About 4 days ago I was standing and my mid back slowly seized up/ spasmed- b painful - like almost vomiting pain painful at times..I can't really figure out what caused it which is worrying as I want to avoid it happening again.It seems like I've strained a deep vertical muscle in my back.
I've been trying to fihure out what caused it and all I can come up with is...I've had a few bad whiplash catapults in the last few months and had a non painful slow one the day before + I was bashing really badly in big chop ( not enough wind to get going fast enough to hang out off the board to avoid it).My harness is a 90's model Da Kine seat harness which has been great but sometimes doesn't sit tight enough or in the right spot. Been overdoing chiro exercises ?( did some afterwards and that was what caused the worst flareup).
Anyway anyone else had similar problems ( maybe from sailing ) and worked out what caused it and got around the problem? Hopefully it's a one off because if it's regular I might have to give sailing away ( or maybe big sails and trying new things..)

Thanks. I've got some fish oil tablets at the back of the cupboard , probably out of date by now but I'll use them up.Not much good to me at the moment as I have the injury but may help in future.

Zed said...
I didn't injure my back, but had tight hammys and a bit of a stiff back from rugby. Jumped onto a plane to Bali and when I got off I was in agony. Could barely walk. It felt like I'd ruptured a disk or something pretty serious. I went to hospital and xrays revealed nothing. Had sh&tloads of anti-inflammatories, tramadol & muscle relaxants and after 4 days of agony it was pretty much 100%. Spoke ot my physio back in Perth and she thinks it was just a muscle spasm. Contributory factors can be tightness/poor flexibility in the back/hammys/glutes etc

MmmI know it was a muscle spasm ( doesn't sound very painful does it..yeah right..) My partner used to be a massage therapist and he diagnosed it.He also said give sailboarding away..[}:)]
Since things have settled down a little I can feel a few deep muscles yelling out occasionally so I assume the overall back spasmed to protect them..Its been 4 days and I felt a bit better today and didn't look after myself as much so I'm now back on the painkillers.
I hope it does only take a week or so to come good. I'll have to be careful not to try and sail too early..[}:)] That will be hard..

hardie said...
Had back prbs 4 many yrs.

Strengthening core muscles helps (Physio exercises/Pilates/Yoga) , & doing lots of stretching.

Can be facet joint & disc related. So no real cure as such.

I do a lot of core strengthening exercises + strectches for my upper back problem although they are the exercises I can't do at the moment as they flare the current problem up. Hope its muscle related rather than disc.. I'm going to the chiro next week. Hopefully it will have settled enough for her to figure out what it might have been.
So do you do anything differently sailing to help your back survive?

+1 for rest and then core stabilisation excercises when recovered.

I used to have muscular spasms in my back at least once a month which would prevent me getting out of bed. I started a gym program to strengthen the core stabilisation muscles and havnt had a back spasm in 5 years.

Sue. Please, do this.

Turn off your computer and go outside. Get the 90's vintage Dakine harness and put a little gas on it. flick a match to it and watch it burn. Make sure its completely destroyed.

Now go back inside and get online. Order yourself a top of the line 2013 waist harness with a seat built in. I would not go a full waist harness if I were you as they tend to ride pretty high on chicks and you want a lower hook position for the kind of sailing you do.

My dad has an old Dakine surfseat and I used it once. It killed my back and I'm half your age.

Those old harnesses only supported the hips so your spine is getting pushed around all over the place. Its nasty.

A modern harness will come much further up your back and provide support. I have older friends who upgrade to the next model as soon as they are released. They have bad backs and say that the harness pushes the same spots their chiropractor does.. Sailing actually makes their back feel better.

I do need to get a new harness but the local shop has only kiter ones and few women friendly ones.I didn't find any comfortable ones and many of the fasteners / clips can't be undone unless you are a bloke with strong hands.Others had a large flap up the back ( designed for blokes who have flatter backs) and it stuck into me.
I might have to get Windsurfnsnow to bring a few female seat harness's up for me to try when they do a demo day as I'm not going to buy without trying one on.
The day before the back problem the harness wasn't sitting tight enough and I was a bit slack about going in and refitting it..But it has done that on me before without any problems..

i just got a brand new mystic seat harness from board crazy , comfy as ,
way better than my old one[}:)] looks like you live in the forums Sue ? 15 posts a week ?

fanatic02 said...
i just got a brand new mystic seat harness from board crazy , comfy as ,
way better than my old one[}:)] looks like you live in the forums Sue ? 15 posts a week ?

Yep when I'm stuck at home with a bad back or stuck on a portrait I 'm a forum junkie..May as well learn something or get entertained.

Hi sboardcrazy!
I have the same problem with my back and shoulders i take Vitamin B every day, before sailing i normally take a couple of Advil that reduce the inflammation.
I find out that suction cups work really good Chinese use that, you can ask your massage therapist about that. The only problem with it is you get a lot of bruises.
Hope this helps.
Dani.

Nimrod said...
There was a thread a few weeks ago where this was talked about.

I now use a mystic warrior for sailing and kiting.

I sail in a few different countries and use a lot of hire gear so I've tried out several brands.

I think mystic are making the best harness ATM

I tried to find it but can't. Anyone find that thread? I don't have much success with searches..

sboardcrazy said...

Nimrod said...
There was a thread a few weeks ago where this was talked about.

I now use a mystic warrior for sailing and kiting.

I sail in a few different countries and use a lot of hire gear so I've tried out several brands.

I think mystic are making the best harness ATM

Thats would be handy as the local shop stocks Mystic.Only problem is I tried on most of what they had and none were comfortable..[}:)]
My old harness is hard to tighten. Occasionally I can get it really tight and it feels rock solid but usually the spreader bar lifts about 2 - 4" above the harness as it's used. Is that normal? Do new seat harness's raise above the hardness or is the spreader bar locked down onto the harness/your stomach as you sail.

Sounds like you need a new harness! With a decent one the spreader bar shouldn't move much. But remember it will loosen up slightly when it gets wet, so either do it up too tight or jump in the water, get it wet then tighten.

As a Back sufferer I can sympathise...sometimes its not so much the sport but the sitting at the PC with work for long hours which causes it...if usual treatments such as physio and (trusted) chyro dont work I would recommend an MRI

A lot of back pain, particularly spasming can be caused by calcification on the spongy bit in between the disk (sort of like an old rubber thong left out in the sun)...this can build up and touch the nerve...often with referred pain in other parts of the body, e.g down the leg, ITB etc as well as at/close to the source place in the back.

In my case this was what happened in 2008...ignored it too long..even took cortisone shots to get through MTB stage races and it only made it worse...Eventually the MRI revealed the damage....not before 40% paralysis down one side of the leg....went in overnight for keyhole surgery...out walking next day...back to 85% mobility...probably 5% will never get back (aging process) but the other 10% is probably a little laziness in not doing a lot of work on the core..something I am really noticing I need to work on with Windsurfing.

beatlloydy said...
As a Back sufferer I can sympathise...sometimes its not so much the sport but the sitting at the PC with work for long hours which causes it...if usual treatments such as physio and (trusted) chyro dont work I would recommend an MRI

A lot of back pain, particularly spasming can be caused by calcification on the spongy bit in between the disk (sort of like an old rubber thong left out in the sun)...this can build up and touch the nerve...often with referred pain in other parts of the body, e.g down the leg, ITB etc as well as at/close to the source place in the back.

In my case this was what happened in 2008...ignored it too long..even took cortisone shots to get through MTB stage races and it only made it worse...Eventually the MRI revealed the damage....not before 40% paralysis down one side of the leg....went in overnight for keyhole surgery...out walking next day...back to 85% mobility...probably 5% will never get back (aging process) but the other 10% is probably a little laziness in not doing a lot of work on the core..something I am really noticing I need to work on with Windsurfing.

I was medically retired with an upper back problem ( RSI) so I'm now self employed as that's the only way I can manage it..At least the boss lets me change activities , lie upside down as needed or go sailboarding to strengthen my back..

sboardcrazy said...
Cripes! When I am going ok I think that would be good..At the moment my back is freaking out just looking at it!

That's just an example. You don't have to stretch that far, just leaning backwards helps (me). The ball is squishy and you can sit low on it and do very gentle back stretches. You don't really need a ball, I started using the arm rest of my couch at first with a pillow on it. The ball is easier and safer. You probably should seek professional advice as it may not help to stretch right now. I hate doctors as much as anyone and query Dr. Google as my first choice. :) Once you're healed though, stretching definitely helps.

Edit:
Also, I should mention that when I have back pain and stretch using the exercise ball, "I" feel instant relief. If you don't, they're probably not going to do you any good.

I may be wrong here and it does depend on your injury, but a heat pack whilst it feels good may not be the best thing for you? If you have inflammation/swelling and/or tearing of muscles etc the last thing you want is heat. You need to ice the area. But it depends what your injury is really.