Stephen Bird Wrote: << Anyway, my problem/question concerns lower back discomfort (through the hips) mostly while standing still (upright) while on land. The discomfort does not occur while paddling/sitting, but is there while lying (trying to sleep). >> Jim Fitzgerald wrote: << I recommend that you first ensure that you have no disc or alignment problems in your lower back. Secondly, consider strengthening and stretching exercises. Many paddlers ignore this preparation. Stiff and tight hamstrings often cause lower back problems. Stretching them will help you to sit up straight and have the proper alignment. >> Jed Luby adds: Few people in our relatively sedentary society find the seating position for a kayak naturally comfortable. Unless one has good lower back and abdominal musculature tone, there is a natural tendency to slouch in the seat. The slouching leads to stretching and further weakening of the lower back muscles. Overly tight hamstrings exacerbate the problem. Some manufacturers in North American have tried to accommodate these conditioning issues with seat backs that offer low back support at the expense of the ability to layback onto the back deck. The back bands supplied by some manufacturers are designed to keep your bottom from sliding off the back of the seat. To date, I know of no one that has developed a method to support the lower back without limiting mobility, nor do I believe such a support to be possible. My own back supports support my backside cheeks below my hip bones only, in other words they keep me from sliding off the seat but offer no lumbar support. This way, when I need to, I can lay on my back deck and rest for a few minutes. In a high performance kayak, the hips and kayak operate as a unit and the upper body should be able to rotate freely about the hips. The ability to maintain this mobility for long hours while seated without discomfort seems to be directly related to: Good flexibility and looseness of the Hamstrings and other hip muscles. Strong lower back, abdominal and related postural muscles. Good posture while seated in the kayak. Proper spine alignment. I suffer from a similar pain after paddling and I am the poster boy for the lack of conditioning described above. While lack of conditioning limits my ability to paddle for long hours, actively maintaining good posture minimizes the problems. As JimF said stretching is key, loosen your hamstrings, then strengthen your back and abs. If you don't have a back band, get one, but don't expect back support out of it. Best of luck, Jed *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Aug 27 2000 - 11:01:33 PDT
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