I have bee n an advocate of hand splitting firewood for many years. It always brought me satisfaction to "do it myself" so to speak. A sore back and aching shoulders after hours of splitting would go away after a couple hours rest and an Advil or 2. Years go by and the pills are not giving me the same relief. I keep on hand splitting. More shoulder pain. I keep on hand splitting. The pain is not going away, so I go see the doc. He orders an MRI. You're not the same young man the doc tells me. You are in your 70's and your body can't take that constant beating even though you enjoy the work. MRI comes back with torn rotator cuffs on both shoulders. One side repairable and the other side doubtful and might require replacement. My bottom line is this. Pay attention to what your body is trying to tell you. I felt invincible! I should have been more careful and done less hand splitting or at least slowed down. You only get one body. Give yourself a workout with that ax or maul but know when to say that's enough for now. '
You got more mileage out of yours than I did. Sorry to hear you won’t be able swing the axe anymore. Enjoyment can be found in using machines too and you can cut back on the Advil.
My shoulders 'talk' to me more than any other part of my body. They've been pretty well used over the years. I don't believe I have an actual condition yet, but am working on it. I took maybe half a dozen advils this whole year for various pains/aches. I get sore but am usually ok a couple days later. Sleeping with an arm in wrong place can aggrivate my shoulders (mainly right side). Salute. I hope to be still going when I get your age and that's a couple decades off yet. I started trying to be less hard on my body in the late 2000teens.
timusp40 Based on your profile, I am right around the corner from you. Let me know if you need help. I got a splitter this fall for the very reason you are warning about.
