Osteo Biflex or a nearby imposter plenty of H2O and Aleve along with stretching and a lot of pool work.
I stretch as often as I can. I do a little when I get out of the shower, hot water loosens the muscles up. I do it when I'm watching TV sometimes, I do it before and after surfing or any exercise, I do it before any big days of surfing, I do a little on the beach before paddling out, whenever I think of it really. Start by trying to stretch with your legs straight and get to the point you can touch your toes with no problem. If you can't do that, expect back problems. Have your wife push down on your back to help you out, hold the stretches until you can't stand it anymore. No pain / no gain. You don't have any serious back issues from the sounds of it, so don't worry about injury. Stretching hurts till you do it regularly, then it will start to feel good and you won't want to go without it. It's the only thing that keeps my body loose and feeling good. That and a fat spliff and a few beers...
Took some advil last night, realllllllly did the trick. I forgot to bring some to work/take some this morning. Stupid on my part. I will go grab some at lunch, but I do feel much better today.
Advil liquid gels, osteo bi-flex (buy one get one free at Kroger) upward and downward dog if you are familiar with yoga. Btw thanks for the tip about Ross Zach. Got some quicksilver sandals for 12$.
I can't beleive how much attention this thread got...After the OP's "executive chair" and "got some ghetto in me" comments I was expecting way more ridicule. SI members must be getting soft or something.
Haha, these guys all know i'm from the streets homie. Executive chairs and stacks of money now. I grew up with the NJShredmachine. Google it. Remember, buy low, sell high.
After your bio freeze and doobie, Yoga dude. It's great for your body and many of the postures will help your balance, strength, concentration, and of course your surfing. Once a week does the trick for this 35 year old frame with tons of mileage. There, I have beaten the dead horse on the yoga topic.
I always thought it would be a good thing to stretch before going out. But as soon as I see waves, I'm out. The guyus I used to surf with did, and that gave more waves to me.
I'm the same way... God forbid I had my wife with me... She is trying to setup beach chairs and I have a strange nervous tick and a vein poking out of my head like, come on, come on!!!!! I feel the need to allow her to at least get comfortable before I sprint away and leave for hours on end.
As others have said, stretch your hammies. The good news - it's not the getting older itself, and it's not the surfing. But it is the trappings of middle age ... sit in the car to commute, sit in the executive chair, allow your hams to shorten and tighten (which by definition pulls on your lower back). Then a couple of times a week try to spring from a tensed prone position to your feet...if you DIDN"T have back problems I would be worried! Do good mornings + twisting "warrior pose" every morning. Make yourself get out of your executive chair after every task and during conf calls and do same stretch. Ditto when you pump gas. Ditto before every surf or anything athletic. I had the same issues and same lifestyle, probably worse in that I also skate for hockey (infamous for causing lardosis), and I focused on stretching my back but to no avail. It wasn't until the connection between the hamstring and lower back was pointed out to me that I started stretching my hams and got better. There is hope!
once your lower back is legitimately injured it will become your new best friend for life. However if your just strained and need some time to relax, I would suggest every time you go to the gym to exercise you do your lower back work. every time. during a perfect (non surfing week) I hit the gym 3 or 4 times and every time I do at least 2 sets of back hyper extensions. if you don't hit the gym you can expect your physical abilities to lessen as your age increases....
In addition to the hamstrings, the hips get tight from sitting and this also contributes to the back issues. Low lunges can help stretch the front (psoas), google lizard lunge (this is a much deeper stretch) as another way to target it. To stretch the outside of the hip ( piriformis and IT band), try a figure four stretch on your back or google pigeon pose (this is tougher but will really help open it up. You will notice that the back may be the place the pain manifests, even though it is other body parts that are tight or out of alignment- every thing is connected good luck Jim
Damn, thanks for the info. I am looking up what these stretches look like. Anything I can do in my office is a plus. My back does feel about 98% better now. Each non-surfing day that went by, it has felt better and better. I am still trying to catch myself every little bit from slouching in the chair and try and straighten things out so I am not straining. As far as the working out. I can go grab a few 25lb dumbells or something to mess around with, but since I bought a house last fall, I have not lived in a place with a gym. All I have is the house and I really don't have space for any equipment, or the time to justify going to a real gym and getting a membership. I will just focus on the basics at home. I have insanity and p90x and all that, so I have enough stuff that I could use at home to work on the core. At this point, it hasn't been a legit injury, so I am going to do my best in the near future to stay on a somewhat healthy diet and at LEAST stretch each day and make sure I don't further stress anything. Does anyone do anything differently while in the water to decrease the stress on the lower back. Maybe it's the way I have become accustom to paddling, the arch of my neck and the plane of my paddle. I don't think there are too many way to paddle. If I am on the longboard, I probably could start trying the "on the knees" side paddle. I to date never really do that. It could help on small days I suppose. Not sure if there is any stress put on the back if you are on your knees, but it's worth a shot I guess.
