Three days in a row windfoiling, stretching lower back every day using seated pike stretch, feel good morning after third day.

But this is what I discovered, if I do NOT stretch my lower back I will slouch and it feels fine until I have a spasm. But if I stretch my lower back daily and then slouch my lower back feels uncomfortable right away so I straighten up, that is happening less and less, so I am finding I do not slouch as much or for as long.

The seated pike stretch may not be good. Was doing some power washing high up using extensions on the pressure wand and two days later (yesterday) had a minor lower back spasm as I was bending over, feels 95% better today, but when I tried a seated pike today it started to spasm again so stopped. Looked online and it was recommended by a back doctor to pull the knees up to the chest to stretch the lower back (laying on back I assume), that did not cause my back to spasm and the stretch felt good.

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Sandman1221 said..
... pull the knees up to the chest to stretch the lower back (laying on back I assume)

I like that stretch, too. I do it sitting on the floor with my back against the wall. I usually hold the position for a minute or two. I like to be warm before stretching, too.
Cheers,
sf

Hmm I had to look up the pike stretch, didn't know the term. This is it? That's definitely a position I don't want to do loaded. It may help for mobility but I don't round my lower back like that loaded.



I do occasionally tweak my lower back and do this stretch below (I guess it's called upward facing dog), followed by the stretch after, which looks to be a similar high mobility unloaded stretch. So the second one probably does similar work to that pike stretch.

I've also combined it with foam rolling, as well as rolling a tennis ball from beside the spine to outward towards the side of the hips slowly. Those stretches/rolls/releases combined with deadlifts and good mornings with a properly arched back and light weight usually resolves the issue in about a week. But, even when my back is aching windsurfing is one of those things that doesn't tend to bother it, but sitting does.







Typical proper arch that is similar to what I see in the mirror with deadlifts and good morning style movements that I do for relief with light weight:

Yeah, I made up the name seated pike for the stretch I described above, but it is like the second stretch that you show except from a seated position. Will give the Up Dog a try, thanks!

(Cobra stretch)

I think my problem is I have been using my abdominals less and less when I stand or sit, and this has put more strain on my lower back. So making a conscious effort to engage my abdominals when standing and sitting especially on a stool, and can feel the difference right away, takes the strain off my lower back.

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Sandman1221 said..
I think my problem is I have been using my abdominals less and less when I stand or sit, and this has put more strain on my lower back. So making a conscious effort to engage my abdominals when standing and sitting especially on a stool, and can feel the difference right away, takes the strain off my lower back.

And added abdominal crunches while seated or laying back on a recliner, gotta work the abs!

I see all these older guys with big guts sticking way out, and a deeply curved lower back, maybe I am trying to mimic them as I get in their age range? Only way to get that way is to relax abdominals.

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cald said..
I have a tight lower back that can spasm from time to time. I also have had a really hard time with an impinged shoulder which I have seen all manor of medical help for stopping just short of injections and surgery.

I happened across some information written by a retired ortho surgeon which basically outline that if we kept "hanging" we wouldn't have half the issues we have with out bodies caused by modern lifestyle. Basically just do a dead hang for as long as yoy can several time a day, so everything needs to be relaxed apart from your grip, in total hang time you are looking for at least a minute a day. If hanging is too tough initially just take some weight off standing and taking as little weight as you can bare to.

3 weeks in my impingement is almost gone and back never felt better, posture is better and never waking up feeling stiff in my lower back/hips like before...

Food for thought

cald, thank you for that tip about hanging!, I have had a reoccurring problem with one shoulder, could not sleep on it because of the pain, rest helped but I finally set up a bar so I could hang and first couple times I could hear some popping noises in the injured shoulder, then it stopped making noise when hanging and now my shoulder is good!, no pain. Maybe it was a little dislocated, and hanging got it back in place.

Okay, back feels good again, adding abdominal exercises when lounging in my recliner, and trying to remember to use my abdominals for good posture when walking around, that seems to be my problem, I relax my abs when walking around and then my hips rotate backward putting strain on my lower back. With abs tensioned hips rotate forward straightening lower back. Need to keep those abs tensioned for good posture while walking and sitting on a stool with no back support.

Really focusing on using abs when walking and sitting upright, can feel the difference. And removed some extra padding I put in my massage chair/recliner, since now that my back feels good I noticed lower back was irritated when laying back in the recliner. After removing some of the extra padding back feels good after laying down in it for a while.

And it looks like there may have been an underlying issue that was causing me to slouch my lower back. When my lower back felt better from the last spasm I started doing the knees to chest stretch when lying on my back, and that is when I noticed a really tight/sore muscle on the lower left side of my spine extending down to my hip. Standing straight with good lower back posture pulled on it, barely noticeable when standing, but maybe enough to affect my posture. Spent an hour slowly stretching it out, will keep stretching it every day. Thinking I may have pulled that muscle when uphauling in gusty conditions with waves.

After several stretching sessions today I an finding that I am walking with better posture without thinking about it.

But f--k, here I am lying in massage chair/recliner and left side of lower back starts to hurt again. Chair has deep channel for massage head to move up/down, already filled that in with dense foam. But channel is bordered by leather with thick padding underneath, start pressing hard on padded leather and could feel a hard edge underneath (frame surrounding channel), so when I first lay down in recliner it feels good, but after 20-30 minutes the thick 12 yr old padding compresses until left side of lower back just pushes against hard edge of frame, just enough to irritate it but not enough to feel it. So added a wider piece of dense foam so back cannot hit channel frame, and now can relax in chair for an hour and back feels good!

So rested back 1-1/2 weeks, fortunately weather cooperated, got out yesterday, was setting up and made sure to bend my knees when rigging sail (no more standing and bending over from the waist to do something on the ground) but still had 3 mini spasms, by the third one I was able to identify what I was doing that set them off, knees were bent and butt was down but lower back was curved outward as I was using my hands to adjust things on the ground, so made sure lower back was curved properly with some inward curve and no more mini spasms. Now maybe I should have stopped and not foiled, but I went out anyway and had fun. Lower back was a little sore afterwards and last night. This morning in bed did the knee to chest stretch and knees together and stretching to left/right side in bed and felt good no pain or tension. But then as I got out of bed and stood up my lower back hurt. Rubbed on the Arnica cream and 30 min. later is feeling better. Hoping lower back pain was just due to foiling after the 3 mini spasms. My lower back is training me to have proper posture, will see in the next couple of days if it clears up.

The good news is my forearms and elbows feel good, no pain, same for shoulder (do hanging stretch every day). Thinking I need to start going to the yoga classes again, did not have any of these problems then.

Check your harness and setup.

Use a tennis ball to roll your lower back over weighing down on it as much as you can right at the end of the spine

Still no matter the exercises you must identify what's causing the strain.

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Manuel7 said..
Check your harness and setup.

Use a tennis ball to roll your lower back over weighing down on it as much as you can right at the end of the spine

Still no matter the exercises you must identify what's causing the strain.

Thanks Manuel, will give the tennis ball a try, have a seat harness and foil so do not put a lot of pressure on lower back with it. But yeah, trying to figure out what is causing the issue. Most recently, it may have been from pressure washing for 1+ hrs with a 3200 psi pressure washer (takes a lot of back strength just to hold the regular spray wand) and then used a long 10' extension on the spray wand which took even more back strength to control when pointing up along a 17' high roof eve and the siding. I only use my pressure washer every couple of years, maybe I need to use back support next time 2-3 yrs from now, or hire someone!

Yesterday morning before going out foiling I had to deal with some nuisance wildlife, used my air rifle multiple times and it has a 39 lb cocking force, will have to think about how to cock it next time. Rapidly cocking it on the fly standing straight up definitely puts a lot of strain on my back, and I do not use it that often.

But the other thing is to stretch my back all the time, instead of just after getting hurt, preventative care to avoid problems.

Though the Arnica kicked in and I am pain free, do not like taking pain pills because of the potential side effects.

This thread is making me feel young, at what age are these issues appearing?

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SurferKris said..
This thread is making me feel young, at what age are these issues appearing?

between fifty and seventy,
saw a PBS program last night, said that the second most common reason for adults in the US going to a doctor is because of lower back pain.

And healthline.com describes my symptoms exactly, "back spasms --- are involuntary contractions or tensing of the muscles in the lower back." maybe the pressure washing was like heavy lifting and injuried my back muscles? (see second paragraph below).

From www.healthline.com/health/back-pain/lower-back-spasms

Back spasm feels like tight muscle contractions, and they may affect movement. They can be treated with medication, lifestyle changes, and complementary therapies. Around 13 percent of adults in the United States have chronic low back pain, making it the leading cause of disability in the United States. This can be caused by back spasms, which are involuntary contractions or tensing of the muscles in the lower back. The condition ranges from infrequent spasms with mild discomfort to chronic spasms with severe pain that makes it difficult to move. Back spasms can typically be treated effectively without surgery. Some intervention may be necessary if the pain is related to nerve problems in the spine.

Back spasms can be the result of injuries to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the back, or they can be related to more serious medical conditions. Heavy lifting is a common cause of back spasms. In addition to heavy lifting, any activity that puts excessive strain on the muscles and ligaments in the lower back can cause an injury. Sports such as football and golf can lead to back spasms because they demand that the back turn suddenly and repeatedly. Your back muscles may be more vulnerable if you have weak abdominal muscles, which help support the back. Weak or stiff muscles in the back itself can be injured more easily than muscles that are stronger and more limber.

Just a reminder, this post is about stretching your lower back!

And what is odd for me is the area that spasms in my lower back is not sore, go figure. But massaging it actually helps stop the spasms.

Been rubbing Six10 on it daily for two weeks and no problems at all now.

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Sandman1221 said..
Just a reminder, this post is about stretching your lower back!

Kinda hard to forget .

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Mark _australia said..
Been rubbing Six10 on it daily for two weeks and no problems at all now.

Make sure you give it enough time to cure before you go in the water.
You know the drill. Bathroom, fan, 6 weeks, etc, etc

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Mr Hooper said..

Mark _australia said..
Been rubbing Six10 on it daily for two weeks and no problems at all now.

Make sure you give it enough time to cure before you go in the water.
You know the drill. Bathroom, fan, 6 weeks, etc, etc

You youngsters, in my day it was chicken wire an house bleach.

We're going to get deleted

So here is what I have learned from healthline.com, do NOT stretch your lower back after a spasm while you are still in the acute phase, now they do not say what is the acute phase. My guess is the acute phase is when there is a risk of having another spasm however minor.
So yesterday morning I stretched in bed before getting up, and then it was painful to stand up straight and took acetaminophen because the pain did not go away.
This morning I just massaged my lower back in bed, even though it was not sore, and when I stood up my back was fine, no pain! But rubbed some Arnica gel on lower back all the same, because if I bent over would probably feel pain. So think I have been prolonging my lower back pain my stretching too soon, and not massaging it. Even massaging while sitting on a stool helps, and is the easiest way.