Hi, I got in several hours of paddling on Sunday and here is my progress report on correcting lower back pain. I was planning to concentrate on correct posture, proper seat and footbrace adjustment, as well as building stomach muscle strength, instead of getting a new lighter paddle. So I had a set of little goals to accomplish yesterday, but as it turned out, everything fit in place just by adjusting the seat back on my Feathercraft ST. The seat back is a padded plate that is fixed by straps at the top whereas the bottom of the seat back is connected to a seat plate that is fixed in front by straps stretching forward. I had been putting tension on those forward straps so as a result the seat back was always angled backwards. Yesterday, I slackened the forward straps so that the seat back was pretty much upright when I was seated. This changed everything. Besides not allowing me to lean back, it also gave me lower back support when I had my torso leaned forward. Before, when I leaned forward I really only had my stomach muscles to support me and that tired me out pretty fast. One recognizable difference was that I could really push on my upper non-stroke side arm. I found I could paddle much longer and harder without discomfort to my lower back. It was really enjoyable! It has become cold here on the Pacific side of Japan and yesterday we had a clear breezy day with air temperatures between 5-10 degrees C. It was the first time I had paddled against a moderate wind strong enough to snatch at my paddle and wash waves over my bow but I was able to keep paddling strongly for a kilometer or so and had fun. I know there is probably still a lot wrong with my paddling form but being relieved of back pain is really encouraging! Thanks to everyone for your advice and help. The solution was so simple and obvious in retrospect that its a little embarrassing, but I am glad I asked for help. Thanks again! Shin / Nagoya Japan -- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:43 PDT