Ergonomic harnesses and their benefits/negatives

[Steve Bullman]

Just curious if anyone else has any opinions on this.

 

Since the new generation of more 'ergonomic' harnesses came out a few years back, i'm talking about the likes of the treemotion/treeflex, has anyone noticed any positive or negative effects on their body?

 

I had a treemotion when it first came out...the idea of the harness(amongst other things), is that it sits lower on your hips, relieving pressure from your back. Since wearing the treemotion, I have worn all harnesses since then in the same position.

 

Now, I don't generally suffer from back pain, but recently I have been having pain build up in the lower back/hip region. I have been seeing a chiropractor about this and thankfully its far better than it was already. But the pain is most noticeable when spiking on big timber for any amount of time. I pulled my belt a little higher the other day and it did ease the pain somewhat, which has lead to this thread.

 

Interested to hear anyones thoughts on this

[darrin]

Using my Treeflex harness lower down ( on the hips) , especially when spiking .

Works much better for me. Really can feel the difference after work.

I think my worst problem is having the chainsaw always on one side.

Maybe one side of the back is stronger then the other.

[Peter]

I generally find my TM helps with back pain, if I start the day feeling a bit stiff and achy a few hours in the harness and I'm feeling a lot better.

 

I alternate the saw between both sides of the harness and branch walk either to the left or right, doing one repeated movement the same way isn't good for you.

 

Pretty sure working on spikes, especially with a heavy saw isn't too good for you either.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Hi all, I think Paulo (Baveresco) did quite a bit of work on this, or certainly the wider effects of tree work on the musculoskeletal frame, previously and had a couple of articles published.

 

Trouble is I can't readily find them

 

Cheers..

Paul

[mad matty]

Hi all personally I use the sequoia and have only ever used petzl always worn high up..

near lower back if that makes sense just never have the leg loops to tight.

that's just me

Cheers Matty

[darrin]

Anybody used a Don Blair sliding D harness, that give me problems it had high back part.

[Mark_Skyland]

I have less back pain now than in previous years before using a treeflex.

 

TBH I havent thought about this since reading this thread. But then then thats what happens with pain, all of a sudden you realise you havent been suffering!

 

Could be related but I cant guarantee that.

 

Although I did suffer quite bad at times so there is a good possibility that the treeflex did help.

[Taupotreeman]

Not sure if this is along the same lines but we received two harnesses on demo the other day. One was a Zero and the other a Camp harness. We gave them a brief trial in that we sat in them and hauled ourselves a few feet off the ground so that we were suspended. Bearing in mind both myself and my colleague use TM's we wee interested to see how the demo harnesses measure up. First up was the Zero. Wearing this was somewhat akin to having a large Anaconda wrapped around your waste and hips. The short bridge meant that the waist belt of the harness and the bridge was yanked up under the lowest ribs, squeezing the air out of your lungs. I spent five minutes in it and was out of breath when I got back on the floor.

 

The Camp was worse. All of your weight was taken on the leg loops, the main pressure point being under your thighs. No waist belt meant that your legs were pulled in tight together and again, the short bridge crushed up under your ribs. Because of the lack of waist belt and some of the other issues with the harness, to keep you upright you needed to use your core strength otherwise it was easy to flop over backwards. Constantly tensing your ab muscles to prevent flopping over backwards made the back ache along with the abs. I was still feeling my lower abs three days later and that's after only ten minutes in it.

 

Spent today swinging around in my TM and the difference is just unreal. No back ache, easy movement, no pressure points with your weight distributed around the harness.

 

 

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[Paul Jenks]

I've used a willans for about 20 years or so. (Not the same one and, no, I haven't replaced some of the parts several times).

I don't seem to be able to get used to the newer 'more ergonomic' ones. I don't like my nuts being squashed and most of them have floating D, which I also don't like.

Most of us have a dominant side. To this end, at some point our muscles get out of balance. When I used to row, Stroke/port side used to wreck my lower back and I'd have to stretch for hours after a session. Sculling wasn't so bad. Rowing bow/starboard side I could go all day without a problem. Same with climbing. Some trees, normally ivy clearing, being suspended all day is a killer. Most of the time when branches or spikes take the weight, I'm fine.

A lot of lower back pain is caused by one of your piriformis muscles being a bit tighter than the other. If this is so it pulls the sacrum out of line and gives pain just below the kidney area. Here's a link to an NHS site for stretching it. Sometimes a hard sports massage will be required.

NHS VIDEOS | Exercises for sciatica: piriformis syndrome - Health video - NHS Choices

[Dan]

I guess everyone is a bit different, I have used a TM for quite a few years and then used a Austria harness, I could hardly walk at the end of the day my hips were so sore. But some guys I work with just love the Austria.