Does anyone get backaches while working on their quilts? Mine seems to get me right below the left shoulder. If so, what do you do for it? :?:

3 Advil..and stop for about 1/2 hour.

Go to the casinos for a few hours and play the penny slots. ;)

Take a break. Get up and walk around. Stretch.
And realize that I have probable also missed a meal because I've been sewing so long. :lol:

I get up and stretch and then I take some Naproxen. Normally I can adjust my posture and the ache goes away but if it gets really bad I need to work out the tension and I am home by myself I use my dog's tennis ball (a clean one lol) and lay on the floor with the ball on the spot that is bothering me . . normally works great :-)

I get up and stretch and then I take some Naproxen. Normally I can adjust my posture and the ache goes away but if it gets really bad I need to work out the tension and I am home by myself I use my dog's tennis ball (a clean one lol) and lay on the floor with the ball on the spot that is bothering me . . normally works great :-)

You are staying in one position for to long at a time. Get a kitchen timer and set it for one hour. When it goes off, get up and streach and move around. Or drink a big glass of water before you start quilting. You will have to get up and move!

A pitcher of Mango Mojitos get me motivated to go back to the kitchen. Not too much rum, or the seams will not be straight.

Yes, take a break and maybe take a short walk.

I try and remember to stretch while sewing. Walkng helps and about 4 aspirin when I forget.

I take a couple of Advils before I start sewing. I leave my beverage in the other room so I get up to drink it.

I will give you some professional advice since I do this for a living.

DO NOT take aleve advil (NSAID's--non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) etc on a semi-regular basis. If you read the contra-indications you will realize that use of these NSAID's even within the OTC guidelines can increase your risk of GI bleed and kidney failure. NSAID's are a major reason for dialysis and death from GI bleed--especially in people with "arthritis" who tend to take more than they realize. This can happen with no major usage or forewarning....IOW, you can take Aleve with no problems for yearsand then boom have GI bleed problems. If you are going to take NSAID's you must increase your water intake and you should eat something.

Do stretch frequently. You need to use bands etc to stretch. Also take a tennis ball and roll it up and down your back while pulling the arm across your body.

Double check all heights of tables, sewing machines hoops etc. Modify hoops etc so you are not sitting with your head hanging down.

The key to mid back pain is to sit very straight. This can mean knees down with a good arch in your lower back...this will take the stress off of your mid back. Then squeeze your shoulder blades together and push those boobies out. Your thumbs should point forward when they hang at your side if you are doing this properly. Use a Body Rite Posture aid if you have to. Do "flying" superman exercises in doorways.

Stop every ten minutes or so to pull your shoulders back and stretch. Keep an exercise ball in your sewing room and lay backwards over it, rolling back and forth. You can use the ball as a chair if you are coordinated.

If you are going to use heat, no more than 10 minutes of moist heat.

could be a muscle called the Rhomboid muscle, stretches help. I have the same problem. Physical therapist gave me exercises to do. helps to roll a hand towel and lay on the floor with it between your shoulder blades for a while, shoulder shrugs and rolls also helped.

It actually can become a knot in your back and can increase in intensity so that the pain can radiate to the front and cause chest pain.

Make sure your table isn't too high! If your have to "hunch up" your shoulders to put your hands on the machine's table, then it's too high. That's the leading cause of shoulder pains that you describe.

Get up and do something else for a while.

I broke a bone in my wrist last Aug 1st. It has not healed yet. I am in constant pain. My doc told me no nsaids (sp). Said that they would make it worse. Listen to seamstome. She is absolutely right.

Take a break and stretch and if weather allows take a walk.

I stretch my arms and roll my shoulders back a few times. It works for me.

oh goodness yes. my back today, low down mostly. and i always get tight neck and shoulder muscles. but then that happens often when not sewing. I'm just falling apart :mrgreen:
I tale Clebrexx every day. If i didn't i wouldn't be able to use my hands. sigh. and Nexxium for heart burn. if i don't i can't sleep at all. told ya. i'm getting old.

hope you are feeling better, try to get up and move around

What I did was this, and my back aches stopped. I was using a straight backed chair...so I switched to a computer chair, and raised it all the way up..I did this to keep my wire fox terriers from chewing on the handle..I was afraid they would 'drop me'. So, I noticed my back stopped hurting...tension left in the back also.
I use a 6 foot folding table for my sewing machine, and it all seems to work great so far.

I married a massage therapist. And I sit on an exercise ball like this.

http://www.healthnetwork.com.au/exer...ll-workout.asp
And I stretch - i set a timer and put it on the other side of the room.
Will find some stretches that I use and post them.

I take breaks and also keep my ironing on the other side of the room so I have to get up and walk.

chair or table not right heights can cause lots of discomfort.

You are right. I am tall so I ended up putting my cutting table and sewing table on bed risers.

GREAT ADVICE. I have many disc problems, and I do all of these, plus I have a back support form - got it from my chiropractor - that puts me in the right position in my sewing chair. I get up and walk around every 30 minutes - SET AN ALARM CLOCK OR YOU'LL FORGET! I keep a bottle of water in my sewing room, and I have a big swig of water every 30 minutes, too.

Ergonomically, I adjust my chair so I'm not bending my head forward to see where I'm sewing. I also put a piece of wood 1" high X 2" wide X the width of my sewing machine under the back of my sewing machine. This makes it MUCH easier to see where I'm sewing.

dont forget to BREATHE !!! I find myself holding my breath or not beathing deeply and relaxing ....... I have the Rhomboid muscle problem, and I use dumbells and exercises to strengthen muscles.... stretching and muscle cream helps too !!

The sewing machine should be at a level you would type at comfortably - no higher. Try bringing the sewing machine closer to you - the needle should be in line with your center. A friend told me it was because I pull the fabric through with my left arm - let the machine do the pulling for you, your left hand should stay in front of the machine, not behind it.

I try to get up every once in awhile to stretch, walk a little, take some Tylenol.

Exercise every 1/2 hour. Stand up, put your hands on your butt and bend back 10 x. Really helps. Keep some Bengay handy. Exercise your hand too, stretches.

I had sandwiched a quilt on the floor and developed a baker's cyst on my left knee. I had an excerise ball that I rolled on during the day and always before bedtime. One evening I couldn't get all the kinks out so decided to lay on my back on the ball. Oh it felt so good until I thought of how I was going to get off with the bad knee. Oh well I'll just roll to the right and slide to the floor. Wrong! the ball decided to dump me and on my way down I heard some cracks. When I woke up, I tried moving some of my body parts and everything seemed fine. When I tried getting up the pain was excruciating. After several x-rays, I had 2 fractured ribs and the all the cartilage on my right side was torn. It took 2 months to heal. So if you use an excerise ball, be very careful!

Makes me think about a story a patient told me. I always ask if they read the directions and instructions....90% do not. And this patient had not. She used a ball as a chair on hardwood in stocking feet...okay, not recommended. Then as she was working, she decided to balance with one leg off the floor and her arms to the side when she was printing reports, then alternate legs...okay, not particularly a good idea in stocking feet. Then she got the bright idea that if that was good then balancing with both legs off the floor and both arms out to the side would be better.....NOT a good idea at all. One fractured tailbone and a compressed disc.

I always get lower back pain. Like right now - I've been sewing most of the evening. But I did get up and walk around and took time for dinner. I can't stand up straight. I think I tend to lean in to the machine to see. I think I need better lighting. Off to chiropractor in am.

Trust me. Every 1/2 hour stand up & stretch back. It really helps. Pay attention to your chair & cushion. Feel better!

i do after a while of sitting for along time , my sewing room is upstairs so i leave my drink , snacks and cig downstairs that way i have to get up and walk to get one and after i walk back up the 14 steps getting to move around (yes 14 i count them everytime)

Seamstome, can you tell me more about the Body Rite Posture Aid? Thanks so much. Sarah in Northern CA

as others ,take a break, lie flatish , take deep breaths listen to quiet music and ONLY if required take 1/2 mg of diazepam to release tension. DID ALL THIS TODAY!!

http://www.amazon.com/MAG-EYES-Body-.../dp/B000YZ5V14

It is an aid to help you sit up straight.

I suffer with a bad back but this chap usually sorts me out!!!

This is my second favorite passtime.