Does Back Pain effect your ability to go boating?

[gus]

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?

 

[Seajet]

I have quite severe back pain now - I'm 56 but was at an accident in 1992 when I had to lift a car off somebody - long story - over the last couple of years it has become very severe; at its worst I reckon I could just control and navigate my 22' cruiser, but not a dinghy.

Had results from an MRI scan* this week so your question is timely for me.

* In the modern NHS despite my GP phoning requesting me a scan there and then in front of me, I was diverted through LOTS of meaningless physio depts - a national policy which is great for the little physio dept empires which have sprung up - inc contracts to use private physio clinics, a nice little earner for someone I'm sure but useless to patients.

I had to get very ' forceful ' indeed to get the scan they kept promising me then trying to avoid.

Once I got to the MSK Muscular Skeletal dept they were professionals and got me the scan; the hospital were extremely helpful, ' yes when would you like ? ' - they don't get patients now !

I didn't think a cure could be found, just after all this time I wanted to know what is going on.

2 crushed discs etc as I suspected, inoperable - but at least I know now and am learning ' pain management '.

Co-Drydamol are good painkillers bt I found I was getting hooked so have to minimise them.

This physio racket must cost the NHS a fortune, loads of in my experience not very good staff, no doubt well paid.

Re sailing, I know very keen dinghy sailors who have had to give it up due to back pain - but I will not give up my Anderson, this is our 40th season, I had dinghies from 1974.

 

[oldharry]

I have quite severe back pain now - I'm 56 but was at an accident in 1992 when I had to lift a car off somebody - long story - over the last couple of years it has become very severe; at its worst I reckon I could just control and navigate my 22' cruiser, but not a dinghy.

Had results from an MRI scan* this week so your question is timely for me.

* In the modern NHS despite my GP phoning requesting me a scan there and then in front of me, I was diverted through LOTS of meaningless physio depts - a national policy which is great for the little physio dept empires which have sprung up - inc contracts to use private physio clinics, a nice little earner for someone I'm sure but useless to patients.

I had to get very ' forceful ' indeed to get the scan they kept promising me then trying to avoid.

Once I got to the MSK Muscular Skeletal dept they were professionals and got me the scan; the hospital were extremely helpful, ' yes when would you like ? ' - they don't get patients now !

I didn't think a cure could be found, just after all this time I wanted to know what is going on.

2 crushed discs etc as I suspected, inoperable - but at least I know now and am learning ' pain management '.

Co-Drydamol are good painkillers bt I found I was getting hooked so have to minimise them.

This physio racket must cost the NHS a fortune, loads of in my experience not very good staff, no doubt well paid.

Re sailing, I know very keen dinghy sailors who have had to give it up due to back pain - but I will not give up my Anderson, this is our 40th season, I had dinghies from 1974.

I suspect that like Seajet most sufferers battle on with it until things are so bad they are simply forced to retire from sailing. Both my other half and I have back problems. She has had to give up. Knees have gone too, though with a replacement one side and the other likely before long making climbing about the boat difficult or impossible. Mine is more intermittent so I go when I can. But it can be limiting at crucial moments.

So we bought a motor caravan. Seajet commented that this was what many sailors seem to do nowadays when they give up sailing!

 

[KellysEye]

I had lower back pain and bought back brace eventually it went away. This is what I bought https://www.amazon.co.uk/NEO-Stabil...d=1538813229&sr=8-4&keywords=neo+g+back+brace

 

[{151760}]

I suspect that like Seajet most sufferers battle on with it until things are so bad they are simply forced to retire from sailing. Both my other half and I have back problems. She has had to give up. Knees have gone too, though with a replacement one side and the other likely before long making climbing about the boat difficult or impossible. Mine is more intermittent so I go when I can. But it can be limiting at crucial moments.

So we bought a motor caravan. Seajet commented that this was what many sailors seem to do nowadays when they give up sailing!

May I ask if your difficulty with climbing about the boat is because of the old knee, or does the new one restrict you? I ask because a new knee is on my horizon.

 

[Dukester52]

I’ve suffered from anylosing spondylitis since I was young. Suffered from terrible constant back pain for years. Great news is - and I feel very very lucky - since I started sailing the pain has gone! Just a little stiff now. Wouldn’t try a small dinghy, I don’t have the mobility, but I swear sailing 20-40ft yachts has really helped!!

 

[laika]

"Back Pain" has many causes so it's not easy to generalise. Being a tall bloke who spent a lot of time in front of computers in his 20s and 30s (before starting sailing seriously) with scant regard for ergonomics or exercise I used to suffer from back pain. Doing some exercise which strengthens "core" muscles has sorted that out completely. "Active" sailing (scrambling around the deck, tweaking sheets, hauling the mainsheet of a reasonably sized boat), if done regularly, would probably do wonders for back pain in a lot of sedentary British office workers but of course isn't going to help with some causes of back pain.

Now the various chronic injuries I've sustained *whilst* sailing, that's another story...

 

[KellysEye]

One thing I forgot to mention was when the back brace arrived and I fitted it I stopped taking prescription painkillers.

 

[rotrax]

"Back Pain" has many causes so it's not easy to generalise. Being a tall bloke who spent a lot of time in front of computers in his 20s and 30s (before starting sailing seriously) with scant regard for ergonomics or exercise I used to suffer from back pain. Doing some exercise which strengthens "core" muscles has sorted that out completely. "Active" sailing (scrambling around the deck, tweaking sheets, hauling the mainsheet of a reasonably sized boat), if done regularly, would probably do wonders for back pain in a lot of sedentary British office workers but of course isn't going to help with some causes of back pain.

Now the various chronic injuries I've sustained *whilst* sailing, that's another story...

Exactly what First Mate found-the exercises the NHS physio gave her to carry out, which she did very conciensiously, plus the constant movement of a yacht requireing the core muscles to adjust balance really helped her back.

Sorry seajet, our experience is obviously better than yours. By the way, long waiting list 15 years ago for a MRI scan so we blued 200 quid and had it done in 3 days. This allowed the consultant to reccomend the way forward, which, in her case, worked.

Now she just needs a new hip-booked in for next March when we return from seeing the Grankids in NZ.

My knees-one is screwed together, the other worn out-are OK if I dont do UK winters. Not as mobile as I once was, but little pain if I dont have to cope with cold and damp.

 

[johnalison]

I have had back pain for as long as I can remember but it came to a head twelve years ago when I ended up in hospital after an L3 prolapse followed by L4 a few years later. I don't find sailing much of a problem. I can make myself comfortable with a support cushion when helming, and the regular random activity always leaves me feeling better at the end of the season. I always get pain at night but my berth is about as good or bad as my bed at home.

I have never regarded painkillers as a good idea with any chronic pain but used to take the odd diclofenac if I was going out for the day. I was taking morphine for a month with my disc problem but stopped as soon as the epidural resolved most of the pain. I don't really like codeine compounds much other than for the odd day or two, and the constipation and effect on driving rules them out in the long term. I didn't derive much benefit from physio in spite of doing their exercises for several months, but they presumably help some people. What annoyed me was when I hobbled into my GP's surgery in agony only to be told that the NHS protocol required me to do a course of physio before orthopaedic referral. A few days later my wife's 999 call put things right. Back in the '50s a well-known surgeon referred to physios as 'fairies floating round the outskirts of medicine', which is sometimes close to the truth.

 

[oldharry]

May I ask if your difficulty with climbing about the boat is because of the old knee, or does the new one restrict you? I ask because a new knee is on my horizon.

You wont sail for at least six months after the op, so get it done in the Autumn! After that, Jean says its a vast improvement. Giving up going aboard was a combination of arthritic back and other bits, and the bad knee was just the last straw. She reckoned it was around 9 months before it healed up enough to say it was an improvement, though the range of 'bend' she could achieve was better within a few weeks, though still mighty uncomfortable!

Good luck when you do go for it, though!

 

[Paddy Fields]

I don’t tinker with old boats. I just tinker with my old body, trying to fix that instead
A lifetime of bangs knocks and twists, it’s quite a project! Physios and sports massagers are useful, but vary greatly on their quality. Same applies to pilates teachers. Take the time (and money) to find yourself a good one of each. However, eventually you have to take ownership of the problem yourself. I have a library of books on exercise physiology and anatomy that I dip into, to try and figure stuff out. It is a time consuming, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding hobbie.

Caveat - Luckily I don’t have any specific degenerative medical condition that I am aware of (other than just getting old), and I don’t think I have done anything to myself that is not potentially reversible. I am sympathetic to those who do have those misfortunes.

 

[BurnitBlue]

It certainly would if I had any. Up to now, touch wood, I have only suffered from Sciatica which was bad enough but temporary, thank goodness. However I have observed the effects of back pain on other people. My neighbour boat I Preveza, for instance, when the skipper suddenly, with no apparent warning, found he was unable to get out of his bunk. He just lay there totally inert and could not move or sleep. A friend of his was concerned and entered his boat. He was in a very bad way not eaten for three days and was de-hydrated. A doctor was called (the boat was ashore) and a big pain killer and muscle relaxant was needled into him.

For a few weeks after that I considered moving my "grab bag" (including phone) close to my bunk. Stopped after a while when I realised that I would have to carry it around my neck to be effective everywhere. good idea to keep a phone within reach though.

 

[Seajet]

On my yotmaster offshore course, on our first day the VERY experienced instructor, I'd guess about 35-40, suddenly had to retire to his bunk in agony with his back; at first I suspected this was laid on as part of the course, but on seeing his face and learning a few new naughty words I decided he was probably serious.

We students had to RTB pronto, hoping we got some brownie points - I was the only one who was a boat owner and familiar with the Solent but let another take charge as he seemed to be getting it right doing it by the book, so at least he should have - we never discovered what happened to the instructor, a nice guy, or if we got points for bringing him back !

 

[Muddy32]

I got back pain lifting anchors. I now have a very efficient anchor winch at the front that I can adjust to lift/pull anything I need, and a big powerful handraulic winch at the back which functions similarly.

 

[Topcat47]

I slipped a disc at work when in 1975 and have surged chronic back pain ever since. I have a well developed regimen that has kept it in check. A back brace can help, but it is more effective in the long term to build up your core strength.

NHS provision is poor, but there are specialist sports injury physios in the private sector who can assist.

Fourteen years ago I had a partial knee replacement. This had a side effect of relieving a large degree of my back pain.

I started sailing in 1983, both cruisers and dinghies. I stopped dinghy sailing when I bought my own craft.

Earlier this year, I had an operation on my lower back (a spinal decompression) and am slowly getting back to full fitness. I have sailed this season, on my own boat, with friends. I have managed to get around my cruiser, handling the sails, coming alongside etc without much difficulty. It should be noted that sailing solo is not sensible for me as I'm advised it will be a full year until I have completely recovered from the op.

In short, chronic back pain and/or knee replacement surgery is no reason to stop sailing.

You MUST find a suitable management regime for your back. mine includes Pilates, specialist exercises, and occasionally therapeutic massage and manipulation (by a physio: NOT a chiropractor).

If you are sheduled for a knee replacement, it is vital to have good Quads and joint articulation. The articulation can be improved in the pool (non-weightbearing exercise). I have returned to hillwalking after my knee op.

PM me if you are interested in learning more.

 

[{151760}]

You wont sail for at least six months after the op, so get it done in the Autumn! After that, Jean says its a vast improvement. Giving up going aboard was a combination of arthritic back and other bits, and the bad knee was just the last straw. She reckoned it was around 9 months before it healed up enough to say it was an improvement, though the range of 'bend' she could achieve was better within a few weeks, though still mighty uncomfortable!

Good luck when you do go for it, though!

Thanks.

 

[Zing]

I have had chronic, but intermittently acute back pain for many years. It is probably better on the boat with the extra exercise improving core muscle fitness and skeletal support. It ended with a major crisis earlier this year. I was out at anchor when a lumbar disk herniated. A lot of pain, but the bigger problem was the disk paralysed the nerve controlling the bladder emptying. I couldn’t pee and didn’t know it and didn’t have any discomfort or pain. I just felt really ill. A 999 call, then much drama as the emergency staff treated me incorrectly as a drug addict. I passed out and woke up with a catheter. If that had happened far from help I would have died. I now carry a self catheterisation kit. If this happens with a cervical disk rupture the consequences can also be dire.

I have also had an episode where the pain kept me unable to move for days even with steroid injections and max painkillers, so back problems on a boat can be pretty serious.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Bad back and buggered knees, but they won’t stop me sailing yet, although I have to admit I find I’m more of a fair weather sailor than I used to be and I don’t race single handed or do long passages single handed anymore, but I suppose being over 70 I shouldn’t complain too much.

 

[gus]

I didn’t intend to do a follow up to my original question, but obviously so many of you are suffering that I feel compelled to help.
‘Back Pain’ – one of the most misunderstood topics of today. One third of the population suffer from a back or back related pain and spawns millions of websites espousing all manner of supposed causes and treatments. The lack or absence of formal ‘Clinical Evidence’ is used as an excuse to ignore the obvious evidence of 44 years of successful practice and about 50,000 pain free patients. Sufferers have to realise that there is a tremendous amount of mis-information about back pain.
Back and back related pains – including sciatica, are primarily caused by a very slight rotational misalignment in one or several of the vertebrae in the spine. The body then reacts to that distortion and thus creates all the pains. Sort the misalignment and given time to heal, all the pains will be gone. Sorted properly!
The important lessons to learn are –
1 How to move your own body weight around so that you can then lift things properly with all the muscles working to support you firstly. Brain before brawn!
2 Learning to keep the back properly warm at all times so that the muscles can function in unison.
So if you really desire to properly understand what it is and what can be done about it, then whysuffer.co.uk will provide all the answers – but you have to read all of it and preferably twice.