Haha, I gotta admit, there are some nights where I go to stand up after being hunched over a game for 30 minutes and groan a bit.

Fire sale?

I kid, I kid, but that stinks. you may have to resort to paying younger dudes to move them for you. I assume with 28 pins you have a lift, so most of your straining is coming from?

_{Post edited by Chitownpinball : Ahhh....hunching over.}

i have 2 permanently herniated discs in my l4 and l5. i never and will never move a machine without help. more often than not, if you have pain in your legs and/or can't sleep you probably should get an mri and xrays. best way to fix these problems is stretching/strengthening/exercise. they say too much 'bed time' is actually bad for back problems. hopefully you don't have anything serious going on. like wolfmarsh says, sometimes after 30 mins your back gets stiff and sore just working on a machine. it's fun getting older

I couldn't even begin to count the back injuries.

3/4ths coin op related, 1/4th other things.

Of course I found out late in life my last disc where it hooks onto the pelvis, narrows to the front. I was told at that time I should never lift anything.

Every couple years through my school years we had physicals and X-Rays, and no one bothered to look at them or tell me this. Heck I wouldn't have been out moving machinery for my first job.

LTG : )

http://clubs.lifetimefitness.com/Enrollment-Offer/16284/ get a trainer.. stay motivated.. hulk up.. and your back will thank you for it

Age doesn't matter. I first tore up my back at 18. Valium kept me working. Makes you twelve foot tall and bullet proof.

And if you suffer back pain, the nice thing is after 15 years or so it doesn't bother you as much.

LTG : )

I got a lift table.. monkeying around with widebody pins tweaked my back once.. never again.

Im in the same boat. I'm 35 and the doctors prognosis is lower back arthritis. I have lost 20 pounds after gaining 30 lbs sense I turned 32ish, to help combat the back pain. I am now trying to stand up stright while playing pinball, and buying and sellin a lot less, because I just do not want to move them.

This may be something that you can reverse. I have been lifting weights for a little while now and found that when I lift too much weight, and have poor form, I can leave the gym with a tweaked back that hurts for a couple days.
I recently started doing some stuff on an exercise ball to work the lower back and it's amazing how little you have to do a few times a week. I haven't had many back pains since.

Lose weight and exercise...that'll take care of half of it. The other half is just trying to be smart about it. I'm 6'3" and 170 lbs...and play tennis/workout 3-4x/week. However, I've still thrown my back out lifting a cat litter box! So, freakish stuff can happen. You can only help prevent what you can control, and diet and exercise are things you can control. Doing a lot of core work, specifically a lot of abs and stretching, will do wonders.

Might need to put the cat on a diet also JK

mrbillishere,

Early next week is the perfect time to make a commitment to dropping a few pounds in 2013,
(say 20 to 25 lbs ??). This should help your back.

I'm 51 yrs old, 6'-1" tall, and holding my weight between 193 - 200 lbs.
I don't belong to a health club, and don't enjoy running or lifting weights,
but found some outdoor activities that to me are more fun and gets me some exercise:
* canoeing & kayaking on rivers/bayous/lakes w/ others in our local paddle club
* hiking on trails in state parks, state/natl forests w/ others in LA Hiking Club
So my point is to find some activities that you enjoy that you can get some exercise.

Definitely avoid/minimize regularly lifting things by yourself that weight over 50 to 70 lbs.
I'm trying to be less stubborn in this regard. Recently, I paid a neighbor to help me unload a pin from the truck and get it in the house instead of rambo-ing it by myself. Eventhough I have a 2-wheel dolly, it's just not worth it to risk causing a back injury or pulled muscles, etc.

Hope this helps encourage/inspire you! Happy New Year!

Mike

Well I think you helped to define the very problem.

I was on the very same track as you. Turning into a couch potato and gaining weight.

I decided enough was enough and finally got up.

I'll be turning 46 soon and I'm stronger now than I was when I was 20........and I worked out like crazy when I was 20.

Best thing I started doing was squats. If you only do one exercise do squats. They suck....but they work. Oh.....and start out light......real light. Strength will come fairly quickly to your legs so no need to push it early on.

Yeah, the problem I have found is you are bent over the pin, and your legs/knees must remain straight because the cabinet is in the way. When working on my pins, every hour or so I will go lay down on the carpet to stretch my back.

A good mattress (good for your back, not necessarily the most expensive) is a worthwhile investment imo.
Some people also believe in turning and/or flipping their mattress periodically throughout the year to avoid always sleeping in exact same spot every night.

Gets you more often than not.

I knew a friends Dad who ruptured a disc, leaning forward and up to lift a pencil off of a drafting table.

Even being careful, crap can happen.

LTG : )

Yeah, my dad was laid up for 6 months after bending over to flip a light switch. Just one of those proverbial straws.

Haa!! My back has been killing me all day.
A combination of working on my TZ and sitting in front of the monitor on Pinside.

I wake up every morning with a sore back. This is a relatively recent thing for me. The pain goes away after I loosen it up, but it returns the next morning like clockwork. I don't know if it's the hobby that has caused this, or simply the fact that I'm getting older. I recently turned 40.

If your back hurts after you wake up, then you need a new pillow and/or mattress. Tempurpedic's are awesome but expensive, but worth it IMO. You are also getting old.

Hell im only 24 and my back kills me some days. I think it's a combination of years of sports and bad lifting habbits. Then recent stuff like bending over my pins, sitting at my desk for 8 hours with bad posture, 12+ games of bowling every week, and my wifes leg across my lower back everyday when sleeping. I've started to tell her not to put her leg there. Our bed is so soft sometimes it feels like someone is trying to fold me the wrong way.

I'm 44 and my back is screwed up from racing motocross and playing football. Exercise regularly and get your core strong and avoid carrying excess weight. It will help.

Drink more Water
Stretch
Hot baths
Yoga

Drinking the water helps a great deal, lift with the knees, see a chiropractor once in awhile helps also.

Seconding the recommendations for yoga, stretching, and always drinking plenty of water. They make worlds of difference.

My back saver for removing a playfield. I'm using a HF lift table.

There were a few weekends when I flipped so many pins that my back really started hurting... all those hundreds in my wallet can really weigh you down!

Decrease weight, increase core strength. Just start with 10 sit ups every day! It is a start and that is the hardest part.

Yoga and proper stretching are good also.

Your health is one item that I am always surprised about people being penny wise and dollar foolish. Considering how much money most of us spend on our pins to not spend the money to get and use a good lift table and moving dolly seems very foolish.

Getting your pin out of a tight line up and out into an open space and getting it to an ideal height to work on will really help to reduce pain and fatigue. A thousand or two spent in quality moving tools will last a lifetime and are way cheaper than health problems.

And certainly as mentioned by previous people get your weight in check and I would worry far less about lifting weighs. Worry about slow, correctly done stretching and flexibility. Staying flexible and stretching will go a long way to prevent pain and injuries. It does not look nearly as bad ass as grunting, lifting huge weights, and having big muscles, but stretching will really help.

I've been doing this for almost as long as LTG. I had the back surgery and now I sell Escalera's. I bought one because of my back issues and its allowed me to stay in the hobby. I tell people all the time that "yes its costly but how much does back surgery cost?" It WILL help save your back.

Kitch
flipnoutpinball.com
Authorized Escalera dealer

Stretching is a good start alone, my fav stretch is a jump rope around one foot while laying on my back, cross other foot over knee and pull jump rope back, really hits the higher butt/low back muscle. Try it out

This is great advice, but easy on situps until youre stronger. But one thing often missed is strengthen your lower back. Abs are not enough, you must strengthen the back as well. And lengthen via stretching, yoga (absolutely the best thing you can do besides losing the extra pounds) etc.

Here is a little late Christmas gift to you and others: www.mobilitywod.com This guy will increase the quality of your life by leaps and bounds. You will feel 5 - 10 years younger in no time!

Check out your local CrossFit. You will meet some good people and the trainers will get you lifting the right way. I used to get bad back pain every couple of months, but core strength and good technique keep the pain away.

Kelly Sterrit is a big Cross Fit guy in the Bay Area.

I'm in pretty bad shape these days. I have a home gym with some really nice equipment, but I rarely use it. The irony is that I could probably fit another 8-10 pins in there if I got rid of all the exercise equipment.

Welcome to the club. My back was bad before this hobby. Now even with the most careful use of dollys, shifting weight, etc...I feel like Jay Cutler must feel after a game. My herniated disc takes a hell of a lot longer to recoup now and the numbness is worrying me again.

A few of us locals need to chip in on an escalera to share.

Ditto here on the travel and extra weight. The travel is starting to kill me slowly especially adding to the back. The weight, I chalk it up to training to be Santa Claus. But now that Xmas is over, ugh!

It's been said that a majority of the US population has at least one herniated or bulging disc...but not everyone experiences back pain. Besides obvious physical issues such as being overweight and not exercising or stretching you can basically chalk it up to stress. Find a way to cool yourself out and you will stop suffering so much. Then again, you can cool out all you want but if you continue trying to lift 285 lbs with bad technique or in a compromising position you're asking for it.

Temperopedic mattress is also a must for chronic pain and/or stiffness. Sell a B game and buy one. It's worth every penny and don't cheap out on a knock off.

Don't forget you're getting older

This weekend a pin finally beat me. I couldn't do it, gave up and got a friend to help. Lifting a 4 player EM backbox, a big one from a Recel. I could get it off the ground for a bit, but just couldn't summon the strength to get it all the way.

Got an empty bay in the house too, it's just such a struggle getting games in, I might just leave it that way even knowing it'll be months before anything was planned to sit in that spot, with a garage full of machines on their backs.

I started Taekwondo 5 years ago with my 8 year old (I was 44 then) It hurt like hell at first until I firmed abbs and got into a stretching routine. Also do yoga with my wife. Missing classes right now a s we're on break and boy am I feeling it. (Can't seem to work out at home by myself.)

Most mattresses are not flippable any longer. But yes invest in a good mattress it truly is a investment worth making. Disclaimer: I manufacture Organic Mattresses and have been a career mattress salesman for 15 years previous to opening my first store.

Back to backs and pinball machines buy a pinball dolly or a lift table (much prefer the penguin pinball dolly). I almost killed myself the first week without anything ended up with a few black in blue spots after trying to be superman and lift the pin with 1 hand and shove my saw horses underneath, lets just saying lifting a pinball machine with 1 hand is stupid add shoving something underneath and your double stupid "Hello there".

Oh and I don't know what kinda rocks they put in TZ but that sucker is heavy!!!!

Anyone who needs a dolly this is what I think may be the best. Easy to put together and has done the job well even with stock casters. Best investment I have made for the hobby, bar none.

Here's a book that's helpful for back pain and other joint pain/problems. It's helped me with a minor knee problem and a bigger back problem. It's written by a high end piano tech who developed a frozen shoulder, and learned to treat it himself.

http://www.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-Treatment/dp/1572243759/ref=sr_1_sc_1

What are your thoughts on the chemicals in memory foam mattresses? I swear by mine for support but a friend of mine swears her day's cancer relapsed because he slept on one.

The fire retardants they use is what would concern me the most. Memory foam (Tempurepedic) have a track record of a very strong chemichal odor that can sometimes last for months. It can't be healthy for you. Had a customer who bought a name brand mattress at Macy's and he got nose bleeds from it the first night sleeping on it. The moment his mattress left the house his nose bleeds went away, that would be on the extreme end but of not was he never had a nose bleed before in his whole life.

I sell mattresses that pass the fire test without the chemichals ours pass the test organic wool that singes during the test, our other main component is natural latex which feels differnent from memory foam and is extremely durable.

So to answer your question I think you both could be right but I have never heard of memory foam causing cancer but the fire retardant chemicals could be a source of health issues for your friend.

One day I hope someone will trade me a nice pin for a organic mattress but I have not broached this subject yet.

You can check out what I am doing here, I don't sell currently off the website so I see no harm linking it.
www.thenaturalmattressstore.com

But it the pinball that is causing your back problems...

I like the home page. Is that you standing in the window with three pins on the south end of the house?

Your website looks nice! Love the location too! What happened to Sausalito? . My best friend lives in one of those permanent houseboats on the Sausalito bay.

My in-laws are in Petaluma, so I know Marin/Novato well.

Sounds like a cool business, and especially excellent for NorCal.

It is a fatter version of me and those are bedframes in the window, it's actually a pic of me from inside our home San Rafael store. Glad you like the site we are small company and that website is a big improvement from our first one. Still not finished but I continue to add to it. It's a living and Willie, Sebastapol is one of our best areas for customers, certainly a ton of people wanting to live a healthier lifestyle. Besides all the natural aspects they are super comfy and a nice job perk is having a sweet bed.