad on sat 16 feb 02
Dear Lexy,
Well, I'm 42 and healthy, but I do get pain in my right hip on long drives. I
believe this is more a factor of my mini-truck and its mini-cab and my long legs
than it is the accelerator, but maybe I'm wrong. It used to bother me sitting at
the wheel, too. My solution was to put my wheel up on a table. If you decide to
try this, go for a height a little below the belt buckle. I had mine too high
and that bothered my neck and shoulders. I mounted my foot pedal vertically and
now control it with my knee and lower thigh.
If you don't want to do this, try Vince Pitelka's suggestion (in his Studio
Potters Handbook). I'm not looking at the book this moment, but if memory
serves, he recommends a seat with a slight incline toward the wheel, allowing
your legs to slope downward to the knee. In order to do this, you may have to
raise the wheel slightly. It could be that the upward bend of your throttle foot
is what's bothering you, and this would alleviate that somewhat. If it's not
enough, you may be able to find someone to replace your foot pedal with a hand
operated pull/push lever. I've seen stand-up wheels equipped with these, but I
don't know where you get them. Probably they're home-made.
Hope this helps,
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
cindy@earthen-vessels-pottery.com
http://www.earthen-vessels-pottery.com
Ned Ludd on sat 16 feb 02
Lexxy wrote:
>I get this pain in my right hip and leg after trimming [especially] cuz I
>finally figured out I stop and start more when trimming than throwing when I
>remove my foot from the petal. It's the accelarator movement, I think. Has
>anyone rigged a knee petal like sewing machines or would sitting higher or
lower help?
Hi Lexxy
I do not know if following my advice will cure the problem for you,
but it _is_ most likely to alleviate any stresses from maintaining a
bad throwing position. Like I did for a long time... What's to lose?
Excuse me while I dig out and revamp one of my past posts....
Any potter with a back problem is urged to consider his/her
throwing position, determined by seat and wheel height.
I'm a professional thrower: you can imagine I place a very high
value on comfort, health and efficiency. It was only after I put my
back out that I really paid attention to my throwing posture. My
friendly chiropractor visited the studio once just to watch me work and
give me good posture coaching.
Now I use a four legged stool that is about 27" high (bought from
KMart, cushioned by strapping on a piece of foam mattress), and I rest
a slab of wood (up to 2" thick) under the rear legs so that it tilts
forward a bit. This is NOT a minor detail. It makes a big difference.
My wheel (a Brent C) is raised on concrete blocks (8x8x6"). With my
tilted forward stool in postion, the result is a posture that avoids
cramping my belly: it feels open and relaxed, not scrunched-up.
My advice is to go better than what the wheel-makers offer. The cost of
making it right at the beginning is very little or nothing.
Potters aiming for early, involuntary, retirement should ignore this advice
and use their wheels as they come from the factory with the stools
supplied.
Remember: always mind your back! It's not just your life depends on
it, it's your pots!
Good luck.
Ned
Tommy Humphries on sat 16 feb 02
I learned to throw standing, using non-variable speed wheels, so when I
first started using a Brent with the foot pedal I got the sore leg from
adjusting the speed all the time. My solution was to get an on/off foot
switch and wired it in between the control box and the motor. Now I can set
the optimum speed for the pots I am making and just step on this switch to
stop the wheel to take off the pot. Been using this set up on a CXC for
almost 6 years now, and it hasn't seemed to harm either the box, or the
motor.
You probably don't realize how much time you spend adjusting the speed as
you throw...faster to center, sloooooow to finish the rim. Using one speed
through the whole process will make you gain more control over your
pots...you will learn to center more precisely and quicker...you will learn
to think on the fly when something is not right with the pot. Best of all,
you will learn to throw "loose". The speed pedal is still there if you
absolutely need it, but once you get used to the single speed, you will view
using it as a big hassle, as you will want to get it back to that just right
speed again.
Tommy
Arnold Howard on sun 17 feb 02
I'd like to add a brief comment to Ned's excellent post.
In the past I've suffered from bouts of sciatica, too. I've spent
time at the library hunting for information. I've tried numerous
exercises to alleviate the pain, including hatha yoga, suspension,
etc.
I've come to the conclusion that most back pain is due to mental
stress. Do you ever notice how sciatica flairs up after you've gone
through an emotionally difficult time?
"Mind Over Back Pain" is must reading for every potter.
Arnold Howard
Paragon
--- Ned Ludd wrote:
> Lexxy wrote:
>
>
> >I get this pain in my right hip and leg after trimming
> [especially] cuz I
> >finally figured out I stop and start more when trimming than
> throwing when I
> >remove my foot from the petal. It's the accelarator movement, I
> think. Has
> >anyone rigged a knee petal like sewing machines or would sitting
> higher or
> lower help?
>
>
> Hi Lexxy
>
> I do not know if following my advice will cure the problem for
> you,
> but it _is_ most likely to alleviate any stresses from
> maintaining a
> bad throwing position. Like I did for a long time... What's to
> lose?
>
> Excuse me while I dig out and revamp one of my past posts....
>
> Any potter with a back problem is urged to consider his/her
> throwing position, determined by seat and wheel height.
>
>
> I'm a professional thrower: you can imagine I place a very high
> value on comfort, health and efficiency. It was only after I
> put my
> back out that I really paid attention to my throwing posture.
> My
> friendly chiropractor visited the studio once just to watch me
> work and
> give me good posture coaching.
>
> Now I use a four legged stool that is about 27" high (bought
> from
> KMart, cushioned by strapping on a piece of foam mattress), and
> I rest
> a slab of wood (up to 2" thick) under the rear legs so that it
> tilts
> forward a bit. This is NOT a minor detail. It makes a big
> difference.
>
> My wheel (a Brent C) is raised on concrete blocks (8x8x6").
> With my
> tilted forward stool in postion, the result is a posture that
> avoids
> cramping my belly: it feels open and relaxed, not scrunched-up.
>
> My advice is to go better than what the wheel-makers offer. The
> cost of
> making it right at the beginning is very little or nothing.
>
> Potters aiming for early, involuntary, retirement should ignore
> this advice
> and use their wheels as they come from the factory with the
> stools
> supplied.
>
> Remember: always mind your back! It's not just your life depends
> on
> it, it's your pots!
> Good luck.
>
> Ned
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
> subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games
http://sports.yahoo.com
| |
|
