Back pack blower killing my shoulder

[herler]

Well stop trying to "push" the leaves with your throttle arm, it's a psychological malady that bp users develop when using the blower, people think they have to "push" the leaves with it and that causes the muscles to tense up which then results in the discomfort you speak of, try and let the blower do the work as that should help ease tension.

[yardguy28]

Originally Posted by DiyDave

I bought the stihl kombi system blower, for the weedeater. More power and less weight (and less space, and less $) than a backpack blower! Try it, you'll like it!

Originally Posted by darryl gesner

More power than a backpack blower...yeah, right.

you beat me to it darryl......

no way the blower on a kombi system has more power than a backpack blower.

maybe he can come to my house and demonstrate its power by starting at the far back of my yard and moving all those leaves to the front with just the blower.

on subject though. it sucks the OP is having problems. I for one don't have any but I'm not using the same blower.

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by DiyDave

I bought the stihl kombi system blower, for the weedeater. More power and less weight (and less space, and less $) than a backpack blower! Try it, you'll like it!

You're a great guy Dave but you've got to be kidding.

[CL&T]

Originally Posted by herler

Well stop trying to "push" the leaves with your throttle arm, it's a psychological malady that bp users develop when using the blower, people think they have to "push" the leaves with it and that causes the muscles to tense up which then results in the discomfort you speak of, try and let the blower do the work as that should help ease tension.

Thing is the problem is with my left arm and shoulder, the handle and blower pipe are on the right. If anything, supporting the blower pipe with my right hand lessens the weight on that side and my right shoulder. But yeah, I do think I have a problem with my left shoulder somehow. Been that way for years with a blower, doesn't seem to bother me though with a BP sprayer.

Thanks Darryl for that information. The 580 does have a lot more padding as well as the waist belt. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the frame would be interchangeable with the RM.

[Darryl G]

You may be able to retrofit a waist strap on your unit with the straps off an old backpack or buy a replacement one from a backpack manufacturer like Kelty. I actually have one in the garage that I used for attaching a sled to myself for cross country skiing with my kids in tow. It just attaches with clevis pins through the grommets in the strap. Or you could just go to a fabric store and get some 2 inch webbing and some fastex clips and do some sewing. I'm sure there's a solution to the problem. Even just adding a chest (sternum) strap may help to keep the straps in position and transfer some of the weight to your chest and the middle of your back.

What would probably work the best is actually a tumpline. You'd feel ridiculous wearing it but they are very effective and actually pretty comfortable. For those of you not familiar, a tumpline is basically a head strap that you attack to your pack, or in this case blower, that effectively transfers the weight from your shoulders to your back. Admittedly you'd have to be a certain type of individual to allow yourself to be seen wearing one on a customer's property.

[Bowhog1]

CL&T..Years ya say. I don't know your situation but this is mine. Pain and numbness RT & Lt shoulders/arms & hands for years...ignored it. Went to unload my truck and thought that my Rt arm broke above my bicep. MRI revealed a bone tumor in rt humorous,broken collar bone,torn bicep and rotator cuff. A bone graft / screws 2yr lost and I kept complaining about the same pains in the lt shoulder. Dr reluctantly ordered another MRI and surprise.. same injuries minus the tumor. Lost 70 % of rt arm function. Found this forum and am trying to get my lawn business started. Don't ignore pain...it will catch you .

[CL&T]

Yeah, I'll definitely mention it to the doc next time I'm there. Other than with the back pack the arm and shoulder is perfectly normal. Doc will probably say stop using the back pack. I have to say though that I have always had "boney" or something shoulders and I'm no light weight. I've never been able to throw a load of 2x4s for instance on either shoulder to carry them like everybody else.

[Kelly's Landscaping]

Use to be worse for me when I did 6-7 hours a backpack work a day. But since no one seems to know how do deal with bulk removal I jump into that and let my guys try to do the finish product with the back packs. Are they as good as I am on them hehehehe not even close but using a leaf plow and a self propelled fradan 18 hp blower is a lot more fun then a br 600 all day.

But iv managed to injure both shoulders at one time or another from backpacking and that's like game over for that season. I tripped once on a pool cover cable and landed on my back with a backpack on and it popped my left shoulder out and every so often it acts up from clean ups now so I do my best to do a variety of tasks to keep the repetition down.

[herler]

Originally Posted by CL&T

Thing is the problem is with my left arm and shoulder, the handle and blower pipe are on the right. If anything, supporting the blower pipe with my right hand lessens the weight on that side and my right shoulder. But yeah, I do think I have a problem with my left shoulder somehow. Been that way for years with a blower, doesn't seem to bother me though with a BP sprayer.

I would believe the discomfort that comes from "pushing" the leaves with the throttle hand would manifest itself in the same side shoulder as the throttle hand, I still find it strange... You know, I'm the kind I fit myself a hand held blower in my left hand just to get the job done quicker, now I'm all about that and I just work it hard so I don't even think about the pain, not sure if that's a great solution either but I got tired of it, always the stiffness, I figured heck with it lets just get it over with lol

Just trying to help, good luck with that.

[Darryl G]

Originally Posted by herler

I would believe the discomfort that comes from "pushing" the leaves with the throttle hand would manifest itself in the same side shoulder as the throttle hand, I still find it strange... You know, I'm the kind I fit myself a hand held blower in my left hand just to get the job done quicker, now I'm all about that and I just work it hard so I don't even think about the pain, not sure if that's a great solution either but I got tired of it, always the stiffness, I figured heck with it lets just get it over with lol

Just trying to help, good luck with that.

If you really want to get done faster wear 2 backpack blowers, one on your chest and one on your back or use a wheel blower at the same time as a backpack blower. I've even been known to use 2 backpack blowers and the wheel blower at the same time. Of course none of that is going to help a sore shoulder, lol. Now I'm trying to figure out a way to attach a handheld blower to my leg at the same time...I'm thinking that velcro is probably the answer...bungie cord didn't work so well.