Duane Oxley
Moon Unit
I wrote this a few years back and post it periodically, in order to help prevent a common ailment among carpet cleaners... back problems. Here it is:
If you've cleaned much carpet, especially if you've done large jobs, you've most likely felt tightness or soreness in your back.
Probably, like most carpet cleaners, you use your right hand, or your left hand, but you don’t switch. But it is important that you switch sides regularly.
If you use the same side all, or most, of the time, that side will grow stronger (in addition to in addition to being in a constant state of stress), but in the process, it will work "overtime" and reduce the amount of work the other side is doing. This results in the other side doing less work and actually growing weaker, by comparison. When this happens, you have a "muscle imbalance" and can become injured easily.
The subtle thing about imbalances is that they occur slowly, so that you don't notice them... until one day when you look in the mirror and notice that you aren't standing straight anymore. This is the result of a tilted hip and is typically accompanied by an unnaturally- curved spine. (The spine is shifted at the hip, but you attempt to remain straight, so your spine shifts to the opposite direction, resulting in a sideways curve: "scoliosis".) This condition is accompanied by soreness and stiffness, if you're lucky... compressed vertebrae and herniated discs if you're not. But... how do you prevent this?
1.)Use both sides equally when you clean. It works best if you use your weaker side more at first, until you're comfortable with it.
2.)When cleaning, be sure to stand as straight as possible. Bending over when you push the wand makes things worse by putting your back muscles in a weak position, and they can strain as a result.
3.)Keep the wand grip in front of you as much as possible when you push. If you allow the wand handle to come back past your side, the wand becomes much harder to push, since you are pushing the wand "down" (into the floor) as much as "out" (across the floor). Basically, keep the wand "trigger hand" in front of you, for the most part. Don't let it come past your belly button on the back stroke. And give the wand a little, almost unnoticeable upward "tug" with the front hand, as you begin the forward motion of each stroke, in order to make the beginning smoother. (This breaks any vacuum "lock" on the carpet and ensures that you're not pushing "down", and into the carpet, vs. pushing "across" it.)
Actually,cleaning with a scrub wand need not be so "unnatural". Look at it as if it's a form of exercise, and follow guidelines for good form.
4.)It's important to use more than just your arm motion to move the wand. Why? Because using your entire body brings larger muscle groups into play, which, in effect, gives you more available strength and leverage, and because doing so "spreads" the work over a larger number of "groups" of muscles, lessening the work any individual sub- muscle group muscle (like your shoulder, for instance...) must do. That gives you more endurance as a side- benefit as well... To do this, rotate your body slightly in the forward and backward motion of each direction of the stroke, and DON'T LOCK YOUR KNEES! Learn to relax as much as possible, as you push (and pull)the wand. (In other words, don't try to follow this advice to the letter so much that you cause tension in the process.)
Remember, balance is the key. (And I'll bet some Green Glides wouldn't hurt,either..)
If you've cleaned much carpet, especially if you've done large jobs, you've most likely felt tightness or soreness in your back.
Probably, like most carpet cleaners, you use your right hand, or your left hand, but you don’t switch. But it is important that you switch sides regularly.
If you use the same side all, or most, of the time, that side will grow stronger (in addition to in addition to being in a constant state of stress), but in the process, it will work "overtime" and reduce the amount of work the other side is doing. This results in the other side doing less work and actually growing weaker, by comparison. When this happens, you have a "muscle imbalance" and can become injured easily.
The subtle thing about imbalances is that they occur slowly, so that you don't notice them... until one day when you look in the mirror and notice that you aren't standing straight anymore. This is the result of a tilted hip and is typically accompanied by an unnaturally- curved spine. (The spine is shifted at the hip, but you attempt to remain straight, so your spine shifts to the opposite direction, resulting in a sideways curve: "scoliosis".) This condition is accompanied by soreness and stiffness, if you're lucky... compressed vertebrae and herniated discs if you're not. But... how do you prevent this?
1.)Use both sides equally when you clean. It works best if you use your weaker side more at first, until you're comfortable with it.
2.)When cleaning, be sure to stand as straight as possible. Bending over when you push the wand makes things worse by putting your back muscles in a weak position, and they can strain as a result.
3.)Keep the wand grip in front of you as much as possible when you push. If you allow the wand handle to come back past your side, the wand becomes much harder to push, since you are pushing the wand "down" (into the floor) as much as "out" (across the floor). Basically, keep the wand "trigger hand" in front of you, for the most part. Don't let it come past your belly button on the back stroke. And give the wand a little, almost unnoticeable upward "tug" with the front hand, as you begin the forward motion of each stroke, in order to make the beginning smoother. (This breaks any vacuum "lock" on the carpet and ensures that you're not pushing "down", and into the carpet, vs. pushing "across" it.)
Actually,cleaning with a scrub wand need not be so "unnatural". Look at it as if it's a form of exercise, and follow guidelines for good form.
4.)It's important to use more than just your arm motion to move the wand. Why? Because using your entire body brings larger muscle groups into play, which, in effect, gives you more available strength and leverage, and because doing so "spreads" the work over a larger number of "groups" of muscles, lessening the work any individual sub- muscle group muscle (like your shoulder, for instance...) must do. That gives you more endurance as a side- benefit as well... To do this, rotate your body slightly in the forward and backward motion of each direction of the stroke, and DON'T LOCK YOUR KNEES! Learn to relax as much as possible, as you push (and pull)the wand. (In other words, don't try to follow this advice to the letter so much that you cause tension in the process.)
Remember, balance is the key. (And I'll bet some Green Glides wouldn't hurt,either..)
