Chest Pains

[Elliot Gabor]

I fly a "relatively" lightweight rig (steadicam pilot with a stripped down FS7 and v-mount on the bottom. In total I would say it's about 30lbs of weight that I'm carrying when you factor in the arm, vest and sled. That being said, I'm only 160lbs so 30lbs is plenty for me.

 

After a very grueling shoot I started noticing chest pains/pangs for the next couple of days. It comes and goes every 10 minutes on average...a dull shooting pain in the middle of my chest from within. This of course could be unrelated to steadicam and I'm not relying on a steadicam forum for medical advice but I just wanted to know if anyone else has heard of something like this being caused from excess vest pressure. The pilot vest is not padded in the middle chest area and can sometimes bruise the chest bone after extended use but maybe I'm wearing it too tight and is causing pressure on my lungs or heart. I probably sound like a total hypochondriac but want to see if I can rule this out or not.

 

Thanks!

[Janice Arthur]

Elliot;

 

There is no way we can know what's up with you.

 

Someone could have had a bruised chest etc but that can't guarantee that's your situation.

 

After you are checked out you can report what happened if it was a bruise but every situation is different

 

Go see a professional right away!!!

 

Janice

[Elliot Gabor]

Thanks Janice,

 

Don't get me wrong, I'll definitely be going to see a doctor but just wanted to understand if this is a common injury among operators and if I was perhaps doing something wrong. I'll report back if it's steadicam related.

[Janice Arthur]

Elliot;

 

1) no way anyone here would advise on 'chest pains'; that's a loaded question.

2) pilots hold a max 10 pound cam so 20lbs max what you were holding

3) we/you have no idea if you some hidden medical issue exists.

4) anecdotal some info says 20% of deaths occur in things like marathons and runs on people they didn't know had a concern.

5) if you're waiting days for a resolution and it hasn't happened yet you're crazy. Go to a professional right away.

6) pilot vest having a vest pad is irrelevant.

 

Good luck go to a doctor asap, please.

 

Janice

[Elliot Gabor]

Janice, I appreciate that your taking the time to respond and in a way being motherly, I really do. That being said, you aren't really listening to what I'm saying and it's portraying me as someone that would seek medical advice from a steadicam forum, and calling me "crazy", I could have done without that response. People often discuss back issue on this forum. Granted less serious, it's still discussed with the understanding that back issues could have been the cause of various other pre-existing conditions or a mixture of steadicam and having a weak back.

 

In both my posts I've said that I'm not relying on anything said in this forum to diagnose what I've experienced. If I got responses that indicated it's a common injury among steadicam operators then I would have talked about the possibility of that with my doctor. More than anything, I'm posting in order to see if perhaps I'm wearing my vest wrong, after all I wouldn't want to injure myself again.

 

You also assume in your post that I had this problem for days and haven't taken care of it. I actually don't have the pains anymore but it happened for a couple of days after my shoot. that being said, I still intend on seeing a doctor in the very near future but that's neither here no there.

 

just as a side note. I fly my rig slightly above the 10lbs specs on the stage and I have a 2.4lbs vmount on the bottom along with some additional weights. I have found that the pilot gives me the best results this way. In total with the vest, arm and everything (and I just weighed it) it's right around 26lbs.

[Janice Arthur]

Elliot;

 

I've done a quick read of your response.

 

I'm done. Yes I'm motherly and I want you to be safe, beyond that I'm done.

 

Good luck and yes I do know what you're asking.

 

Janice

 

Only peace and happiness.

[Janice Arthur]

Elliott

 

Only a quick reread of original post sounded like the were still happening

"After a very grueling shoot I started noticing chest pains/pangs for the next couple of days. It comes and goes every 10 minutes on average...a dull shooting pain in the middle of my chest from within. This of course could be unrelated to stea"

 

So yes "crazy", was a measured response to continued chest pains as I read your post.

 

Glad you're better.

Let's see who has further advise for you.

 

Good luck, as always.

Janice

[RonBaldwin]

I took it the same way Janice did and I would have said the same thing. I don't think I have heard of anyone here having chest pains from steadicam (especially one that light) but I may be, and most often am, wrong.

 

I only tried a pilot once and after schlepping a typical rig for so many years it was so light (lighter than some of my winter jackets) that I hardly knew it was there. Not sure the vest was able to be cranked tight enough to hurt my ribs. Once the problem is diagnosed maybe try loosening the vest straps?

[Victor Lazaro]

Maybe a 2 day workshop would be beneficial for you to figure out the proper use of the tool without injuring yourself further...

[brooksrobinson]

Elliot,

 

I’m certainly not a doctor but I’ve never heard of anything like your heart/chest pains being caused by wearing a rig, and certainly not one as light as the one you are lifting. I would assume that your issue was not caused by your vest, regardless of how much or how little padding there is in the chest section, or how loose or tight you are wearing it. See a doctor.

 

Ron and Janice have been operating rigs as long and as well as anyone out there so their advice is valid and well worth considering. I’m not sure what you were looking for as a reply to your question, but your tone in follow-up posts came off as a bit misguided and condescending to those taking time out of their busy schedules to give you guidance. Victor’s advice from yesterday about taking a workshop is also valid if you haven’t already done so. Though I’m quite sure your chest pain wasn’t caused by the rig, learning how to fly the rig as it was intended will prevent all kinds of future injuries, especially if you continue with this physical pursuit for any length of time or eventually move up to a bigger/heavier set-up.

 

As I mentioned above, the first thing I would do is get to a doctor. Chest pains aren’t anything to take lightly regardless of your age, and the fact that they were still happening several days after your shoot is really scary. I would think that the sooner a doctor sees you after/during an episode like you described, the easier it would be to pinpoint the issue so you knew what you were up against, and how to prevent it going forward. I would assume that the longer you wait to see a cardiologist or similar, the less likely they are to see what you were experiencing. In a profession like steadicam, your health is everything, so you can’t take it lightly. When you make your living on your feet, it can all go away with one misplaced step, so treat your body as though you were a professional athlete and get things checked out when they don’t respond the way they should.

 

Good luck, and let us know what you hear back from the doctor if appropriate; it might help someone else down the road with a similar issue.

 

Brooks Robinson

[Mark Stitzer]

I actually occasionally experience a chest pain when operating a Steadicam Scout loaded up to 15-18lbs. It has happened on several occasions and only with that vest. Like you, it is centered and sharp, though it only happens while operating for me. My best guess was that perhaps the front of the hip pad was pushing into my abdomen at a bad spot and I felt it further up somehow. My model 2 vest flying twice the weight never hurts. I've been operating for 6-7 years and have taken the workshops so I know how to fit a vest and operate. Like I said, I could only attribute it to the scout vest pressing on something differently that my body doesn't like.

I would suggest completely refitting the vest, every pad and strap, just start over and see what happens.

[Elliot Gabor]

Janice, thanks again for trying to help. I would just suggest being more careful of language you use when communicating online is all. We can forget about everything else and move on.

 

Thank you everyone for the responses. I agree with what the general consensus is that if you feel chest pains you should seek medical advice first and foremost. Even though I mostly fly a lightweight rig, I've been flying for over 5 years and thousands of hours so I know how my steadicam is supposed to feel. The reason i fly a pilot is because I mostly shoot events and require a rig that I can wear for 5+ hours without a break so even 26lbs really begins to take it's toll after a while. As Mark mentioned the pilot vest is not comfortable as bigger rigs I've flown. It might not be a design issue with the steadicam or improper form or wearing of the vest but rather an inherent reality of wearing a restrictive vest for such long periods of time in the summer heat.

[Thomas English]

Chest pains can be heart burn and you might of had an unusual diet or volume of coffee that upset your stomach on shoot days that you otherwise don't have. Thats what I would be hoping for. Lots of people get chest pains and these range from heart burn to possibly angina or mini heart attacks. Get yourself an Electrocardiogram as soon as you can and see professionals. It is only after operating Steadicam albeit a little one which is very odd.

 

Personally I would panic and see a doctor.

 

Read this article. Its good for everyone to read

 

http://www.menshealth.com/health/safeguard-your-heart

[Katerina Kallergis]

Janice, thanks again for trying to help. I would just suggest being more careful of language you use when communicating online is all. We can forget about everything else and move on.

 

Thank you everyone for the responses. I agree with what the general consensus is that if you feel chest pains you should seek medical advice first and foremost. Even though I mostly fly a lightweight rig, I've been flying for over 5 years and thousands of hours so I know how my steadicam is supposed to feel. The reason i fly a pilot is because I mostly shoot events and require a rig that I can wear for 5+ hours without a break so even 26lbs really begins to take it's toll after a while. As Mark mentioned the pilot vest is not comfortable as bigger rigs I've flown. It might not be a design issue with the steadicam or improper form or wearing of the vest but rather an inherent reality of wearing a restrictive vest for such long periods of time in the summer heat.

Janice's language was quite fine. Your responses back...not so much. Step back, cut out being defensive and take it as advice from someone that actually cares.

 

I do hope the chest pains never come back.

 

Best of luck,

Kat

[Janice Arthur]

Hi all;

 

1) I'm sorry I made Elliot have to justify his questions, he's a great guy.

2) I saw a young man keep putting off what I thought was a current problem and unwise, imprudent, and a bad idea to put off.

3) I was trying to urge him to action, but he's a smart guy and can figure out what he needs to do.

4) All this was happening as a colleague has died last week about 40 years too early so yes I was trying to keep anything bad from happening to one of our folks.

5) so thanks everyone and the issue is done and it just proves we're all a nice group.

 

Have a great year.

 

Janice