Back support / pain

[chris from canada]

Good morning all,

I was wondering if any one else has had back pain while wading -fishing all day?

Someone mentionned that I should try the simms back support belt, has anyone ever tried it?
It is quite an investement, and I do not want to invest unless it works.

Have you had any experience with other belts, or products.

Thanks for the info,
chris from canada

[J Castwell]

Have not used one. My back hurt from the first day, I lean forward while fishing. Found my vest even made it worse, the heavier it got, the worse it got too. Quit wearing big vest. Only wear a 'floatation' vest now. Much lighter.

[CO Flyguy]

I have a somewhat bad back and have found a couple of things that really make a difference....

1) If you have a vest that has straps over the shoulders, get rid of it. That cleared up most of my problems. I don't know why, but it did. I have the same things in my Simms VM vest as I did in the older vest, and I don't have the problems I did.

2) Use the standard Simms back support, the BackSaver wading belt. It's not that expensive and really works well.

3) Make sure your wading boots fit right. If our feet are slipping around a lot, it causes our back to work overtime to keep you upright.


Best wishes from someone who really knows how you feel!!!

[fpcba]

I also get significant back pain when standing in one place. I have been using the Hodgman Wadelite belt which helps a lot. It increases the time I can stand without pain from about 20 minutes to several hours. (Of course, if I am standing several hours in one spot, I should question my fishing strategy!)

I also found that keeping my body warm enough is important. Cold water chills the body and tightens up the muscles. Neoprene waders with heavy wool or alpaca socks works for me during the fall, winter and spring seasons. I use light weight breathables only during the warmest summer months.

[JAd]

Theirs a couple thing you can do.
Fish less----Na
Lose weight---Na
What I do is take two Aleve ,one when I start fishing and one about hour before I'm done or I can't get my boots off.

JAd

[Canoeman1947]

Chris,
As a physical therapist who also has a long history of lower back pain, I can certainly sympathize with you. Standing for long periods of time can really be a bummer for people with low back pain. I wear a Simms Backsaver belt and have found it to be helpful. Cabelas also has a back support wading belt that is about $10.00 less expensive than the Simms and that looks like it should work. Although I have not tried one, the Simms Back Magic belt looks like probably the best of the lot. It is more adjustable than the others, which allows for a custom fit. It appears to be copied from one of the better back support belts I have seen in my journals.

Larry Compton

[alra195]

Chris,

I've been using an orvis back belt for the last 4 years and I wouldn't be without it! I'm not sure you'll find much difference between Simms, Hodgeman, Orvis or any of the others out there. As long as it has the adjustment you want/need and it is made of suitable material you'll wonder why you didn't own one years ago.

I love mine and use it not just for fly fishing but for any activity that I know I'll be on my feet for long periods of time. A trip to the dove fields last weekend was much more pleasant because I had my belt with me.

My advise - Get One! you'll not regret it.

[Kai]

I have a ruptured disc in my back.

I've found that lots of pull-ups is the best way to avoid back pain. Pull-ups seem to strengthen whatever muscles hold your lower back together.

So, my advice would be to start cranking out the pull-ups. Your back will be stronger and hurt much less.

I have a slipped disk (3rd Lumbar), which cause sciatica down my lower torso. I also have Ankylosing Spondylitis (form of arthritis of the spine). I have had this condition for the last 30 years (now 58 years old). My condition cannot be improved by an operation, because of the arthritis. So I might suggest a couple of things to make life less painful.

1. Learn to power lift, so you do not put strain on your back. That mean you keep you back straight and vertical when lifting, using your leg muscles (knelling on one knee if needed, no squatting). No lifting any object higher than your shoulders (causes excess strain on the upper spine).

2. Avoid sitting for long periods, if sitting is required for work, get up every half hour and walk around the chair, and sit back down. While walking around the chair, place hands on the back of the chair (leaning against the chair lightly), and slowly and gently rotate the hips a couple times in each direction. You can also do this rotation, when taking a shower, with the water cascading on your back, really helps for loosing up after you have become stiff while sleeping.

-also-

Avoid standing in one spot for too long of a period, that places too much pressure on the back, which can cause pain.

3. If you need to HOT/COLD treatment, 20 minutes cold pack, followed by 20 minutes hot pack, will reduce swelling and relax muscles and nerve endings that are sending pain messages.

4 Aleve is great for helping reducing pain, for 12 hour, one or two tablets. Only take as needed.

5. Best exercise treatment for a bad back is to walk daily, as many times as you can. Try to keep the back as straight as possible. Stairs are a great way to get some exercise in. Wherever I am I do not use the elevator, if I am going up one floor, or down two floors.

6. Watch how you sit in a chair, if you need a support for the small of your back, a rolled up towel will work. Good posture is important for back pain problems.

My Doctor, my Chiropractor, and my physical therapist; all agree that vertical and horizontal, is better than sitting for long periods. Also if you are overweight, lose it as soon as you can. Carrying 50 pounds of excess weight around is not good for anyones spine. It helps if you can find a MD that is willing to work with a chiropractor and a Physical Therapist, otherwise look for a doctor that specializes in sports medicine, the doctor is most likely a MD, Chiropractor, an Physical Therapist.

I wish you well in your recovery, and continued enjoyment of the activities that, are meaningful for enjoyment of life.

[Thunderthumbs]

As a chiropractor, who has had back surgery in the past three months for a herniated disk, I would, if you haven't already, go see a chiropractor. The first step is to find out WHY you have back pain. I had what is called a retrolisthesis (My 5th lumbar vertebra had slipped backwards on my sacrum about 1/4"). Over time (because I couldn't get the chiropractic treatment I needed where I was in MI) it caused a herniation, and led to surgery. Your problem may be something very simple and easy to fix, or it may be more complicated. If you do go to a chiropractor, be sure they actually take x-rays of at least your low back, otherwise, in my opinion, they are shooting in the dark. The only way to really tell whats wrong is to see the blueprints of your body with an x-ray. Treatment will start from there.
Without getting too long winded, and causing everyone who reads this to roll their eyes, send me an IM, or you can e-mail me with your phone #, I'd be happy to try and answer any questions you have about chiropractic and your back pain.
I'd be a little leary of just taking pain pills, especially NSAIDS (non-sterroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), they WILL cause some rather nasty little side effects if you start using them too much. I'm not saying don't take them, just don't take them alot, sort of a last measure thing.
As far as back braces go...I've used them in the past, and they definately serve a very good purpose, but if you use them too much they can actually weaken the muscles in your back leaving you even more prone to injury. An easy way to avoid all that is to just get it fixed.

Thunderthumbs.