Does Back Pain effect your ability to go boating?

  • Thread starter Thread starter gus
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gus said:
One third of the population suffer from back pain, so does it effect your boating or do you find that the constant motion on a boat makes it easier?
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For the first time in a long life I got a "bad back" a few weeks ago. Lifting an Avon dinghy vertically out of a stern locker and swiveling to put it on the pontoon. Anyway SWMBO had previously gone to a Yoga class on bad backs which of course I poo poo-ed as mumbo jumbo. If there isnt a pill or a knife it isnt medicine in my book. Forced to try this " alternative" approach I was amazed to find that it worked. Whats more the exercises that the yoga woman suggested to swmbo turned out to be just the ones that both the doctor and two physios recommended.

SWMBO has a smug expression. I am irritated but my back doesnt hurt any longer.
 
Back Braces have their place in rehabilitation following a back injury and in supporting the back when doing heavy lifting, but it's no substitute for a strong core.
 
My backs generally good but both knees are now knackered. I got away with one good one for years but now finding it difficult to get on and off.
I know replacements are possible but it's a two year wait and I don't really want to lose a couple of seasons at my age.
On my boat it's possible to sail in reasonable comfort as I try to avoid any rough weather but crewing on my pals 36 is a painful experience and Iv started to avoid it.
It's 5am and I'm up and down all night with stomachs cramps due to strong doses of antiinflammatorys as it's been a particularly bad few days. Not nice but I'm on my own so not disturbing anyone else. Couldn't face this on a crewed boat. Hopefully the return of the sun here in the Costa Blanca will improve things and I can get back to a more balanced medicinal intake.
Anyway hope this is not too far off topic. Just thought I'd share.
 
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birdseye said:
For the first time in a long life I got a "bad back" a few weeks ago. Lifting an Avon dinghy vertically out of a stern locker and swiveling to put it on the pontoon. Anyway SWMBO had previously gone to a Yoga class on bad backs which of course I poo poo-ed as mumbo jumbo. If there isnt a pill or a knife it isnt medicine in my book. Forced to try this " alternative" approach I was amazed to find that it worked. Whats more the exercises that the yoga woman suggested to swmbo turned out to be just the ones that both the doctor and two physios recommended.

SWMBO has a smug expression. I am irritated but my back doesnt hurt any longer.
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I think the key word is ' swivelling ' - the very worst thing you can do to your back is swinging a Flymo side to side, ask me and a few Chiropractors how I know...:rolleyes:
 
I've got an L5-S1 disc bulge after being hit by a motor boat.

I go sailing, but I now have to be very careful what I do and how I do it on board.

Three months after the incident I sailed around Scotland for three months, I was active and always on the move. The constant motion I found good for my back and it doesn't like it when I sit or lie still in one position for too long.

There are also places to sit onboard that are comfier than others, I used to sit on the coaming using the guardrails as a backrest but now I find if the angle between my core and my thighs (when sitting) is less than 90 degrees it gets painful quickly. For this reason, I have a kneeling stool in my office at home and prefer to sit lower on the cockpit seating facing to leeward and lean back.

I have to be careful pulling lines (main halyard is the one I have to force myself to remember as it's the first bit of work on the boat) I also winch a lot early than most would; movement good, taking load on my back bad. Because of the incident, I got a windlass installed and later, copper coated the boat.

The only job on board I always do, then regret it by the time I've walked back up to the car, is scrubbing the boat down using a deck brush. There is something about that motion that does my back in every time.
 
snooks said:
The only job on board I always do, then regret it by the time I've walked back up to the car, is scrubbing the boat down using a deck brush. There is something about that motion that does my back in every time.
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Most of us are aware of what we need to do to avoid straining our backs, though I suspect that few of us are very careful about it when put to the test. On the other hand, what finally causes a back to 'go' can often be unpredictable and quite trivial. I have even met someone who was crippled by the action of pouring out a cup of tea. In my case what finally did for me twelve years ago was the simple action of easing myself out of a forecabin berth in the night and taking my weight on my feet in a near-upright posture.

There was an account of the genetics of back pain on the radio yesterday. They had anticipated that the dominant factors would be genes related to pain reception and neuroticism but found that in fact the genes related to spine growth were more significant, so it seems that I chose the wrong parents, neither of whom had back pain that I am aware of.
 
snooks said:
The only job on board I always do, then regret it by the time I've walked back up to the car, is scrubbing the boat down using a deck brush. There is something about that motion that does my back in every time.
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Me too Graham. I call it the 'washing up position': standing but slightly bent forwards. (That always gets a sarcastic comment from SWMBO.)

I find it's better for my back to wash the boat on hands and knees, with a sponge and brush for tough bits, than to use the deck brush/ broom. Works far better on the decks, too!) Not great at all for my back - but better than spending half an hour pushing my arms forwards and back in the washing-up position.
 
johnalison said:
Most of us are aware of what we need to do to avoid straining our backs, though I suspect that few of us are very careful about it when put to the test. On the other hand, what finally causes a back to 'go' can often be unpredictable and quite trivial.
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No argument about that here....I've put my back out lifting a 6 pack of cat food off the checkout counter and putting it in a trolley, but by far the worst and most unpredictable was when it went as I sneezed.
 
Seajet said:
I find raking leaves from the garden is exactly the wrong motion, even worse than a flymo; there's no hard work about it, but the movement najjers my back instantly.
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Oddly, before my operation it was walking our very small dog that hurt most - he pulls on his lead, and the resulting slight twisting force was both uncomfortable and very tiring. As he's only about 6kg, you can imagine that the force he exerts isn't that great.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
Originally Posted by Seajet View Post
I find raking leaves from the garden is exactly the wrong motion, even worse than a flymo; there's no hard work about it, but the movement najjers my back instantly.

Oddly, before my operation it was walking our very small dog that hurt most - he pulls on his lead, and the resulting slight twisting force was both uncomfortable and very tiring. As he's only about 6kg, you can imagine that the force he exerts isn't that great.
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Gotta get me one of these bad backs. Not having to mow the lawn, rake the leaves or walk the dog would leave a lot more time for sailing.
 
And not raking the leaves leads to eternal damnation by SWMBO the likes of which Lucifer couldn't imagine in his darkest dreams - sitting at a chair by the computer isn't that good either, I'm reminded.
 
Whatever diagnosis you have had and no matter what pains you suffer, one thing I have always found to help is keeping the back warm properly. What does that mean exactly? It means wearing a sleeveless vest or singlet all year round, a short sleeved shirt, then either a sleeveless pullover or a body warmer/gillet. The layer that covers the arms is not to be the first, second or third layer but the fourth layer. Clothing to be loose and open necked - no t-shirts. I advise my patients that if they do not keep their backs warm properly as advised - then I cannot help them, ever. I cannot say that it will sort the actual problem, but it might make it a bit easier. Unfortunately, probably only a few of you will heed this proven advice, so to the rest I say - good luck, keep suffering.
 
BelleSerene said:
Where’s your evidence for this claim, please?
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I think that most people will have realised from his over-prescriptive and dubious comments on clothing that he is not a source that can be relied on. There has been some good advice in some previous replies but anyone who uses his own experience and states that the conclusions drawn from this apply to everyone is being unhelpful, to say the least.
 
44 years and 50,000 very happy patients from all over the world. Typically of course there will always be those who are prepared to dispute this for spurious reasons and require clinical evidence, but they are the real fools. Only smart people can see the sense of my reasoning and thus benefit accordingly. The doctors and GPs get very uppity because it is challenging their ivory tower status. They cannot accept that someone who is not blinkered like them, can sort backs better than them, but the thousands of satisfied patients prove that I must be doing something right, whether the doctors like it or not.
 
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gus said:
Typically of course there will always be those who are prepared to dispute this for spurious reasons and require clinical evidence, but they are the real fools. Only smart people can see the sense of my reasoning and thus benefit accordingly. The doctors and GPs get very uppity because it is challenging their ivory tower status. They cannot accept that someone who is not blinkered like them, can sort backs better than them, but the thousands of satisfied patients prove that I must be doing something right, whether the doctors like it or not.
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Hello Gus: you can't be Viago because you use capital letters. Perhaps we should introduce you though. In the meantime:

gus said:
44 years... 50,000 very happy patients from all over the world...
there will always be those who... require clinical evidence, but they are the real fools.
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What, pray, was your occupation that helped fifty THOUSAND people so marvellously yet leaves behind no clinical evidence?

[Edit:] I'm sorry, I should have done my research. The answer is 'Manipulation Therapist - sorting sore backs. Plus Multiskilled Fixaholic'. I loved the bit at the bottom of your web page that shows a 100% ***** rating. Well I guess 100% of that one respondent from March 2017 is still 100%. But have confidence: if, as your website says, '40,000 patients can't be wrong', you should get the other 39,999 to complete your survey and then it'll look really compelling!

I was desperately sorry, though, to learn that
My website is not visible outside the uk. However, if you would like to message me, I can send you a pdf of the text of the site, which will explain much.​
PM our mate Viago to know more about the dark forces that prevent selected websites such as whysuffer.co.uk from being visible outside the UK.
 
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