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
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
“Knowledge is knowing, wisdom is understanding”
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)
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.
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 .
Try standing Hip Shot and changing from leg to leg now and again. It can help quite a bit. Jax
I’m a much better Fly fisher when talking fishing, than when I’m Actually Fly fishing!
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
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.
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:23613]Fishing the Ste-Marguerite[/url:23613]
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.
Lose weight and do proper exercises…I hate exercising.
I have a 4 hour window fishing before the pain is bad enough to rest.Diving accident.My physical therapist who ff’s gave excercise as the only solution.He says lower back pain is the #1 reason when he treats fly fisherman.I go for the cute nurse.
Mike
Jim, welcome to the club. I have that back pain big time and can only handle about 40 mins at a time while wading before I have to sit it out for a few, even though I take Vicodin when I ff. It gets me over the hump but the pain is still there. Most of us just have to live with it but I’d rather be hurting on the stream than hurting at home doin nothing. Hope you find some answers.
Crackleback (Bob A.)
Jim,
I also have a lot of trouble with back problems ever since I built a very large retaining wall in my yard. Mucho physical therapy…and it helped but often related stresses cause me a lot of grief!
As a simple in-home fix please give this a whirl. (I’m 55 and I can gradually work into this so don’t wuss out on me here…)
Do some “bend-backs” each day before going to work.
You lay flat on the floor on your belly. Now get ready to do a push-up but leave your belt buckle (pelvic area) on the floor. Straighten your arms and hold for 10 secs. then relax to the floor.
Do this 10 times!
You’re doing a reverse bend to your back and it helps in flexing/relaxing your back a lot!
This has helped me a lot with some troubles and it helps you in flexibility.
Jeremy.
Jim -
I have lower back trouble too. Physical therapy is what finally helped me the most. After a while, the exercises get to be part of your routine and you don’t really mind them. The other thing I do is use one of the back brace belts like you see the folks at Lowes wearing instead of a wader belt. It helps me.
Good Luck,
George
I’ve had back trouble for decades. Even when I was younger, MUCH lighter and in good shape. It comes from constantly trying to maintain your balance while fighting the current and the rocks on the bottom. Your lower back tires out before your legs. Get out of the water more often. Sit on a handy rock where you can for a while. You can buy a back support girdle from Cabela’s. They work good. If worst comes to worst you can attach a horizontal piece of wood to the top of your wading staff (sort of like the top of a crutch) which you can lean on when necessary. It’s also good for pulling down tree branches when you get hung up. I also see a chiropractor regularly. It could be worse. Have you tried fishing from a canoe?
Well, I guess the is a common problem. I’ll try the exercise suggestions and watch my posture better.
Thanks
Jim Stocks
Tyler,TX
Seamus:
I am a 58 year old physical therapist who has been flyfishing 15-16 years, and who also has a 30 year history of lower back pain. I suffer from the same problem you have. Sounds like degenerative disc disease, which is caused by loss of fluid from the disc over time. When standing in chest deep water, as mentioned previously, not only is your posture improved, but also the buoyancy of the water takes a lot of the weight off your lumbar spine. When standing in shallow water or on the bank, your posture may be good at first, but after a while we tend to relax the abdominal muscles too much which allows the pelvis to tilt forward, causing increased sway in the lower back. As somebody else mentioned, shifting your weight onto one leg, while allowing the opposite knee to bend slightly may help. The lumbar support belt will help somewhat also, or you can just lightly pull in your lower abdominal muscles which will aid in unloading the spine and also help to tilt the pelvis back to a more normal position. A good exercise program to improve flexibility and increase trunk strength and endurance, especially of the abdominals, will also be of help. A physical therapist can help you with the exercise program. Research has shown over the past few years that only exercise holds out any significant lasting benefit for lower back pain. Unfortunately, you will probably never be able to completely eliminate the pain you feel after standing for a long time. This is Nature’s way of telling you it’s time to go home, kick back in the recliner with a cold one, and read a little John Gierach.
Larry Compton
Please take the time to check the Mayo Clinic website (http://www.mayoclinic.com/findinformati … C8D77A0000) on physical fitness. It will help you decide whether or not you need to check with a doctor and give you much background information. For general back pain exercises look at the section on “Core Strengthening”. You will find that solving back pain is not just a matter of back exercises but involves much more including abdominal exercises which may be the most important. The Mayo Clinic is recognized world wide and can provide you with the most up-to-date information.