With your busy work and life schedules, weekends are the only time to squeeze in some DIY projects or catch up on house repairs. Although that’s great, sometimes accidents happen and you get injured, especially if you’re not very familiar or skilled with the work you’re attempting to do. But don’t worry, here are some tips that will help you get through it safely.
Cuts
This is the most common injury people get when doing any DIY project. But why deal with them every time when you can actually keep your hands cut-free? To do this, wear work gloves whenever possible so that even when you accidentally cut or slice, your hands won’t be the victim but your gloves. It also helps that you try to cut away from your body every time.
Overexertion
Sometimes, because you want to finish the work you try to force yourself to continue working even when you’re already tired. Injuries like slipped or even ruptured discs, overstretched ligaments, nasty muscle cramps and more can be the result of taking on a little too much, but preparation and common sense can go a long way towards preventing such things. So if you know you’d be in a certain position for a long time, stretch really well or take short breaks. On the other hand, if it’s plain obvious that you won’t be able to complete that project, just work until a certain part is done and then just continue it the next day or next weekend. If, however, you already got injured, don’t attempt to ignore it. Stop right away and seek chiropractic care.
There are accidents where all your injuries are apparent and there are those where you look fine but the symptoms start materializing days or weeks after. No matter which end of the spectrum you belong, as long as you’ve had an accident recently, it’s important that you consult a chiropractor even after you’ve been through an MD. This because chiropractors can detect changes in the alignment of your spine which is often overlooked and lead to an injury like whiplash. This kind of injury doesn’t show any symptoms right away. Usually, patients experience pain later and then the injury becomes worse because it was left untreated.
Know How To Lift Properly
Make sure to bend your hips and knees to squat down to your load, keep it close to your body and straighten your legs to lift. Do not twist or turn when holding or lifting heavy objects. Learning how to lift and handle heavy loads can help prevent injury and avoid back pain.
Ask For Help
If you know you’ll be lifting something way too heavy do not attempt to do it on your own. There’s no point in proving you’re tough enough but end up getting injured because of it anyways. Call someone to help you with it. If there’s no one around, postpone that part until you can get help.
Place Ladders Properly
If you find yourself overstretching when working on a ladder then the fact is that it’s placed too far away a good rule of thumb to remember with ladders is the four-to-one rule; for every four feet of height you’ll be climbing, the base of the ladder should be one foot away from the wall or roof. Don’t continue working on a ladder placed too far and the risk getting injured because you’re already tired or lazy to get back down and fix it.
Slips And Falls
This happens even to the most cautious person. Even so, you’d have a better chance at avoiding this if you keep your work area clear since most of slips and falls happen when tripping on tools and clutter. If you’re scared of height, then don’t force yourself to work on a ladder because you’ll just panic and end up slipping or falling. Or even if you’re fine with heights, it would still be better to ask someone to stand at the foot of the ladder as a lookout, and to steady it if required, so wait for them to be available to do so.
If you do finish your DIY project and feel like a bit a wreck physically, don’t ignore any lingering symptoms. If pain and other symptoms don’t go away after days of rest, ice, compression and elevation, time to seek medical attention or visit your chiropractor to be properly examined and treated so that it doesn’t get worse. Aside from that, if your next project is a bit too complicated, you may wanna consider calling a professional to do the job. this way you know it will be done well and one time without you having to risk an injury.