Surviving Hurricane Irene…physically

This downgraded tropical storm did a lot of damage on the East coast, not necessarily from high winds, but from all the water in addition to an already wet ground. This combination of moisture, and wind took down trees, flooded power plants and substations and downed power lines.

In Northern NJ, where we are, there were closed roads, power outages which by today have been markedly reduced from last Sunday and Monday.

For those who lost power during the storm, and found their basements flooded as a result of the sump pump having no backup, the cleanup was I am sure a nightmare. In nearby Cranford, many houses were flooded out because of the nearby river cresting. For others, the storm knocked out the power, and the sump pumps did not pump. This flooded many basements. Many of those people found themselves pulling up wet carpets, throwing out furnishings and assessing the damage.

The problem is that everything they moved is wet. Wet things are much heavier than when they were dry and many people are realizing after they finished moving all the wet stuff that they were sore. They noticed their shoulders were sore, hips and legs were sore and some are noticing as they days wear on, they are not only sore but are in pain in their back and neck. The urge to chalk it up to stress is strong, since this is quite stressful. The hard reality is that if you had problems that were minimal before loading up your legs and back, you are likely feeling the effects as the days pass by.

The solution is to call the office and schedule an appointment, to have it evaluated by your chiropractor. Most chiropractors see this as a routine visit and can usually get you out of pain relatively quickly. The longer you wait, the worse and more expensive the problem becomes as the legs continue to tighten, the neck and shoulders become more sore and in the worst cases, you may find that getting out of bed in the morning is getting more difficult. The best solution is not to wait and to visit our offices today. This is especially important since we are coming upon the holiday weekend.

If you are in the midst of a large cleanup, I recommend the following:

1. Be sure to wear proper footwear when cleaning up. If you are built asymmetrically, or have flat feet and require foot orthotics, be sure to have them on, or at the very least, sandals with really good arches. This helps give you leverage for lifting and improves the way you function.

2. Test the weight of what you lift. Things that are soaked are heavier than they look. Nothing will stop a project faster than acute lower back pain. Nothing will make the problem worse than hurting your back, and then continuing to do the task that hurt it. Since cleanup crews and other businesses that do this kind of worked are stretched to the max, you may find yourself cleaning up because the ensuing mold problem and health issues from damp stuff require immediate attention.

3. For heavy objects, get help. Many people who are your friends and neighbors will help you if you ask. Just ask. The worst that can happen is that the answer is no, but you may hear yes more often than you realize.