Disclaimer: I understand the common answers will be: You are getting older, deal with it. You are not in the shape you were in in your early to mid 20s.... But dudes, this past week, after surfing those strong winds and hauling a plank 2 miles back up the beach in sideshore wind, My lower back has been aching. It seems to get better once I get a day off from surfing, but after another session this morning, this lower back is super tight and cramped up... It doesn't help that I spend most of my work days sitting in a leather executive chair, while displaying terrible posture and leaning forward for 7-8 hours... But man, what do yall do to ale these lower back pains. It's definitely paddle pains. Tuesday, like I said, albeit if facetious, I got like 100 waves. Now the back is paying for it... I have never had these issues really. I thrashed myself day in and day out for 10 straight years. All the compression I put on my back probably didn't help, but man, it's catching up... What do you boys do to prevent or recover from this.... And I have a pretty new mattress, but I feel like that doesn't help my cause either. I stay waking up with a stiff neck and stuff.
How's your posture? Believe it or not, a small brace and a nice pair of orthopedics will really make a huge difference. Avoid flip flops for a bit.
I get a tight lower back when I get lots of water time. What helps me is this: Take Aleve, soak in a epsom salt bath, stretch really good, especially laying on your side with your leg / knee bent and pulled all the way to the side and toward your stomach / chest with your torso and head facing the other direction, alternate laying on both sides doing this. Also, stretching your hamstrings is really good at helping lower back pain, lots of different ways to do that, mostly common sense there. If you have someone to help you, you can have them push your legs further and have them hold in place till you can't stand it anymore. Go slow and hold your stretches for a good amount of time. None of it really cures it immediately but it will help some for sure. At least you will recover faster if you don't hurt yourself in the process.
Chinese medicine says drink lots of water. Kidneys could be in want, they reside in lower back. (It can't hurt). I do tai chi alot to keep my posture upright, and to combat the time I spend at this desk. Backstroke on flat days, that will counter some of the paddling. And fu(ing yoga. I hate yoga, but my body loves it.
i went through this and got so bad i couldnt bend over and tie my shoes .. ended up in phys therapy. the short answer is - strengthen your core and like others have said Stretch your hammys. google up some good core exercises and stretches for hamstrings/quads and your problem will be solved
1) why are you hauling a plank? 2) how nice your chair is 'executive' style. 3) idk but perhaps you're getting a little LARGE around the waist? 4) hit the pool. 5) surfing is a funny sport. other sports help you get IN SHAPE; while ours kinda doesn't (but it does) and leaves you in relatively poor physical condition - but it doesn't. funny, no?
My posture is terrible. And as soon as I get home from work I am in boardies and flip flops 7 days per week. Ugh.
Yeah, I am CONSTANTLY dehydrated. I drink beer on a somewhat regular basis at night. I always try and drink some water before bed, but when I get in the water, even after I pound 3 bottled waters before a session, I feel so dehydrated and get that gaggy feeling a lot. I have always been that way. Even when I surfed for hours, every day for years, I would always feel like I lacked hydration. I guess that is probably a huge factor. My wife does the yoga a lot. I will do some stretches every now and again.
I have a compressed disc in my lower back and things that have really helped: 1) I check my posture multiple times a day (ie: when I'm walking I think about how my posture is. They say to pretend like your a puppet and someone is pulling a string from above your head) 2) Deadlifts: I dont go heavy, I think I do 3 sets of 10 at 120-140 lbs....thats not heavy. But check your form. 3)Work your core, it does most of the work pertaining to posture. 4) Orthotics: I have heel seats in all my work shoes.
1) I got the new 9'3 a couple weeks ago. On Sunday, it was chest+ but had ridiculous side current. My friend and I leterally walked about a mile+ north of where we were posted up at on the beach, and drifted our way down. We ended up, in all honestly over a mile south of where we needed to be. There was 30MPH wind out of the north and I have to haul the 9'3 a mile back up the beach, directly into the 30 MPH north wind. It was a crippling walk. Calves burning. Biceps burning. 2) It's a nice chair, but the if you lean back at all in it, it is super loose, so it doesn't have a very good application for sitting a computer. If I put my back up against it, I can't reach the keyboard because of the lean on it. I supposed I could tighten the bottom of it. 3) I am 5'9 and in my healthiest surfing state, I was probably around 155. Honestly, over the past 1.5 years, I got up to almost 180 without even really noticing. The six pack was all the sudden gone, but I have been on a somewhat unhealthy diet for a couple month now and I am back to about 159... So, my core and such isn't as strong as it once was, because I lost a few pounds by eating poorly, rather than core strengthening... But at any rate, I am pretty close to where I need to be, and I at least have a 4 pack again... 4) Good point. I usually spend all the pool time with my 2 year old daughter. A few laps before and after would probably be a good thing. 5) Yeah, when there are waves all the time, surfing kept me in stellar shape. I mean, I couldn't gain a pound if I tried. But now that I am lucky to see waves once a week, and most of those times they are less than ideal, I really don't feel like I get a great workout surfing... Surfing used to be my excuse for everything. Why are you so happy today? Surf... Why can you eat whatever you want and not gain wait? Surfing. Why can you drink IPAs and chase it with chily dogs and not have any effects. Surfing.... blah blah blah.... Yeah, sucks bro.
I have a compressed disc in my lower back and things that have really helped: 1) I check my posture multiple times a day (ie: when I'm walking I think about how my posture is. They say to pretend like your a puppet and someone is pulling a string from above your head) 2) Deadlifts: I dont go heavy, I think I do 3 sets of 10 at 120-140 lbs....thats not heavy. But check your form. 3)Work your core, it does most of the work pertaining to posture. 4) Orthotics: I have heel seats in all my work shoes.
You do all the stretching and stuff after the surf or before or both? When I was competetive in surfing, I used to do the "yoga for surfers video" for about 10 minutes before I would go out on good days. It really helped me back able to grab the rail and have better form, since by nature I am not flexible whatsoever. I was mostly doing hands free airs just because it was uncomfortable to reach down that far and grab the rail, so doing that video for a few mnutes before hands really released a lot of the built up tension. Especially in the spine. But on the real, I can barely touch my toes with my legs straight. It's kind of ridiculous. The wife is always like, why can't you stretch like this, or put your palms flat on the ground with your legs straight. I usually reply, because your hips are different, and I have a p-enis.
A lot of good advice (except for the kettle bell suggestion). Anti inflamatoties help but I'd stay away from ibuprofin. Firm mattress only. If sleeping on your side put a pillow between your knees to release pressure while you sleep. If you can handle it sleep on your back with enough pillows to bring your knees up to 90 degrees. Again, releases pressure on low back while you sleep.swim, swim, swim!
Yeah, I tried sleeping the other night with a pillow actually under back lower back, so it was like a reverse arch. It wasn't the most comfortable way to sleep, but in that position, it felt like there was no tension in the back area.
zach jump in the yoga with wifey and work your core, that will help a lot there is no 'cure all' its hard work to improve
Yeah man you're asking for it with that combo. Mind if I ask you how much you weigh? They have ones that are more discreet, but what it's going to do is force your shoulders back. It fixes that slouch which is the cause of most back pain long term. Fix that, and you're much better off. Losing weight is going to help quite a bit. I can't stress the importance of the shoe thing. Combo that with the brace and you're going to feel 10X better. And if the day comes you're 100% wearing flippy floppies (I wear them quite a bit too), get into a pair of these Anything rider puts out is A+.
See previous comment, but i'm 5'9 and around 160 right now. I was at my healthiest, bruce lee weight at around 152-155. But that was full on six pack, surfing 7 days per week, 365 in my hay day... I did notice that slowly, over the past 2 years since I move back east, I gained weight without really knowing it. As of 2.5 months ago, I was almost 180... I don't own a scale, so the wife and I were walking through walmart, and I have a little ghetto in me, so as we walked past the scales, I just pulled one out of the box, slapped it on the ground, set it to zero and when I stepped on it, I was like WTF????? I blamed the damn machine... Took a different one out, convinced it was wrong, but no... it was me... So for the previous 2 months, I have been eating almost no carbs. No sodas. Half the time, I was just skipping breakfast, eating a minimal lunch... Basically losing weight the wrong way, but hey, like I said, I am back to 159 i think last I check and I at least have a 4 pack. Can't quite get those bottom two to show themselves, but I am still impressed with what I have done in 2 months.... With all that being said, I think putting 15-20 extra pounds on a 5'9 frame really put stress on my core area. Since age 5 or so, I had a core that felt like a brick wall. Now, although the weight isn't on there, I can tell that it's not nearly as strong as it has been in the past.... But with minimal surf around here all the time, the full time job, the wife and 2 years old daughter, and just life, I just haven't been able to find time to get active regularly. Ran a few times over the past couple months, but nothing with any kind of regularity. I have just gotten sucked into the "American" way of life. Where it's work work work, get home, have dinner with the baby and wife, read bedtime stories and all that, so before you know it, the sun has set and I am parked on the couch with a beer in hand trying to enjoy the last couple hours or the night before having to rest and repeat. It's our busy season, so I usually work 5 days one week and six the next, so by the time the weekend hits, its usually yard work and house upkeep in the morning, hit up the depot or something, then go to the beach with the family, surf if im lucky.... Its just life my dudes. Im not a care free 25 year old chasing waves every day.... I used to mock friends of mine, who slowly, or quickly got out of shape... Like, dude, WTF? How did you let that happen? Now I understand. Compared to my homies from youth, I am by far in the most tip top shape. I mean, at least I got the 4 pack going. My other friends literally look like they are on deaths door. I mean, I'm talking these dudes are pushing 100lbs more than they were in college. But at any rate, I know there is no easy solution. And like I said, every day that goes by that I don't surf, it feels better and better and better... But that is not a pattern I want to follow. I just wanted to know what you cats do when the back starts tweeking. I have just never had to deal with it... I most certainly should have taken some advil this morning. Shame on me.... And that glass of scotch before bed last night was probably not the best night cap and was a detriment to my hydration and general well being, but f' it.
