My back has been bothering me in the past, but for the second time this year it's really being a huge pain (in the ...). Especially minor movements/twists are painful. Not being able to turn around in bed type of pain.
Both times it occurred more or less without a warning or direct cause, but after about 1,5 or 2 weeks with little (surf related) exercise.
was trying to find underlying cause and was wondering if imperfect stature/technique winging (switch stance?), could be causing the problems. Anyone the same experience?
Nope.
Most of the sessions I have about 1,5 to 2 hours watertime. That's manageable without a harness.Majority of sessions is in waves. soft handle wings.
Select to expand quoteI also had back pain which was mostly muscle.
I tried some different windwings and what has worked is windwings where the draft is further back in the canopy.
As a result when toe side I do not need to twist my body as much and overall foiling is more comfortable.
Extended periods of toeside riding can make my low back get a little irritable and tight for sure. Winging involves a fair bit of resisting trunk rotation in a relatively static position. Adding in resisted counter rotation exercises (cable machine, etc) is super helpful in the gym as a prehab/remedial/ preventative exercise for winging-related back pain. Foundation training, as recommended above, is great too. Check out "12 minute Foundation Training" on Youtube. Go see a health care practitioner for an actual assessment in the mean time to ferret out the underlying cause of your back issue. "Ask your doctor if winging is right for you"
To minimise discomfort, short and long term, when riding toeside, just turning the front of my foot towards the centreline of the board around 30mm but keeping the heel of my foot in the same place helps.
It just feels like there's less stress and is more comfortable.
Select to expand quotekersh said..
To minimise discomfort, short and long term, when riding toeside, just turning the front of my foot towards the centreline of the board around 30mm but keeping the heel of my foot in the same place helps.
It just feels like there's less stress and is more comfortable.
Or better yet learn to switch feet so you don't have to ride toeside.
It takes a while to learn and may seem almost impossible at first but after a while it just feels natural.
Select to expand quotetightlines said..kersh said..
To minimise discomfort, short and long term, when riding toeside, just turning the front of my foot towards the centreline of the board around 30mm but keeping the heel of my foot in the same place helps.
It just feels like there's less stress and is more comfortable.
Or better yet learn to switch feet so you don't have to ride toeside.
It takes a while to learn and may seem almost impossible at first but after a while it just feels natural.
I'll take your word for it! 
Select to expand quotetightlines said..kersh said..
To minimise discomfort, short and long term, when riding toeside, just turning the front of my foot towards the centreline of the board around 30mm but keeping the heel of my foot in the same place helps.
It just feels like there's less stress and is more comfortable.
Or better yet learn to switch feet so you don't have to ride toeside.
It takes a while to learn and may seem almost impossible at first but after a while it just feels natural.
Agreed, and that's what I do. But riding back out 200or 300m between waves toeside, is super easy without the need to switch.
If riding with the foot straps set the front strap so that your toes would point forward, then you can have the whole upper body almost facing forward while riding, and there would not be too much difference if you are riding in switch or not.
And when riding strapless you can easily have the toes of both feet facing forward, and then there is almost no difference.
For riding toeside - you can do some off the water exercises using TRX style suspension straps. Mimic the crossed up stance and do some strengthening exercises that work those portions of your body that feel weak.
I wing most days and have worked through a number of episodes of back soreness to the point where I am now pain free even after back to back 3hr sessions. What worked for me was 1. Getting my posture right on the water. Leaving the board flat and arching my back to get my weight outboard really made my back sore. Angling the board more to windward and keeping my torso relatively straight really helped. 2. After trying a number of wing specific harnesses i found these did not provide the support I needed for a big wing being pushed upwind hard. Bought a halo harness and that has worked really well to reduce back fatigue after long sessions. 3. Using a faster foil takes pressure off your body. I found a bigger hand wing with a smaller foil reduced load on my body and enabled me to ride longer with less strain. 4. I put the effort in to learn to swap feet and ride toeside both ways. The more asymmetrical my riding the more I felt I was loading one side of my body compared to the other.
Thanks for all the inspiration and tips.
a couple of visits to the physiotherapist (?) has relieved most of my pains, for now. Got some stretches for the last bit of rehab.
Will start with the foundation training. And, figure out if I can do some counter-rotation exercises at home. Those make sense to me.
I should improve my foot switch/swap. Biggest issue will be dealing with my preferred surf stance (regular), that means I'm riding switch coming in with southernly wind, which are most common round here.
Thanks for all the inspiration and tips.
a couple of visits to the physiotherapist (?) has relieved most of my pains, for now. Got some stretches for the last bit of rehab.
Will start with the foundation training. And, figure out if I can do some counter-rotation exercises at home. Those make sense to me.
I should improve my foot switch/swap. Biggest issue will be dealing with my preferred surf stance (regular), that means I'm riding switch coming in with southernly wind, which are most common round here.
I herniated a disc falling (fast) as a beginner. Actually it was the next day, but I'm sure it was from winging.
I find keeping your hips and lower torso in line is best. Don't do the beginner back bend where you are bent at the waist in 'poop stance' we call it in surfing. Also it keeps the wing higher off the water which is a benefit. I always ride with a harness, looking at modifying mine or getting the lightest kite harness to deal with the loads.
