Arm problems, the ERJ and YOU
 

I'll apologize now for the corny thread title.:D

But seriously, I've been flying the ERJ for about 2 years now and have started to notice pain in my right (flying arm) wrist and elbow where I've never had pain before. I mentioned it to a captain I was flying with and he told me he had experienced a similar thing in his left arm. He said it had something to do with the angle of the ram horns and the weird stress it puts on the tendons in your arm when moving the yoke. I'm 24 and exercise regularly (tennis, swimming and regular gym workouts) so I have a hard time believing I'm starting to get "old timer" aches and pain or carpal tunnel. I'm curious, any one else out there notice anything similar or am I the only one?

2000+ hours in the ERJ and no arm pains. I don't work out regularly so maybe thats your problem.:D

I flew the EMB-120 as well as played tennis in college and yes the awkward horn yoke can apply pressures to your tendons when turning right and left which can cause them to strain. I recommend looking to a Tennis Elbow brace; it should help by relieving some of the stress when applying force to the horns.

This problem probably stems from playing tennis as it did for me. I use the brace and shortly after my elbow returned to normal.

Best of luck!

I haven't experienced any arm pain but let me take this opportunity to say, if there are any Embraer engineers reading this, that I hate that stupid ram's horns yoke, and I hate how the pivot point is different than all the rest of the transport category airliners out there.

The yoke is about as good as the rest of the cockpit's design: terrible. :p

that's nature's way of telling you that you should use the autopilot more!

Interesting that you mention the arm brace because that's what started the conversation with the captain I mentioned. Every time it was his leg, I noticed him put a compression band on his left arm so I asked him about it and he told me about the tendon thing. He said he went down to the employee clinic and told them about the pain and they gave him the brace right then and there. Made me think it must be something they know about or have dealt with in the past. I might have to look into that...

Did you notice anything in your wrist too or just in the elbow? Both problems for me started at about the same time.

Thats just it! I'm not one of those nutballs (ExperimentalAB:D) who handflys everything. I usually handfly to about 10K and then 1000-2000 on down (unless Mr. Honeywell does something goofy). So like a grand total of 10-12 minutes per flight?

well my right arm is as strong as anything, what else am I supposed to do on the overnights but keep myself "entertained":p

Just my elbow, during my Jr year of college I had a real bout with tendonitis in my right elbow and after 3 months of 4 on 3 off, 24+ leg 4 day trips with 8 leg days; my elbow started giving me real fits. So I broke out the old band (yes I looked funny but I didn’t care) and started getting back into my old rehab routine of heating and icing. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds, I just didn’t want it to get as bad as it once was. That's probably more than you need to do but I'll always have issues with my right elbow because of collegiate tennis. Personally I like the CRJ because of its yoke. I don't have the stresses that the horns gave me, plus I'm looking forward to upgrade soon so I can start using my left arm and give my right a break.

So that's why you like monkeys so much. :eek: :D :p

Better start getting accustomed to left handed once you get Captain :D

ExperimentalAB
 

Wow that's pretty bad...! :eek: :D

Im a nutball, and no pain here.

hmmm... try some light weight training with an emphasis on flexibility and range of motion for your arms. sort of like giving yourself physical therapy. maybe doing things like playing tennis might actually be aggravating your problem as well?

LoL. How can I argue that :D

Sounds like that might have something to do with it. I weight train pretty regularly but I might try spending some time focusing on my wrists and elbows with some lighter weights. I've heard thats supposed to help prevent carpal tunnel and tendinitis. Thanks for the help guys!

I'd almost rather fly from the left seat for a few months just to give the right arm a break!:D Whens that next upgrade class...hmmmm....

I thought that was the reason you kept a midget wrestler in your roll aboard... :D

I have to agree with you on this one. You will notice a lot of pain around the wrist area, that is why I keep it in the middle of the shaft while am working the controls. It makes hand flying very exciting.

I'm confused here. Are you talking about masturbating or flying the ERJ?:eek:

Because I'd been beating the meat for YEARS before I ever even knew what an ERJ was.:D

http://www.casafree.com/modules/xcga...sturbation.jpg

I thought I noticed you

ToiletDuck - that can't be Saab - not enough HAIR! :D

Least physically demanding job in the world is giving you pains. Don't know what to say. I'll ask around the female crews to see if they've noticed anything.

You're right Toilet. I'm probably a woman. Why didn't I think of that. Thank you for YET ANOTHER quality contribution:rolleyes:

What? I'm serious. I asked around and none of the men had this issue. I'll check with the women on my next leg. However, I do know that in IAH at the employee store they have a medicated pad for that. Look under "M" for maxi. I've heard it's effective.

Duck

Kit Bag?
 

Sounds like your kit bag is kickin you arsss (Too Heavy)...
GOM, 2 CFM's, 3 chart books and a water bottle should do it!
Hmmm Ca left Arm, FO right Arm Hmmmm!
Just a thought!

Back to serious replies...

Yeah, I've noticed some shoulder problems. I've had 2 months of physical therapy, with very little relief. I got an MRI a couple days ago, and am walking out the door in 15 minutes to see if I need surgery.

Damn thing hurts all the time. Worst part is, every time I come home and my two year old runs to greet me shouting "daddy!", I have to remember to lift him with my left arm, the right hurts so bad I'm afraid I'm going to drop him.

Hope the brace helps.

Wow, no kidding! From the ERJ?

Well, there's no telling if it was from the ERJ or something else. But 10 years of throwing bags on the ramp didn't hurt it. And 7 years flying other aircraft didn't hurt it. But after 6 months in the saddle of an ERJ....

Like everything else in the world it probably was a little of this and a little of that. A genetic predisposition. Too much (or too little) calcium in my diet. A god forsakenly heavy flight bag, and too many trips up and down airstairs. And lifting onto the screening belt. And trying to place it in the overhead.

Maybe the ram's horns were just the last straw.

What killed me in the ERJ was reaching back to lock the cockpit door. Doesn't bother me now in the CRJ, but hurt tremendously, very quickly, during my time at Trans States.

I hear ya. I've never had a problem after flying other airplanes with normal yokes, swimming, playing tennis and regular weight training for the last 7 years but 20 months in the ERJ and it starts acting up. I'm sure its a number of things with the ram horns being the proverbial straw that broke my arm. Good to know I'm not the only one though.

Yeah, thats a rough one too. I know some captains that don't even bother, they're just like "yeah, I can't get that thing any more, you do it". Good to know the Brazilians were so concerned with ergonomics when they designed this thing.

Basically, can I get a workout by flying the ERJ?

Haven't had any problems yet...I usually don't use the armrests though...seems more comfortable without them. BTW, be sure to check under the armrests for any "special" pictures:)

You might have irritated your ulnar nerve on the arm rests. Once that nerve gets going, it’s hard to settle down, especially if you keep doing the irritating thing. Typing on the computer, elbows on the lunch table, or even sleeping on the wrong side can cause issues with the nerves and tendons in the hands, elbows, forearms, and such.

Or you might have a nerve that slips in and out of its designated path, thus certain movements need to be avoided until things settle down, and then be wary of those movements. Some folks have to position the elbow on the rest, squirm around just a bit to make sure the nerve is not impinged, then have at it. After a few flights, they don't even think about it anymore and don't have problems.

A good sports medicine doc should be able to get the irritated part sorted out and get you on the right road to recovery.

You're telling me. I already have a screwed up left shoulder (multiple dislocations over the years requiring an ER trip, plus I still can't sleep on my left side), and reaching back there doesn't help. Not to mention, I just know one day I'm going to hurt myself by slinging my flight case over to the side of my seat. Good thing we have a sweet OJI bank. :o

After reading this thread I will never complain about the CRJ flight deck ever again. I will say when I jump seat on the 145 I often look at the crew and think "how do you guys deal with being so close to each other all day".

Well, yeah. The CRJ has six tubes. Not only is that an extra $25K, it's super cool.

wow you actually made it on the jumpseat of a 145? thats pretty rare considering they have a nasty habit of being weight restricted.

Must have been an XJT 145. Seems like we always have a jumpseater;)