ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area The Pains of Electrical Work

I believe my hands, wrists and forearms have taken a beating over the years. Carpel tunnel sucks. I have found one thing that helps and thats a chiropractor trained in Active Release technique. Its really helped me and I'll bet it would help anyone else with similar problems. Make sure the Chiro is ART certified. A google search will help with more info.

A 5/16 chucked into a cordless will tighten tan Ideal twisters most of the way
, it helps

Most painful part for me is driving to the work site in the morning and seeing the sun coming up over the tee box.

Knowing that I can't play today.

(sigh)


Dnk..

Don't forget the "dust mask" when in attics. The insulation can be hard on the lungs, especially blown rock wool insulation. Steve..

How about hearing problems? I think I saw someone mention that at one time or another. Does anyone have anything to share on that?

Bill

What

I'll second most of the previous posts, but the worst pain I have is the feeling of electricity shooting up my arm when I forget to turn the breaker off. Electricity still scares the hell out of me after all these years.

Safety first, last and always.

Dave

As an electrical contractor, I always seem to get severe pains in the neck, rear end, and right hand always around April 15.

That actually spurred my desire to use more PPE. After working construction for only a year, I had noticable hearing loss and I wasn't even in my 20's. Now I carry ear-plugs in a vial on my key-chain. Any sound loud enough to cause even mild discomfort, and those plugs go in my ears.

And I've seen enough older guys with stooped backs and creaking knees to invest in a good set of knee-pads and to always be sure I lift with my legs.

-John

[This message has been edited by BigJohn (edited 04-08-2005).]

Pains ? Back , knees, elbows, wrists . My biggest Pain anymore ? The drive Home in the evenings - I swear 1/2 the people in Maryland forgot how to drive !( or at least what a turn signal is) As far as stress from deadlines - don't have any - can't hear anymore so I can't hear when the deadlines are .

Before electrical, I had an employer that provided us with molded earplugs. I really like them. They are vented/valved type. I wear them almost all day.

I'm 4 years into the trade, and our hearing testing rep. said my results indicate that I do a great job with hearing protection.

My back is the one body part that I really need to look out for. I packed a toolbelt for the first three years. What started as lower back ache, turned into shooting mid-back pain - after first using an elastic back support, and then toolbelt suspenders.

I now use one of those canvas tool totes. Any tools I keep on my person are the 4-5 I can fit in my Carharrts. As a benfit, I've found I'm much more agile on scaffolding, on ladders, or swimming through plenum air spaces.