Does welding hurt your back?

[Pikachu]

I've got a very small displacement in my spine which hurts from time to time.

Will welding make this worse? I've heard there is a lot of awkward positioning in welding. Has anyone here actually had a back injury due to welding?

What about other joints? Have any of you developed arthritis or anything akin to that? Thanks in advance.

 

[Pete.]

It does if you own an Oxford oil-cooled welder

 

[Shox Dr]

I think you just about covered it. Yes

 

[Hitch]

A lot will depend on what and where you are welding, it may well do. Leaning over things one sided a lot doesn't help.
There is the other things that go hand in hand, like heavy lifting to consider also.

Knees and shoulders ache for me sometimes too.

 

[Pikachu]

Do any of you lift weights? I would imagine that would help with the heavy lifting. I lift three times a week and have no problem with dead lifts. Do you think Ill be fine in that case?

 

[brightspark]

Do any of you lift weights? I would imagine that would help with the heavy lifting. I lift three times a week and have no problem with dead lifts. Do you think Ill be fine in that case?

u dont need to lift weights if u have a hard job day in and day out its called u get used to it

 

[Welderpaul]

Two of my lads used to go weight lifting after work; they soon stopped that. I save them a fortune in gym membership.

I don't find it too bad welding on trestles but bench work for a few hours makes my back ache after a while.

 

[FranV8]

It all depends on the sort of welding, and how you set up the job/or how the job is.

Some pipework in an industrial facility will be a pain in the backside to get to, and require uncomfortable position for reasonable time periods. Welding a remvoed motor cycle silencer on your bench it's your choice how to set it up. As others have said, if you've got to move heavy items around (such as the welding machine itself, gas cylinders, work, jogs etc.) then there's the manual handling aspect. Welding under vehicles has its own challenges.

So, it's a bit of a how long is a piece of string, if you're hunched over anything for a period of time in a fairly static position you'll know about it. What is it you have in mind?

 

[migman2014]

Like anything to do with manual work its gonna take its toll. My back hurts also when I'm bench welding also hands ache like crazy. Doc said its early arthritis all to do with work. After you have experienced arc eye i don't think anything else feels so bad hey guys.

 

[Pikachu]

It all depends on the sort of welding, and how you set up the job/or how the job is.

Some pipework in an industrial facility will be a pain in the backside to get to, and require uncomfortable position for reasonable time periods. Welding a remvoed motor cycle silencer on your bench it's your choice how to set it up. As others have said, if you've got to move heavy items around (such as the welding machine itself, gas cylinders, work, jogs etc.) then there's the manual handling aspect. Welding under vehicles has its own challenges.

So, it's a bit of a how long is a piece of string, if you're hunched over anything for a period of time in a fairly static position you'll know about it. What is it you have in mind?

Hey Fran,

I'm not sure what kind of Welding I want to go into. I wonder if using a weightbelt would be beneficial in preventing injury?

A bit off topic here as well, but do welders have to travel a lot?

 

[rockweasel]

Do any of you lift weights? I would imagine that would help with the heavy lifting. I lift three times a week and have no problem with dead lifts. Do you think Ill be fine in that case?

I've been powerlifting for 30+ years. I have chronic lower back pain from a non lifting related injury. Welding -or any activity- that puts me in one position for any length of time, aggravates my back more than training. My advice: do what you want to do and don't let pain hold you back.

 

[FranV8]

Pikachu,

I've seen people use a weigh belt, or that type of support for helping in a lot of things. It is a question of how and what you have to weld, some things you'd be able to move around a bit and take breaks so the stiff back thing wouldn't be such an issue. At the end of the day though, any work activity is going to put wear and tear into our backs, there are just some activities that can be undertaken ina way that minimises this.

Travelling, depends again on the type of welder and the business they work for. Some just work out of a fixed work or fabrication shop, some do that but have to go out on site, and of course some travel the country with site work/ where the need arises. The welders I've known (in my line of work) have typically had steady work streams on medium/large industrial sites, in the man they've been at one place of work for years. I've also known those who get about over a fair size regional area.

 

[Pikachu]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will take what has been said into due consideration.

 

[BrokenBiker]

I find that if I am sat at my bench welding I can go all day long and not notice any pain or stiffness, but 5 mins on my back under a car and I can barely walk when I stand up

 

[Justme]

According to "Megan Hunt" welders get trapped nerves in the C5 area.

(was on last nights episode of Body of Proof)