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Kiting with back injuries? How bad is your back?

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JFB
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Postby JFB » Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:37 pm

I've had my share of back problems from a bad snowboarding landing when I was in my teens, since then it has never been the same but I only feel worst when I am not active, when I am active, ie kiting and exercising I feel much better. I think exercising makes your body more in balance and your muscles more toned, thus they will releave the pressure of weak points. Keep kiting but try to exercise more often with specific exercises from a specialist or just go swiming regularly and feel the difference.

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Postby spork » Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:39 pm

kitesurfwarehouse wrote:Mattress- I use a sprung mattress , with about 8cm of memory foam on top. I again notice a big difference every time i sleep on a differnent bed.
I haven't slept on a mattress in many years. I use one of those self-inflating camping pads on a hard surface. I highly recommend it. My wife has a mattress called "The Rock". It's far too soft for my back.

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Postby Toby » Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:12 pm

a friend of mine has problems with his disk as well...he cannot ride a seat harness, needs to have a waist harness. And every t me he jumps with a kite, it is a relief for him!

I recommend going to a shop, trying all harnesses available, and hang into a bar with all your weight and see what hurts and what not. Just hanging there for a sec with a waist harness gives me pain...no problem with a seat!
But try, every back problem is different!

And: when you go out again: don't be afraid, that will hurt you even more, since you will ride with your body tensioned, and that's when things go wrong.

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Postby blowhard » Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:10 pm

Just before I started kiting Iwas recovering from a slight and a moderate disc herniation
Shooting toothache type pain in a leg size format
Very painful ,meds couldn't touch the pain.

I went to a new doc and he recommended surgery
I went to my old doc and he recommended therapy ,,first
I made and apponitment with the local thearpist,,
The Robin McKenzie method of spine therapy
6 hours later and one stretching exercise I was sleeping without meds
Anyone who is in back pain should look up this style of therapy.
It's a combination of core strenghting and disc relief
that worked for me.
I still can't do stupid stuff without some pain (heavy lifting)but am pretty much back to even

azza
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Postby azza » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:01 pm

I was told to give up football at 17 years old and never to try any sport that would risk my back being injured... it was a hell of a blow... then I found kiteboarding at 35 and I have not looked back. I am now 39.

If you are careful and take the precaution of ensuring your mid-section muscle are adequately strong, you should be able to enjoy your kiting endeavours. If you have been assessed as having a degenerative condition, you should be extra diligent with your exercise regime, and I do mean "regime", make it part of you daily life. It's hard, I know, but you life will be so much better for it. Get your loved ones in on the act, that can help, someone to do the exercises with.

As far as kiting products go, I can thoroughly recommend the current Da Kine Fusion harness. It will you give you the support you will really need in strong wind as a seat harness, and it works equally as well a waist in lighter winds. I thank one of my local dealers for that info (Cheers Choicie, you're the bro), what Da Kine don't tell you is that their Fusion harness is so damn versatile. In the seat configuration you can almost completely immobilise your back and spread the load from the kite evenly across your buttocks to lower rib region. In the waist configuration you can take the load off your rump and wear the hook higher and allow everything to twist a bit, by simply not using the leg straps and letting out the buckle near the A-hole. A bloody good piece of kit, my last one lasted 5 years and is only cosmetically ratty looking but still as solid as new.

You might even find that larger boards with rounder rails are overall gentler on your body, or that smaller boards with sharper rails are better... but that is going to depend more upon your riding style and local conditions. Don't be afraid to approach your local stores for demos, they like to sell after all. :)

Enjoy life while you can, and push on, sometimes the pain is a greatness... it's OK to feel waisted and crippled after a great session when you've had some joy. I often don't feel it until I'm driving home... and then it comes on like a ton of bricks... but I'm still often blissed from the ride.

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Postby ed257 » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:17 pm

I am over 50 and have had back problems and a knee problem for years.

Doing the right exercises is a huge help - especially: downward dog (yoga), swiss ball crunches, and swiss ball back extensions.

I have also found the exercises on Pete Egoscue's site to be very helpful. Here's the link:

http://www.egoscue.com/htdocs/index.asp

Ed

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Postby kiteingcolin » Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:15 pm

hey, i had bad back problems when i windsurfed, but kitesurfing had cured my back problem, never better for 4 years, i use a seat harness and I am as happy as a pig in muck,

but, i have just had to take 2 weeks off due to tearing a stomach muscle after over doing it on jumping, argh it hurts a lot,

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Re: Kiting with back injuries? How bad is YOUR back?

Postby lindseym » Sun Jun 13, 2021 3:27 pm

This is what cured my lower back issues.

First, a few quick stats on me:
  • 160lbs and do about 80% of my riding on my 14m Rebel
  • I live in Tampa where the wind can be "feast or famine" which means when I ride, I'm out there for long periods
  • For 11 years, I've used oversized harnesses that were intentionally loose. Yes, they rode up but I got used to it.
The issue (i think)
Due to riding overpowered so much the harness would ride up causing an overuse of lumbar muscles. In the last few my age (47) is starting to do it's thing and it's gotten worse.

The cure
I drank the hardshell cool-aid and overnight switched from an oversized, super soft harness to a small hardshell harness. The next day I rode about 5 hours and had zero back pain. Not only that, but it's been gone ever since - which is crazy because it got so bad that I thought it was chronic. Turns out, it was just too much riding with a loose harness. Yes, I tried a variety of seats and even posted a review on here of different hybrids but they simply didn't work for me.

Now, I get it. We're all coded differently and what worked for me may not work for you. However, beyond this, here are a few other things I've done that have kept me in the game and feeling great.

1) Cold therapy - It's not too comfortable and people think I am crazy, but there's something miraculous about sitting in a tub of 40 degree water for a few minutes everyday. It's fantastic for post workout / kiting soreness and has significantly reduced my asthma and allergies. For more information, check out https://www.wimhofmethod.com/ (no affiliation, just someone who has benefited). Warning - cold therapy should be approached carefully and you should progressively build (start with cold showers and go from there). I started with showers but Tampa water is too warm so I converted a chest freezer into a cold plunge (google chest freezer cold plunge and get the e-book if you are interested).

2) DAILY Yoga routine - We are what we do on a daily basis. A DAILY yoga routine will change your life. It doesn't have to be intensive and in fact, my daily routine is only about 10 minutes. Then, about 2 times per week I will do a more intensive 1 hour session. The daily routine varies based on what I'm feeling but it typically consists of few sun sals, horse stance, some hip stretching (pigeon), seated forward folds, plow, IT band stretches, and some some core work (supermans, plank variations, and leg raises). Important - "how" we stretch is everything and all too often I see people rushing through poses. In Yoga teachers training, this is what I learned and it works great - when stretching go about 3/4 to the tension point, stop and take 5 breaths, and breath deep into the tension focusing on relaxing. Then, as your muscles relax, allow yourself to go a little further. Each stretching pose should be NO LESS than 5 breaths.

3) Targeted lower back exercises - So, I happened upon this video and it was the jackpot for me. I will typically do these exercises a few times per week but definitely after every kiting session and the next day too. See this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWmGArQBtFI&t=356s and go to 3:45 - this exercise really works !!)

4) Diet - Yes I said it...sorry gang but diet matters - ALOT. Check out the diets of Laird Hamilton and Kelly Slater. If we're talking about health and longevity, eating a bunch of pro-inflammatory foods will diminish your health and make pre-existing genetic conditions worse. Google "Rhonda Patrick epigenetics". She is making ground-breaking research on how our diet can positively (or negatively) influence our genes (basically showing how certain genes are switched off or turned on).

Diet is something I struggle with and sugar is my tobacco. So, during the day I only eat paleo (eggs in the morning and for lunch an avocado, sweet potato, and a green smoothie I make...nothing more). This made me more productive at work and I feel better. For dinner it's game on - Pizza, pasta, bread, and such but I'll also try and eat relatively clean stuff as well - grass fed ethically sourced beef, wild caught salmon, and other low mercury fish. Two to three times per year I'll do a cleanse where I will only drink smoothies for a 3 day period (it'll clean you out lol). All things in moderation, even moderation.

I think that about covers it. Apologies for the long post but everything here has had a profound impact on my life and I wanted to share. Be well everyone.
Lm
Last edited by lindseym on Sun Jun 13, 2021 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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br44
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Re:

Postby br44 » Sun Jun 13, 2021 3:57 pm

cdakiter wrote:
Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:31 am
Allright, how did you know my knee was already bad? Damn!
I appreciate these points of view, and you KNOW I'm bound to be on the water and snow again soon, I'm just a bit nervous, that's all.
I had been using a seat harness, but may be going back to a waist as it seems the top of my seat harness creates a pivot point when I lean backwards,(crashing) the waist just lays differently. Probably use a bit of both, actually.
Thanks for the "go get um's," It's just what I needed to hear!
Scott
Change your kiting style.... Thought I’d mention this since all other replies are about harnesses and exercises. For example: don’t jump as frequently or stop altogether; switch from a TT to a directional board that glides better and is easier on your body; learn to foil. If foiling with larger wings then you can downsize your kite by half or more, which in combination with the far lower drag of the foil, will reduce the forces pulling against your body dramatically.

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Re: Re:

Postby palmbeacher » Sun Jun 13, 2021 5:50 pm

br44 wrote:
Sun Jun 13, 2021 3:57 pm
cdakiter wrote:
Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:31 am
Allright, how did you know my knee was already bad? Damn!
I appreciate these points of view, and you KNOW I'm bound to be on the water and snow again soon, I'm just a bit nervous, that's all.
I had been using a seat harness, but may be going back to a waist as it seems the top of my seat harness creates a pivot point when I lean backwards,(crashing) the waist just lays differently. Probably use a bit of both, actually.
Thanks for the "go get um's," It's just what I needed to hear!
Scott
Change your kiting style.... Thought I’d mention this since all other replies are about harnesses and exercises. For example: don’t jump as frequently or stop altogether; switch from a TT to a directional board that glides better and is easier on your body; learn to foil. If foiling with larger wings then you can downsize your kite by half or more, which in combination with the far lower drag of the foil, will reduce the forces pulling against your body dramatically.
Agree, foiling is a great way to reduce impact on your body. I see guys who are foiling in their mis 60s now and will likely continue in 70s because it is much more easy on the body than TT. Smaller kites also reduce the risk of a serious accident, and wearing a helmet is always a good idea when foiling.


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