Pain in the hands..what to do???

[gimmeagig]

I've been very busy lately and I really like doing what i do, but my hands don't like it as much.It's not carpal tunnel, I's a pain in my pinkies, not one but both of them. They hurt and they pop when i make a fist. I'm new to the business and maybe it's my wand technique, maybe i use more effort than i need to, I don't know. I saw a cleaner use a 10 pound weight on the wand head itself to push it down into the carpet so he didn't have to... does anybody here do that?
I wish the handle on my wand was at a slight angle, that might make it easier for my left hand but my right one is hurting as well and I have a soft release valve on it.
I just bought the Mytee Cuff Lynx and they swivel. I'm going to have to figure out how to attach them to the wand, that might make it e little easier to handle....
What else could i do? Exercises,heat,cold,pills......
Anybody else here with the same problem?

 

[ACE]

Embrace the pain. It’s going get much worse. After a few years, every nerve in your body will scream. You will get no sympathy here because of a sprained pinkie.

 

[Shorty]

Roxy, maybe you have osteo-arthritis starting.

Even young kids are getting this medical condition.

X-rays can verify this.

Fish oils and Glucosamine also help to reduce the inflammation and soreness.

The grip handle on your wand, does that not have screws on it that allow you to set it at a comfortable working position. ??

All the wands I have ever owned, I have been able to adjust to my working position.

Hope this helps.

 

[Brian R]

Change your technique or change your wand.

Like anything....You want to be ergonomically correct. !gotcha!

 

[Shane T]

I agree with Brian. Why do you want to apply downward pressure on the wand? Most of the time I wand with one hand and only use the other to move the wand over on the forward stroke. This requires a well tuned unit and wand. Do you have a glide? If not get one, it will greatly extend your career.

 

[Brian R]

Oh, and get a glide. shiteatinggrin

 

[floorguy]

back strain reliver goof balls...

and you shouldnt need the 2nd hand to any more then push it to the next area....

10lb weight :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Dolly Llama]

I've been very busy lately and I really like doing what i do, but my hands don't like it as much.It's not carpal tunnel, I's a pain in my pinkies, not one but both of them. They hurt and they pop when i make a fist.

Patient to doctor ;

"doctor, doctor, it hurts when i do this"

Doc;

"don't do that then"

sorry, Rox, couldn't resist..... !gotcha!

I'm new to the business and maybe it's my wand technique,

very possible .
You'd be amazed at how many veterans have terrible technique .
It's a wonder their backs ain't jack'd after just a few years .

Find a way to wand in a "natural" body postilion.
learn to wand from "both" sides (left and right handed)

I saw a cleaner use a 10 pound weight on the wand head itself to push it down into the carpet so he didn't have to... does anybody here do that?

no thanks, not me

I wish the handle on my wand was at a slight angle,

what kind of wand do you have?
I don't know of many that can't be adjusted up/down, left/right

Anybody else here with the same problem?

there are many problems associated with repetitive motion jobs.
Anyone that's danced with Wanda for years has some or all.
Joints wear, tendons can become inflamed, hands/fingers go numb in the middle of the night and arthritis will be a fact of life as you age .

For me personally, it's my shoulders that suffer the most

i don't know if there's any way to prevent all the ailments that come with physical repetitive motion jobs (regardless of the type job)

Eat right, sleep right , stretching/warm up, good working posture, learning to wand left and right handed will all help, but nothing will prevent years of wear and tear .
Your body is just an extension of the machine doing a task .
and just like machines, preventive maintenance can prolong it's useful life...but it still wears out eventually



BTW the name "Roxy"...are you a dude or dudette??



..L.T.A.

 

[Dolly Llama]

You will get no sympathy here because of a sprained pinkie.

:shock:




be glad we're not stacking bags of cement on a pallet all day.
You know, someone's gotta do it.....


..l.T.A.

 

[gimmeagig]

BTW the name "Roxy"...are you a dude or dudette??

If you saw me you would probably be very disappointed (I'm guessing here), I'm a middle aged, slightly balding guy( no potbelly yet) who used to be a musician( well,technically I still am) I got the nick name in Germany where I grew up, because I liked the band Roxy Music. so much at the time.Nobody there knew that only girls and dogs have that name (or maybe they did) anyway, it stuck.
It actually helps me in the business.I thought I might have to even cut my hair off because i live in a really conservative part of the country but people remember me for being different and from hanging around here I've learned enough where people are very happy with my work too.

 

[sam miller]

Spend time vacuuming prespraying scrubbing then rinsing the carpet, If You do it for any length of time try to get a wand were you stand more upright and less using Your back I turn all my Handles to face my left hand and Pull it up higher so I dont bend over.

Get a glide on the end of Your wand greenglides make glides for all kinds of wands that will help!

Still Your going to feel it in your hands were you make a fist and sometimes your fingers will lock up.

thats normal

 

[Brian R]

I hear Art has some meds that will fix you up. shiteatinggrin

 

[gimmeagig]

Hey Clayton, you described it right. When I make a fist, my fingers will lock up, that's it.Especially my pinkies. It worries me because I play bass and I need those fingers to work.I do have a glide and I will shift the handle to my left, that makes sense. I just wish there was some kind of handle setup where you could change the angle of the grip in relation to the tube. I have limited metal working skills but maybe I can find a way to make the setup I have in mind from parts that they have at the hardware store, or a bike store.
So when you extract do you not put any pressure onto the wand head? I always press down on the forward stroke a bit to make sure I have good contact, then I lighten up on the return stroke. The cleaner I know who uses a weight on the wand says he doesn't have to apply any pressure because of the weight. I tried his setup, I can't say I liked it.

 

[Able 1]

Hey Clayton, you described it right. When I make a fist, my fingers will lock up, that's it.Especially my pinkies. It worries me because I play bass and I need those fingers to work.I do have a glide and I will shift the handle to my left, that makes sense. I just wish there was some kind of handle setup where you could change the angle of the grip in relation to the tube. I have limited metal working skills but maybe I can find a way to make the setup I have in mind from parts that they have at the hardware store, or a bike store.
So when you extract do you not put any pressure onto the wand head? I always press down on the forward stroke a bit to make sure I have good contact, then I lighten up on the return stroke. The cleaner I know who uses a weight on the wand says he doesn't have to apply any pressure because of the weight. I tried his setup, I can't say I liked it.

It's called trigger finger.. You can have it fixed, I had my middle finger lock up on me for a couple years just had it fixed last year. Always go to the best Dr. in your area it's your living FCS.

 

[Jamesh921]

Rox,
You gotta stop trying to do the wand's work for it. When you press down on the wand, you increase the ability of the wand to "lock down" on the carpet, therefore reducing cfm. Reducing cfm at the carpet/wand interface reduces the ability of your equipment to recover moisture and soil.

A properly designed wand should never have pressure applied downwardly on it - unless you're scrubbing on a spot or extracting on a water damage. Then, of course, there are other wands/tools for that job.

Anyway, assuming you are right handed, you want to use your left hand to gently lift the wand head so that it glides accross the top of the carpet as you push it forward. Then, LET GO with your left hand and pull the carpet back toward you. Then, repeat.

For normal carpet cleaning, you shouldn't need to apply down pressure on the wand head or put a weight on it as you described.

Let the wand do the work by allowing it to glide across the surface of the carpet.

Pushing down on the wand head does not increase cleanability - it reduces it.

 

[Brian R]

You just have to relax a little.

And remember

h]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PbRZ5QMAs0h]

 

[gimmeagig]

Rox,
You gotta stop trying to do the wand's work for it. When you press down on the wand, you increase the ability of the wand to "lock down" on the carpet, therefore reducing cfm. Reducing cfm at the carpet/wand interface reduces the ability of your equipment to recover moisture and soil.

A properly designed wand should never have pressure applied downwardly on it - unless you're scrubbing on a spot or extracting on a water damage. Then, of course, there are other wands/tools for that job.

Anyway, assuming you are right handed, you want to use your left hand to gently lift the wand head so that it glides accross the top of the carpet as you push it forward. Then, LET GO with your left hand and pull the carpet back toward you. Then, repeat.

For normal carpet cleaning, you shouldn't need to apply down pressure on the wand head or put a weight on it as you described.

Let the wand do the work by allowing it to glide across the surface of the carpet.

Pushing down on the wand head does not increase cleanability - it reduces it.

Interesting! And I thought that by getting more of a lock onto the carpet I would be increasing the wand's ability to recover. I once saw a youtube video where a guy was cleaning and there were some negative comments left by other cleaners about the fact that the guy was not applying any pressure to the handleand seemingly just let the wand glide over the carpet by guiding it just a little and then pulling it back without even using the handle. That's why I thought I'd better put some pressure on it when I clean.
I had the weekend off and my hands still hurt and my pinkies still pop, so I'm definitely going to try to adjust my technique.
Thanks for the pointers

 

[floorguy]

if you have a porty maybe...

but yeah, if your machine is running right, and no clogs, that wand should lock down by its self..

 

[J Scott W]

Good information in several posts. I agree do not put downward pressure on the wand head. Do adjust the handle to a comfortable position.

Some additional points -
Try the new feather lite valves that require a very slight touch to open.
Relax. Don't clench your fist or grip hard on the trigger or wand.
Stand up when cleaning. Move the wand with your feet, not by bending your back forward.

 

[steve frasier]

grip the trigger with all 4 fingers and wear the carpel tunel wrist brace at night while sleeping

 

[Ron Werner]

Roxy, I was looking to see if my video showed my stance when wanding, have to look close but you can see I'm wanding relaxed, back straight, using my left hand to just move the wand over and letting the vacuum keep the wand on the floor. The handle should be moved up to almost the bend in the wand so you don't have to bend over. With a glide you can walk the wand forward and not even push with your arm and shoulder.
If you can't move your handle, could you take a picture of your wand so we can see what you're using?

c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gZ8i9768eQc]

I start using the wand at 3:17
c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cX12YXs7rkc]

 

[Heathrow]

Roxy I concur with Keith. Trigger finger (Flexor Tendonitis) causes the finger (or sometimes fingers) to lock when the hand is clenched, and then "pops" open with a bit of effort. When it first hit me I actually needed to open it out with my opposite hand to unlock it. For me the pain went away after a few months, and now it only locks during the morning before I get the blood flowing. The corrective surgery is apparently quick and easy and doesn't require being sedated, although you'll need maybe a week off the wand I've been told. They cut the tendon at the base of the finger where it meets the palm, and it's the healing/scarring of the tissue that repairs the problem. My affected finger is the one next to my pinky on my right hand, originally the pinky was affected very slightly but not anymore.

On the bright side, if you balance a peanut on your fingernail and flick the finger open, you should get it to fly at least 5 - 10 yards. Great party trick somewhat amus

 

[gimmeagig]

I currently use a prochem quad wand with a glide which I got cheap from John Watson. I like it a lot, but it is kind of heavy. I suppose since I am developing a problem here, it might be a good idea to get a lighter wand, like a titanium wand. Do you guys think that that might help alleviate some of my problems? If so which titanium wand would be a good one to have?
I an also thinking about getting a 10 foot whip hose with a swivel at the wand and another swivel at the end. Sometimes the hose itself gets wound up and creates resistance on the wand......

 

[topnotchman]

what style glide? I run a Prochem Quad, yes its heavy. I noticed with the Slot glide, it really locks down on the carpet still and makes for a long day, when I switched to hybrid glide it really helped, I'm sure a hole glide would be even better haven't tried it yet.

 

[Bob Foster]

At the end of the day soak your hands about three or four inches above your wrist in the kitchen sink in the hottest water you can stand and squeeze a tennis ball for a minute (not too hard) and then a minute of rest and do that for 5 repetitions or about 10 minutes.

 

[gimmeagig]

I don't know much about the differences whole vs slots.Mine has holes.
I used to use a 1 1/2" wand which was very easy to move around but the carpets are getting cleaner with the the quad.So I don't want to go back to my old setup.
Also another thing...
My Hydroforce sprayer requires quite a bit of effort on the trigger.I really feel it sometimes, when I spray large areas.Is there an improved replacement valve available for that ?

 

[Mikey P]

at times like these I am very proud of this board.

 

[John Watson]

Hey there Roxy. Years ago they were called scrub wands, Some still try to scrub with them. They are blithering idiots....With the modern day cleaning juces avalable to us, if you need extra ajatation bring in a175 or an ol host machine. The wand with a glide don't scrub no more... just let the weight of wand do your work for you, Work smarter not harder. Even though I hurt and ache all over I can Waltz with my Wanda all day long with no additional pain generated from that..Heck even my Helen gives my wanda a spin now and again and she has RA. ,

 

[Walt]

Lots of good suggestions above. I had a similar problem and here's what worked for me.

Get a feather touch valve on your wand.

Get more flexible hose

Joe Bristor sell a swivel that goes on the wand - it's works great.

Lose the death grip - squeezing the trigger or the wand harder doesn't make it work better. Focus on a light grip.

Ice your hands at night and take Aleve morning and night.

 

[Desk Jockey]

We had a large commercial job Tuesday and just before pulling out a sewage job calls in and we had to pull 2-guys from them. So 7-man crew was now down to 5, feeling sorry for them I volunteer my time.

We clean for a couple of hours and another water loss calls in and we lose 2-more off the crew. NO biggie the 4-of us can limp along until the guys get back from their sewage job.

ANOTHER water loss called in around noon and the sewage crew isn't coming to help us.

The 4-of us worked 8-hours to finish the project. Good thing it was low moisture, I would have never made it steaming for 8-hours.

I ran an Orbot all day and while it isn't physically demanding my hands, knees & feet are still sore today. I've been taking arthritis pain relievers for a couple of days now.

Next time I might have to bite my tongue when they need help.
:mrgreen: