About 4 days ago I was standing and my mid back slowly seized up/ spasmed- b painful - like almost vomiting pain painful at times..I can't really figure out what caused it which is worrying as I want to avoid it happening again.It seems like I've strained a deep vertical muscle in my back.
I've been trying to fihure out what caused it and all I can come up with is...I've had a few bad whiplash catapults in the last few months and had a non painful slow one the day before + I was bashing really badly in big chop ( not enough wind to get going fast enough to hang out off the board to avoid it).My harness is a 90's model Da Kine seat harness which has been great but sometimes doesn't sit tight enough or in the right spot. Been overdoing chiro exercises ?( did some afterwards and that was what caused the worst flareup).
Anyway anyone else had similar problems ( maybe from sailing ) and worked out what caused it and got around the problem? Hopefully it's a one off because if it's regular I might have to give sailing away ( or maybe big sails and trying new things..)
I have regular knee and back problems after sailing regularly. I find a daily krill oil tablet helps ease the aches.
Thanks. I've got some fish oil tablets at the back of the cupboard , probably out of date by now but I'll use them up.Not much good to me at the moment as I have the injury but may help in future.
I didn't injure my back, but had tight hammys and a bit of a stiff back from rugby. Jumped onto a plane to Bali and when I got off I was in agony. Could barely walk. It felt like I'd ruptured a disk or something pretty serious. I went to hospital and xrays revealed nothing. Had sh&tloads of anti-inflammatories, tramadol & muscle relaxants and after 4 days of agony it was pretty much 100%. Spoke ot my physio back in Perth and she thinks it was just a muscle spasm. Contributory factors can be tightness/poor flexibility in the back/hammys/glutes etc
Had back prbs 4 many yrs.
Strengthening core muscles helps (Physio exercises/Pilates/Yoga) , & doing lots of stretching.
Can be facet joint & disc related. So no real cure as such.
+1 for rest and then core stabilisation excercises when recovered.
I used to have muscular spasms in my back at least once a month which would prevent me getting out of bed. I started a gym program to strengthen the core stabilisation muscles and havnt had a back spasm in 5 years.
Rest..yes a swearword when it's blowing..[}:)]Last time I went to the chiro with shoulder problems from the whiplash injuries she warned me about continuing to sail with it.She said she used to know a young man who could have been an Australian champ tennis player but he kept playing ignoring injuries and now in his mid 20's has so much scar tissue that he can hardly play..that made me stop and think..
Sue. Please, do this.
Turn off your computer and go outside. Get the 90's vintage Dakine harness and put a little gas on it. flick a match to it and watch it burn. Make sure its completely destroyed.
Now go back inside and get online. Order yourself a top of the line 2013 waist harness with a seat built in. I would not go a full waist harness if I were you as they tend to ride pretty high on chicks and you want a lower hook position for the kind of sailing you do.
My dad has an old Dakine surfseat and I used it once. It killed my back and I'm half your age.
Those old harnesses only supported the hips so your spine is getting pushed around all over the place. Its nasty.
A modern harness will come much further up your back and provide support. I have older friends who upgrade to the next model as soon as they are released. They have bad backs and say that the harness pushes the same spots their chiropractor does.. Sailing actually makes their back feel better.
I do need to get a new harness but the local shop has only kiter ones and few women friendly ones.I didn't find any comfortable ones and many of the fasteners / clips can't be undone unless you are a bloke with strong hands.Others had a large flap up the back ( designed for blokes who have flatter backs) and it stuck into me.
I might have to get Windsurfnsnow to bring a few female seat harness's up for me to try when they do a demo day as I'm not going to buy without trying one on.
The day before the back problem the harness wasn't sitting tight enough and I was a bit slack about going in and refitting it..But it has done that on me before without any problems..
I looked up a few seat harness's on the internet - Da Kine. Is there a problem buying a kiter one? I think finding a womans sailboard seat harness will be pretty difficult these days as there aren't many female sailors around..
i just got a brand new mystic seat harness from board crazy , comfy as ,
way better than my old one[}:)] looks like you live in the forums Sue ? 15 posts a week ? 
There was a thread a few weeks ago where this was talked about.
I now use a mystic warrior for sailing and kiting.
I sail in a few different countries and use a lot of hire gear so I've tried out several brands.
I think mystic are making the best harness ATM
Hi sboardcrazy!
I have the same problem with my back and shoulders i take Vitamin B every day, before sailing i normally take a couple of Advil that reduce the inflammation.
I find out that suction cups work really good Chinese use that, you can ask your massage therapist about that. The only problem with it is you get a lot of bruises.
Hope this helps.
Dani.
Suffered back pain for years .. tried all the hippe sh!t. Suction cups, magnetism.. physio massages .. etc.. found it all to be absolute crap ... The physio cyro guy was telling me all this rubbish. I can feel the problem its muscular ... It will take a few sessions to fix . Come back next week ... Anyway . finally Got a mrI . And it was a kidney full off stones causing all the pain ... Fixed now .. lesson is don t waste money & time on hippes .. see a real doctor
I wouldn't buy a harness seat or waist, on-line, without trying it first.
It's too personal an item.
As a Back sufferer I can sympathise...sometimes its not so much the sport but the sitting at the PC with work for long hours which causes it...if usual treatments such as physio and (trusted) chyro dont work I would recommend an MRI
A lot of back pain, particularly spasming can be caused by calcification on the spongy bit in between the disk (sort of like an old rubber thong left out in the sun)...this can build up and touch the nerve...often with referred pain in other parts of the body, e.g down the leg, ITB etc as well as at/close to the source place in the back.
In my case this was what happened in 2008...ignored it too long..even took cortisone shots to get through MTB stage races and it only made it worse...Eventually the MRI revealed the damage....not before 40% paralysis down one side of the leg....went in overnight for keyhole surgery...out walking next day...back to 85% mobility...probably 5% will never get back (aging process) but the other 10% is probably a little laziness in not doing a lot of work on the core..something I am really noticing I need to work on with Windsurfing.
I've developed back issues since I started mountain biking and windsurfing. I spent most of my life (it seems) in front of a computer, so I constantly lean forward. I've pulled my back out years ago bad for the first time and it took me months to recover. The one thing that really helped me is an exercise ball. Basic back stretches are like miracles to me.
A few weeks ago I pulled my back out downhauling the sail with the wrong leg. I was too lazy to flip the sail over on the right side and decided to do it with my left leg. I felt/heard multiple pops in my lower back and I knew it was game over. Packed up and went home. The pain didn't really kick in until I woke up the next morning. I literally had to CRAWL out of bed to turn the alarm off. I got up and after about an hour got on the exercise ball. I was able to walk around easily that evening and was healed within a week. Fastest time ever. Works miracles for me; might not work for you.
This is basically what I do with it.
.
I may be wrong here and it does depend on your injury, but a heat pack whilst it feels good may not be the best thing for you? If you have inflammation/swelling and/or tearing of muscles etc the last thing you want is heat. You need to ice the area. But it depends what your injury is really.
