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pain, right side. from throwing? long-ish

updated wed 18 apr 12

 

Steve Mills on tue 17 apr 12


I found out through bitter experience that the position of the body in rela=
t=3D
ion to the wheel head, and the resulting posture adopted by the thrower can=
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ave either a beneficial or devastating effect.=3D20
There is obviously no "one size fits all" solution, but this might help.=3D=
20
I have quite a long back, and a lot of poorly monitored heavy lifting in my=
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ounger years did me no favours! In addition, if one sits hunched over the w=
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eel it can really screw you up, so the ideal is a straight back.=3D20
However when you do that, and lean into the clay using applied body weight =
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ather than muscle your butt is trying to go in the opposite direction. This=
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eans you are trying to keep your bum on the stool/seat while applying force=
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hat makes it want to go the other way, result: Ouch!
My solution with fixed seat wheels was to bolt a "Bum Stop" onto it. With t=
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e wheel I have now (Whisper VL) I have a stool with a wide footprint and an=
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ngled seat (approx. 30 degrees) which preforms the same function. Either wa=
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I throw with an almost straight back and (these days) no pain. Distance b=
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tween wheel head and seat IS crucial, and a very individual measurement!
What brought this "Eureka" moment about was throwing on a friend's wheel wh=
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re seat and head were further apart than my (then) wheel.=3D20
I had some back pain when I started, and none when I got off, honestly!

I am very aware now of how I sit and work, and make sure I suit my stance t=
o=3D
the technique employed at the time.
Also I found that Alexander Technique has been very helpful as well in sort=
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ng that out. =3D20

I think you need to deliberately "un-scrunch" when throwing, and try to fin=
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a more relaxed stance.=3D20

Steve M

Steve Mills
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk
Sent from my iPod


On 17 Apr 2012, at 14:24, Joey Jablonski wrote:

> Hi all,
>=3D20
> I'm a production wheel thrower of 18 years and for the last year and a ha=
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f I have been=3D20
> experiencing pain on my right side, mostly in front and in my side at abo=
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t belly button=3D20
> level. It's been worsening over time. I have had every test under the s=
u=3D
n and they can't=3D20
> find anything wrong. Has anyone experienced this or think it might be co=
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nected to the=3D20
> right sided crunching that most seated throwers have to do?
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> Thanks for any insights.
>=3D20
> Joey Jablonski
> Funkwarepots@yahoo.com