Backache and beekeeping

[Amari]

Spent an hour on this warm afternoon ( T.17C) doing fairly quick inspection of all 7 colonies. No heavy lifting. Ended up with customary backache - not 'lumbago' = lower lumbar but more generalised but poorly localised mid thoracic. It feels more like muscle spasm/tension than a disc or bone problem. Really spoils my bee keeping! Rarely get it at other times - maybe bending over a carpentry bench.
My hive stands are about 2' high.
Is anyone else similarly afflicted?

 

[victor meldrew]

I use a weight lifters belt . A good quality one is surprisingly cheap on fleabay
VM


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[madasafish]

I do daily yoga exercises for my back.. upwards dog, downwards dog etc..

Since starting them, my back pain has vanished but it has taken 18 months..

(I also do two hourly yoga sessions a week.. Ashtanga yoga at high speed)

 

[Jonathan]

Spent an hour on this warm afternoon ( T.17C) doing fairly quick inspection of all 7 colonies. No heavy lifting. Ended up with customary backache - not 'lumbago' = lower lumbar but more generalised but poorly localised mid thoracic. It feels more like muscle spasm/tension than a disc or bone problem. Really spoils my bee keeping! Rarely get it at other times - maybe bending over a carpentry bench.
My hive stands are about 2' high.
Is anyone else similarly afflicted?

I have exactly the same problem. Every time I inspect my hives I end up with lower backache. Damn nuisance!

 

[mbc]

Sit ups and stretching when I'm fit, back brace and wincing when it goes, which is less often if the sit ups and stretching are diligently followed and a sensible approach taken to any lifting work, often in the apiary I will kneel to avoid straining my back during inspections.

 

[Hivemaker.]

often in the apiary I will kneel to avoid straining my back during inspections.

Helps a lot, i do the same.

 

[Jed D]

We had two hive stands which were lower than our others.
I noticed that after checking the Hives on these , I always had a back ache....

So I've now fitted long legs to the stands , see how we get on this year...

Of course , if we end up on double brood, I'll need to stand on a BOX !!!

 

[RosieMc]

Get yourself a good body belt - search 'Images for lifting heavy objects belt'. You will need one that fits your size. Some designs are made for either men or women as their waist shapes can be different.

When lifting a heavy super don't lift the whole box, but split the box by putting some of the super frames into a separate box one at a time, thus halving the weight

I totally sympathize with your bad back as I too have had problems in the past. Hope this helps

 

[lebouche]

Great tip about the belt thanks all. Have horrible lower pack pain too from beekeeping…washing up too and anything where I have to bend over. Lower back.
Orrible.

 

[MartinL]

Well we all sound like either a drop-in session at hypochondriacs anonymous or something completely different, (upwards dog, belts, straps, downwards dog) etc..

Good job the News of the world has disbanded!

 

[richardbees]

He described it better but Ted Hooper's advice is for hives to be on stands so that the top of the broodbox is groin level - works for me.

 

[mbc]

He described it better but Ted Hooper's advice is for hives to be on stands so that the top of the broodbox is groin level - works for me.

Hives just above ground level sometimes get over head height, and I'm a six footer, how does this number of supers work with tall stands?

 

[MartinL]

Have thought about a scissor jack arrangement for a stand. It would be the stability that could cock it all up though.
Initial thoughts were when I had them in my garden and under cover. I worked out that I could have some sort of mechanism for hoisting the boxes of up to three hives. Never got any further when, I moved them to the field at the end of the village.

 

[Dishmop]

Broke my pelvis in three places in 1979... Problems ever since...

Found a good exercise was to lay on my back and roll my hips from side to side.

Use of an Ibruprofen gels helps.

One of the worst things you can do is walk around all tensed up looking as if you need to go to the loo.

 

[Amari]

I have exactly the same problem. Every time I inspect my hives I end up with lower backache. Damn nuisance!

Great tip about the belt thanks all. Have horrible lower pack pain too from beekeeping…washing up too and anything where I have to bend over. Lower back.
Orrible.

Thanks for all the replies. However OP refers to thoracic = mid back ache

 

[psafloyd]

Great tip about the belt thanks all. Have horrible lower pack pain too from beekeeping…washing up too and anything where I have to bend over. Lower back.
Orrible.

Better off doing some of the exercises for core and stretching out the back as well as using a belt.

 

[REDWOOD]

Have you had a scan, pain is usually related to some sort of injury that might be a quick fix in the right hands

 

[beeno]

Better off doing some of the exercises for core and stretching out the back as well as using a belt.

I often find that my back aches are due to lack of exercise which a few days of brisk half hour walks usually cure. Fan of hive stands though as low level hive inspection always gets me.

 

[Amari]

Have you had a scan, pain is usually related to some sort of injury that might be a quick fix in the right hands

No scan or visit to GP. I'm not troubled by heavy gardening etc so my theory is that it is muscle tension pain akin to muscle-tension pains many people get in their necks when sitting at a computer. I have PM'd you.

 

[REDWOOD]

No PM?