Orlando · Guide
Storm cleanup is the heaviest lifting most people do all year
Central Florida spends part of every year either preparing for a storm or clearing up after one. Shutters, sandbags, furniture in and out, and afterwards branches, fencing and wet debris. It is the heaviest and most awkward lifting most people do all year, and it happens in a hurry, in heat, often with a deadline made of weather.
Wet debris weighs far more than it looks
A dry branch and the same branch after a storm are not the same object. Waterlogged material is heavier and the weight is unevenly distributed, so you cannot judge it by eye and you lift it the way you lifted the last one.
That mismatch, expecting one weight and getting another, is a classic way to hurt a back.
- Test the weight before you commit to the lift. A short tug tells you what you are dealing with.
- Keep it close. Distance from your body multiplies the load far more than the weight does.
- Cut it smaller. Two trips beats one, and a saw beats a hero.
The rush before and the rush after
Preparation happens against a forecast, cleanup happens against a mess. Both mean fatigue plus haste, which is where the injuries live, not in any single heavy item.
Heat and dehydration
Post storm cleanup often happens without power, in heat and humidity. You fatigue sooner, and technique goes with it. Take the break before you need it.
When it is worth talking to somebody
Aching for a few days after a cleanup is normal. Worth a conversation with a qualified provider: pain that came on suddenly during a lift, anything travelling down a leg, numbness or tingling, weakness in a leg or foot, or any loss of bladder or bowel control, which needs urgent care.
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