Lower Back Pain

I can't figure it out, I am in shape. I reguraly go to the chiropractor to help my back. but i still have got pain. This summer it was so bad, I went to a wakecamp and I couldnt wakeboard after the 3rd day, so i just did surfn. I cased the wake pretty hard one time, n that just did me in. My frineds say I have good posture when I ride. anyone got any ideas on what could be wrong?>

One word, "Chiropractor" go see a real Dr.
Your back is nothing to mess with. A real Dr. can tell you whats wrong and fix it. A Chiropractor is nothing more than a over paid massage therapist. I had a back problem at the beginning of last summer, had I not went and seen a Dr. when I did, it could have been permanent. 100% better now.

i second what billy said

you say that you are in shape, but howz ur stomach muscles? Do you work your abs? Your abs as well as doing daily stretches for your back are something that will help. However, that is, if you don't "actually" have some serious issues wrong with your back.

I had the same thing happen recently with my back and have been working my abs and try to stretch everyday (even if you're not wakeboarding). This has really helped a LOT..

http://www.1backpain.com/back_exercises.htm

(Message edited by hawaiianstiln on February 18, 2007)

thanks for the tips. What did the real Dr. do for you that made it better? oh yeah n does anyone know if the new body glove vest with the back belt helps?

Although there is a difference between a "real" doctor and a chiropractor, there are chiropractors around that really know their stuff. You could have some disc compression issues from casing the wake, and with xrays, both an ortho and a chiro could successfully diagnose your condition. The main difference will be that the ortho will prescribe you narcotics to alleviate your pain (which will obviously not cure you), and the chiro may recommend some active PT techniques to help with range of motion and circulation.

I'd say get a few xray screens taken and get a couple of opinions, then go whichever route for the treatment that you feel most comfortable with.

Sam, I'm in the same boat. (no pun intended) I work out 4-5x a week and only this winter has my lower back really started getting agravated. Personally I get big air heelside but have never gotten the hang of toeside. It was while trying to learn toeside and constantly casing the wake that I first really felt my back have problems. Now I'm too scared to commit to toeside jumps. I may end up being forever a heelside hero.

Keith, thanks for that link. I'll start trying those.

Last year I had a lower back pain. Just needed to work the muscles to get them caught up. That was my situation. Hope it's nothin serious for ya. Good Luck.

If you are in your late twenties/ early thirties then it could be a degenerative disk between L3 and L4 in your lumbar region of your spine. This is quite a common problem amongst people whom walk ERECT.
Yes there are some whom are still in the evolutionary process and drag their knuckles but for the most of us Homo Sapiens the L3 AND L4 inter vertebral disk will play tricks on us! this is purely due to the fact that the inter vertebral disk carries 60% of the body weight which means as time goes by the natural wear and tear of that disk will cause it to degenerate. This results in the disk "bulging" toward the spinal cord (not good) which results in the rectii muscles adjacent to the spine to go into spasm. This is what causes the tight feeling in your lower back.
In severe cases you may experience hip, groin and femoral(anterior quad) pain due to the pressure on the nerve!
My suggestion would be to visit your orthopaedic surgeon, get the necessary x-rays, mri, blood test etc. then join a gym, employ the services of a biokinetisist, train your core muscles ie transverse abdominous. It would also help if you have a pilates studio in your area, Pilates is amazing at strengthening your lowerback and core muscles.

Lastly lay off the trampoline for a while-it stuffs your back up!!

google: degenerative disc disease, herniated discs and PILATES (not PILOTS)

Sam, what kind of pain are you getting. If it is just stiffness/soreness, you probably need to do core work exercises (see above, Pilates-based core work). Work your low back, obligue and transverse abs, and your rectus abdominus.

Even though you work out, us guys - sorry, but it's true - often neglect our core region.

If you need help, go to your local YMCA. Shameless plug, I know.

Thanks for all the help. Im 18, so still young and Im actually in a core strenghtening class its helpn my back it seems, also a great way to meet chiks! Next I'll get some x-rays. I'm trying to stay away from heavy weight training.

I have been there and done that. The physical therapist at the hospital taught be more about my injury and how to put the disk back than anyone else did. An MRI is the only way to see the soft tissue damage. Good luck getting one unless you are persistant.

At the least see a PT, as they will teach you about lifting and proper ways to work out without creating pressure on your back. They taught me how to put my spine back in place which works for me.

No longer can I land in the flats repetatively and do my best to not bend at the waist when landing. Longer lines, big wakes, and the landings are smooth.

Don't laugh until you try it. I actually do yoga. You feel like a new man when you are done. Great for flexibility and balance.

Squats, Roman Chair extensions, Hanging Leg lifts and raises...I had the same issues and after a winter of doing that, no more back pain when riding.

I don't have any back problems, but I do feel muscle pain the day after hard rides. I recently added Ab exercises to my work out routine and have noticed a huge improvement on how the muscles in my stomach and back feel after rides. I hate doing them, but I believe they are necessary to avoid injury.

You could have a herniated disc. I have a herniated disk in the low back that I am getting surgery on next week after 20+ weeks of the injury not getting any better. Although a good doctor or chiro can tell from symptoms if you have a herniation, an MRI is the surefire way to tell. I'm told 90% of people can get better from a herniation without surgery, I'm just not one of them!

Ab workouts are great, but they aren't doing a lot for the other muscles in your trunk that help stabilize you. Look at the one's I mentioned here. I read them as part of a workout that Dave Williams published here. honestly, I think squats will do more to alleviate any back fatigue you might experience while riding.

I have a lot of pain in my lower back due to an accident in my teens and probably plain old abuse. As lame is it may sound, pilates and back extension work really well for me. For every ab routine, I make sure to counter it with lower back. Pilates once a week provides smooth resistance and stretching... and I don't mind being the only guy in the class! Another fixable effect is your mattress. Investing in a good one really helped me. As for chiropractors, I am sure the good ones are out there, however, mine didn't help at all.

get off the waterbed!

I have back problems also. Two thoughts: What board are you riding? A few years back boards got wide and flat, this is when I started having back pains. I also noticed they would hit really hard on the landings. Just recently board companies have been designing boards to land softer i.e. adding spines and channels on them. Think about it many of the pros have had to retire because of their back problems.

The other thing I have been toying with and wondering if anyone else is doing something like it. What about riding with a back brace on. I have one and went snowboarding without it and my back was sore the next day. Then the next time I rode I wore my back brace and I wasn't sore. I would like to try it wakeboarding and see if it helps.

Skiing made me board,
Lyle
Chrome Dome

Eric, you may be a little wrong on your thoughts about "muscles in your trunk that help stabilize you."

I know a lot of doctors (some in the family) and they have all told me that abs are a Major Support for your back. I thought the same thing you did, but the more people/doctors I talked to, the more they told me "abs abs abs". In fact, you can almost google anything about backpain or back excerises and almost all workouts for backpain will include a partial ab workout.

Anyone that has back pain ever notice when they hang over the sink to brush their teeth and it hurts their back a little? Or hang over to pick up a baby (if you have a kid) out of the crib, it hurts? You'd be amazed how much stomach muscles you are using, by doing that.

I've been surfing all my life as I was raised up in Hawaii. I had VERY strong abs from this. Now that I don't surf, I don't have as strong abs like I used too. I now am starting to get back pains all the time when and after I ride. I started working my abs again and stretching my hams and gleuts and am cured.



Here's a good reference: http://exercise.about.com/cs/abs/a/coreandposture.htm

Thanks for the reference Keith. My buddy did these things called DIALS in HS, and is havn me do them. There •••••• killer!

Lyle you have some good thoughts about being the board. I used to ride a premier 140(03) now i have a murray 138(06)

I thought goin down as slight as i did wouldnt make a difference, but the new murray is sooo narrow. I'm looking for a bigger board, sucks that I need to buy a new board in only a year. any one have any suggestions? i was gonna look into Byerly's new board!

Keith, I don't dispute what you are saying about ab work being important, but my experience was doing tons of crunchs and having pretty solid abs, yet still having back pain. Balancing the workout to include even amounts of working the lower back, glutes, and oblique muscles eliminated most of the fatigue I felt. I guess I am suggesting a full work out rather than concentrating in one area like I had been doing.

Still, the OP should get checked out by a physician to see if there is anything seriously wrong.