back pain

I am 52, minimally overweight with no history of back disease or injury. When I am deep wading - no problem. But when I am standing for a few hours in shallow water or on the shore my lower back starts to ache miserably. I wear a tight broad wader belt. Anyone else have this distraction and more importantly have a solution?

Jim Stocks
Tyler,TX

[backbeach]

You might want to check your posture. I used to hunch over when spinning the surf; when I changed gear to plugging with a conventional setup I immediately felt fine. It was then that I noticed how I stood differently when I switched gear. In deep water your posture is probably more upright - out of necessity. Good Luck, Jim

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"Knowledge is knowing, wisdom is understanding"

[Bob Widmaier]

Jim:

I am no medical doctor so this is just fisherman to fisherman here. I have had similar problems with lower back pain while fishing shallow water from a rocky shore. One thing I noticed is when casting from shore, I tended to lean forward slightly when casting. After a few hours of this, my lower back muscles would tighten up and it became painful. I would suggest you check your stance and see if maybe you are bending forward slightly. This is also worse if you keep your knees locked and bend at the waist. If you want to bend forward, bend your knees slightly.

Just my 2 cents.

Dr Bob (Biochemist)

[Gringo]

I have both those problems too - that is, thirty extra pounds in teh vest, and thirty or so under it too! Like many other people I have a work related spine injury and one of the worst things I can do as far as back pain goes is fly fish. Still, it is what I do, and what I am. I put up with it, I take pills if necessary, I take frequent rests, and if all else fails, just appreciate the environment where I am. I can live with it if I just limit what I do, and its nice if the people I am fishing with understand that. Limitation is the key.

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

I go to shore a lot and stretch a bit . I take robaxacet a back pain pill . In deeper water your bouyancy helps take strain off your back . If I get cold I'm toast . A friend of mine takes a weighted plastic lawn chair with him and sits down on it when his back gets tired .

[Jax]

Try standing Hip Shot and changing from leg to leg now and again. It can help quite a bit. Jax

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I'm a much better Fly fisher when talking fishing, than when I'm Actually Fly fishing!

[Jed]

Consider a physical therapist. They can look at your standing and casting style and make suggestions as to what to do and what exercises will help strengthen your back. When I lost weight it helped me too and I was also "minimally overweight"

jed

[fcch]

Jim, ...

You'll have to consider what do you do differently when deep than when on shore.

Obviously deep wading you're probably standing up (more) straight.As Backbench mentionned, ... you could be leaning forward on the beach.

Also, when not deep wading, .. do you have a different vest? As JC mentionned, .. we tend to pack around quite a bit of stuff in a vest.

I used to have a really heavy vest, ... but went to emptying the pockets a bit. I drag around a kit bag with the heavy stuff and dump it on the beach.


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Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:23613]Fishing the Ste-Marguerite[/url:23613]

[Ray]

Often I see fisherman when in fishing in shallow water to be slightly bent over(leaning forward) I have even watched Doug Swisher fish this way. I also agree that a heavy vest may be adding to the problem, make sure you have a good vest with a strong yoke to balance the weight properly. Most better vests offer a strong yoke with better support.

[ducksterman]

Lose weight and do proper exercises....I hate exercising.