Strengthening muscles to work a physical job

[Night Elf]

I had to go to my chiropractor yesterday and ask them to work me in because I was in such pain. I love my job at the thrift store but I hurt every single day. My chiropractor gave me some exercises to do and I'm doing them but how long will it take for me to be able to work there without being in any pain? My DH said my muscles would just get trained and shouldn't take long but I've just finished my 3rd week of working four 4-hour shift days and I'm still hurting. I've got at least 3 more weeks to go of this schedule. The lady I'm filling in for hasn't given a definite return date because she doesn't know how she's going to feel after 6 weeks. And even when she does come back, I want to work as much as possible to ease her burden because I don't want her to reinjure her back after surgery and PT. I'm sure they'll let her know when she can return but surely she won't really be ready to jump in 100%. And she's the type of person to work through pain which is why it took her years to finally okay the surgery.

So is there any help for me? Any relief I can expect anytime soon? I really don't want to cut down my hours but I'm seriously thinking of telling the manager I can only work 3-hour shifts. I'd still be hurting but I'd be leaving an hour earlier and that will be better than staying the full 4 hours. I just feel bad because I wanted this to become a paying job. If for some reason my supervisor doesn't return for longer or decides to quit or retire, I'm hoping it's me they'll pick to take her place. That could be weeks, months or even years from now. That's why I've got to get this back problem licked.

It is possible to fix this problem, isn't it?

[KungFuPanda]

If it’s muscle pain it’s good and you’ll adjust eventually. If it’s joint pain it’s more complicated. 

[Annie G]

Did the chiropractor say what is causing the pain? I agree if it’s muscular it’ll get better. Can you take Motrin and/or apply some bio freeze to the sore areas every day after work? If the Motrin helps you might try taking it two hours into your shift.

I’d expect it to take at least 4-6 weeks, especially since you weren’t previously  active other than your treadmill walking.  Ds is in his 20’s and it took him a month to get adjusted to a new physical job so I’d expect longer for someone older and not used to that much physical work. 

[Night Elf]

46 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

If it’s muscle pain it’s good and you’ll adjust eventually. If it’s joint pain it’s more complicated. 

No I think it's muscle. It's in my upper back, specifically to the left of my spine below my shoulder blade. It feels like I have a knot in there. DH tried to massage it but it didn't help. The chiropractor adjusted my scapula so he says but I don't see how that was supposed to help my back. I realize everything is attached in there so maybe it would. The pain was the same the rest of the day even with the adjustment. It seems to start easing by about 7:00pm and is fairly gone by 8:00pm. I've tried ibuprofen and tylenol and neither lessen the pain. I even tried taking ibuprofen early today before I started hurting to see if that would help and no it didn't. So I took Tylenol when the pain started. I left work 1.5 hours early today since I got caught up with my work and my back was hurting anyway. It's the Humane Society and they're working on a tight budget. I didn't want them spending money on me if I had nothing to do. But boy oh boy, my back. Even after only 2.5 hrs. of working. 

[Night Elf]

11 minutes ago, Annie G said:

Did the chiropractor say what is causing the pain? I agree if it’s muscular it’ll get better. Can you take Motrin and/or apply some bio freeze to the sore areas every day after work? If the Motrin helps you might try taking it two hours into your shift.

I’d expect it to take at least 4-6 weeks, especially since you weren’t previously  active other than your treadmill walking.  Ds is in his 20’s and it took him a month to get adjusted to a new physical job so I’d expect longer for someone older and not used to that much physical work. 

No, the chiropractor didn't say what was causing it and I didn't think to ask. I see him again next Thursday so I can ask then. I"ve been working these increased hours for 3 weeks. Maybe I just need to hang in there. I really don't want to reduce my hours if I don't have to. I really like being there and they need me. And you're right, the only exercise I've been doing is walking on the treadmill. No strength training. I guess I"m sort of regretting that now. I did try to do some exercises I found online for my upper back that uses weights but I felt it more in my arms than in my back and had to stop because my arms got sore.

[Annie G]

I don’t think strength training is needed- just getting used to the bending and stretching needed to do your job. The more you do it, the easier it’ll get, though it is painful in the meantime.

Two years ago I needed to paint outside windows, which required scraping off old paint, sanding, and painting. Almost all of that was above eye level. I was riding my bike 10-30 miles a day and walking 2 miles w/dh in the evenings. But that window work kicked my butt for weeks. So even though I was pretty active, doing a new repetitive motion for hours a day was difficult. 

It took four Motrin to ease my pain and biofreeze helped also. 

I hope you adjust soon. Hang in there! It’ll get better. 

[fairfarmhand]

Try some Pilates and yoga. I bet either will help strengthen your back and stomach and that will help everything.

[Katy]

I think the last time I worked a job like that it took about 6 weeks.

[LarlaB]

I’m a massage therapist and think you have a specific muscle issue- not broad to generalized “need to get stronger” issue.  If you can point to a specific spot that hurts that is much different than everything hurts and you need to build up tolerance and strength.  

Get a massage and fix the issue ? 

[KungFuPanda]

Is it possible that you pulled that muscle? Are you moving in such a way that this is likely? That should heal also, but it would be a more troublesome type of pain. 

I have a few dance friends who see a rolfer. It’s like a chiropractor but for soft tissue or fascia. I never heard of it but they’ve had great results when time didn’t fix things. 

[Tsuga]

I would expect it to take longer than three weeks but such specific pain may be related to over/improper use of your arm. Core strength training would be my first suggestion.

Also: what do you mean "turn into a paying job"?

Are you getting paid?

[Rosie_0801]

Do a few warm up stretches before you start your shift too.

[Night Elf]

8 hours ago, Tsuga said:

I would expect it to take longer than three weeks but such specific pain may be related to over/improper use of your arm. Core strength training would be my first suggestion.

Also: what do you mean "turn into a paying job"?

Are you getting paid?

Yes. While the regular employee is out on sick leave, they are paying me hourly for the time I'm there since I'm basically in charge of the department. Isn't that cool? ?

[Night Elf]

11 hours ago, LarlaB said:

I’m a massage therapist and think you have a specific muscle issue- not broad to generalized “need to get stronger” issue.  If you can point to a specific spot that hurts that is much different than everything hurts and you need to build up tolerance and strength.  

Get a massage and fix the issue ? 

Well, it's across my upper back, but the left side has one spot that feels like a knot. I start hurting a couple of hours into my shift, so around noon, and it hurts until about 7:00pm, sometimes 8:00pm, then the pain is gone completely. How often would I need to be massaged to keep the pain reduced? It seems the massage would feel good but I'd go back to work the next day and the pain would start over again.

[Pawz4me]

Are you tense while you're working? The fact that the pain goes away so quickly and completely makes me think it's not due to physical activity.

Are you wearing good, supportive shoes?

[Night Elf]

2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Are you tense while you're working? The fact that the pain goes away so quickly and completely makes me think it's not due to physical activity.

Are you wearing good, supportive shoes?

I'm buying inserts for my shoes today. I wear my running shoes which has more padding than my regular shoes. I don't think I'm tense when I'm working, no more than any other time. I don't feel in over my head while I'm there. Sometimes it can be overwhelming when I get in a lot of donations I have to sort through but I usually have a volunteer to help and it doesn't take us long. When I finish my donations, I fold sheets. That's working with my hands up in the air a lot. In fact, a lot of my job has my hands up. I have to hold up comforters, quilts, duvets, coverlets, draperies, valences, all that sort of stuff and fold them nicely and hang them on hangers. Some of those comforters are heavy too. 

[wintermom]

The exercises your chiropractor gave you should help, but it may take a couple weeks. Did the chiropractor help you find out what movements may be causing the pain, and how to adjust or avoid the movements? Sometimes there are small muscles that are weak, and other muscles try to compensate. 

You should report this pain and treatment to your employer as it is work related. You may be entitled to compensation for any treatment you need. 

[Night Elf]

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

The exercises your chiropractor gave you should help, but it may take a couple weeks. Did the chiropractor help you find out what movements may be causing the pain, and how to adjust or avoid the movements? Sometimes there are small muscles that are weak, and other muscles try to compensate. 

You should report this pain and treatment to your employer as it is work related. You may be entitled to compensation for any treatment you need. 

Oh no, I don't want to do that. It's my local Humane Society and I'm working at the thrift store that benefits our no-kill shelter. They're working on a tight budget and I'm truly grateful they've offered to pay me while the regular employee is out on sick leave. I was planning on just increasing my volunteer hours but the manager said it would make her feel better if she compensated me for my increased hours. I go the chiropractor monthly anyway so this is no big deal to me. And I can't think of how I can change any of my movements. It's lifting and folding. That's the job. I absolutely love working there and when the paid employee comes back, my status will drop back down to volunteer and I can lower my hours back to only 2 hours a day once I know the paid employee is up to working at her original pace. My back didn't hurt when I was working only two hours a day. She's supposed to come back in 3 weeks if she can. She said she'd have to decide that with her doctors when the time comes.

[TechWife]

Have you considered going to a physical therapist for an evaluation? You may  be making a movement in an improper way,  causing strain on your back and if so, it could eventually lead to damage. A physical therapist will target exercises to strengthen the painful area but will also look at how you are moving in general and give you exercises to strengthen specific muscles and train you on how to move so that you don’t injure yourself. Reaching, lifting, carrying, standing, bending, squatting & walking are all connected to each other. Improper form in one area can cause a cascade of problems down the line. 

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, Night Elf said:

It's lifting and folding. That's the job. 

Perhaps you can experiment with the surface height of the table where you fold items. If it's too low and you are constantly bending over, that may be causing the upper back pain. Can you sit on a stool, or fold in a different location. And make sure you are using the best lifting technique.

[KathyBC]

It's not a panacea, but I ❤️ stretching. If you have a yoga mat, google stretches for upper back pain or look on YouTube. It may not fix everything, but running through a few (less than 10) stretches in a relaxed way in the evening while you chit chat with dh can be a nice way to end the day.

[Night Elf]

I may have found a fix, even if temporary. Last night my DH massaged my back really good. It wasn't hurting so I couldn't pin point where the pain usually is, so he concentrated on the whole area. And today at work I hardly hurt at all! I started feeling a little sore about a half hour before I left and even then it wasn't bad. Now, it might have gotten worse if I had worked longer but I won't know because I only work 4 hours. DH said he'd massage me each night. So sweet!!