Low Back Pain

hamstrings
Three paddlers I paddle with suffer back pain because their hamstrings are too tight. Over time you can increase hamstring flexibility with appropriate exercises.

Interesting that the shoulder girdle
is almost never mentioned as part of the kayak stroke. It’s arm paddling, or torso twisting, or (for flatwater sprint boats and some sea kayakers), a short leg extension driving the hips and everything above, around.



If you sit in a chair with your torso held stationary by the chair back, you see that the shoulder joint can move forward or back (in my case) over six inches. And the muscles accomplishing this are quite strong, and accustomed to doing serious work. The shoulder joints can also be moved up or down, which for canoeists may help adjust the path of the paddle through the water.



I’d be interested to know if writings on kayaking kinesiology have mentioned the use of the shoulders.

My chiropractor kept me going for
10 years until age and genetics caught up with me. If it continues, find an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in backs.

My chiropractor kept me going for
10 years until age and genetics caught up with me. If it continues, find an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in backs.

Some suggestions
Many good suggestions here. I’m neither an orthopedist nor the world’s most technically accomplished paddler, but I do have recurring back pain and I’ve found these things help.


  1. Back and leg stretching exercises. Google-image “exercises back pain” and you’ll hit upon plenty of sites, many with similar regimens. This one is pretty close to the one I do:



    http://www.backshak.com/exercises.htm



    Five minutes every morning, and repeat before or after doing things that are likely to cause back pain – lifting heavy objects, long car rides, kayaking for more than an hour or two. Biking helps, too – keeps the hamstrings loose.


  2. I was initially confused by instructions about torso and hip rotation, as I was trying to power my strokes while consciously rotating the lower body. It wasn’t working until I realized that rotation is a consequence of proper shoulder movement, not the other way around. I was overthinking it. Concentrate instead on holding your paddle out in front of you, forming a more or less square box with your arms and paddle, then swinging it, shoulders and all, left and right broadly across your body. Your torso will naturally follow your shoulders as a result. You’ll be using different muscles and it may take a couple of weeks before it becomes second nature, but once it does you’ll be doing both your back and your elbows a favor.


  3. Alternating foot pressure on the pegs is another thing that follows naturally from proper shoulder movement – since your shoulders are leading the twist in your lower body, your lower body is naturally alternating pressure on the left and right pegs. Again, this isn’t something you really have to think about and consciously make happen – it happens by itself. I didn’t really notice I was even doing this until I started to paddle hard in heavy winds – and I realized how much effort I had been putting through my legs. It’s where much of the power comes from.


  4. You’ll last longer on kayak outings without back pain when your legs are not straight out, but bent a little bit. So check the position of those footpegs, and move them up a notch or two, if necessary.


  5. As Sheryl Sandberg would say, lean in. That is, don’t lean back in your seat like it’s an easy chair (except once in a while to stretch). Be at least straight up, or preferably leaning a little bit forward. It’s true that a well positioned backband will serve you better than a high-backed seat that encourages you to lean back.

This is great!
Thanks everyone for all of the great responses! Much to consider here that I feel will be extremely helpful both in recovery and resuming paddling. Some of this I have begun to suspect (transference of power from the feet all the way up to the shoulders through the hips/torso). Can’t wait to get back out on the water and begin putting this advice to work!

thanks for these posts
My back trouble is supposed to be getting better but it isn’t. The one thing I have found I can do, is paddle a kayak. Sometimes using some rotation and on other days not so much. My problem is getting to the right water launch sites. I can barely walk.



I’ve felt bad about myself for not always using rotation or what I have been told is correct rotation. These posts put me at ease. If I can get on my kayak and paddle and enjoy myself then isn’t that what it is all about!



For any of us folks with issues.

I would disagree with “lead with …”

– Last Updated: Nov-13-13 10:22 AM EST –

I think "leading with the shoulders" can give the wrong idea. You don't "swing around your shoulders" to initiate the movement. Quite the opposite, in fact. Power comes from the core, the shoulders follow. Most accomplished instructors will tell this sequences:

foot/leg->>hip->>torso->>shoulder/arm.

In fact, this is one of the key "circles of power" that a certain well respected coach teaches. Google it.

Your #1 example is a good drill (to keep the "box") in front of you, but let's not misinterpret what the underlying principle is.

It is like this with most sports. Consider Tennis or Golf: you don't lead with your wrist even though it sure may look this way at a cursory glance. You plant your feet to counteract your core's motion, which is then transferred through your arm to whatever you are holding in your hand (paddle, golf club, tennis racket, or just your fist if you are swinging at someone nasty ;)

If you have a disk problem
You most definitely should not be lifting your kayak. Take a break and do appropriate exercises.



Twisting repeatedly and lifting stuff are I feel two of the worst things you can do if your back hurts due to disk problems.



You can do core strengthening and very gentle stretching, and lie down and hang from a high bar every chance you get. You must have a very good sense of what exactly your specific problem is and tailor the exercises to it. Don’t just listed to us here - what’s worked for me might injure you…



When I injured my back recently, most likely due to a bulged disk, if I could not work from home lying on an adjustable bed most of the day, I don’t know how I would have healed it. Rest a lot but keep in mind research shows spending too much time in bed is not the best way - do the right exercises and rest between them properly as rest (while necessary) alone will not help… Hard kayaking with lots of twisting (rough white water with plenty of river surfing for instance) was definitely not the right kind of kayaking for my weak back during recovery. Gentle kayaking was fine. Lifting a 40lb kayak was OK, lifting a 65lb one was not.

some advice

– Last Updated: Nov-13-13 11:13 AM EST –

I had a similar injury coupled with a shoulder injury. I saw the same PT and the same chiro for both. Both were indispensable and both said this was an activity I could resume over time. My chiro actually said if I knew what was good for me, I'd get back to paddling.

I think Kocho said it first but conditioning is key. When my torso is out of shape my back tells me so.

Once I was able to get back into the water (able to carry boat), paddling using my torso helped immensely, not only my back but also my shoulders. People may scoff at torso rotation and using your core for the strength of the stroke, but spreading the tension across all those muscles in the shoulders and back sure is easier on the arms and shouulders.

If you do nothing else, google "dr. cox lower back exercises" - if your chiro hasn't recommended these already then shame on him/her.

The shoulders are not the shoulder
girdle, which includes the collar bones and the scapulae. The muscles which drive those are down in the torso, but should not be confused with the muscles that twist the torso, the spinal column, left or right.



The muscles that twist the torso do not work through as wide a range as those moving the shoulder joints or the arms, and the torso muscles can share the work. Some, like those between the ribs, obviously work only locally.



While I recognize that for Greg Barton, and for sea kayakers who choose to do so, a very full twist of the torso is necessary, twisting the torso is associated with a higher degree of friction or resistance than working the shoulder girdle or bending the arms. It is my opinion that for all-day paddling, an exaggerated torso twist is not efficient.



It might even not be possible to use a high degree of torso twist. When I am kayaking, as when I am canoeing, I’m taking the catch well forward and ending the stroke when my lower hand is about opposite my hip. I’m not using much arm motion once I take the catch. My shoulders are moving back and forth, but not to an extreme degree. As for torso twist, I can feel it come on as soon as the catch is locked into the water, and that twist MUST end relatively early, or else I would be extending the stroke way behind me, which is neither proper nor efficient. There is no way for me to use extensive torso rotation if my paddle mechanics are proper. And that’s a good thing, because it saves energy that would result from working the torso through an extreme range.

I’ll use a boxing analogy.

– Last Updated: Nov-13-13 4:24 PM EST –

No big winding swing to grab the attention of the audience. In tight with the other fighter. Gloves held fairly close to the body. Short, quick movement. Other guy hits the mat.
Where did this power come from in this punch? The guy is on the balls of his feet, and it's initiated from the legs.
Did the fighter have to rotate further to put the strength of more powerful muscles into the punch?
No.
Did his technique have to suffer to use the more powerful muscles?
No.
Could he have punched the guy flat-footed using his arms and shoulders?
Yes.
Did he have to use the more powerful muscles to drop the guy?
Yes.
The idea that using your current paddle method, you plant forward, and come out at the hip, so if you use more rotation, you will extend too far, doesn't seem reasonable to me.
First, you have to decide if you care about getting more power or not. So up front, I don't care if someone personally doesn't feel the need for their own personal use.
But it doesn't seem reasonable to suggest that increasing rotation will mess up someone's stroke.
The way I see it, as pointed out by someone above, you are only going to get so much hip movement. So it's as simple as that. Using those powerful leg muscles and rotating though the hips will not cause you to overextend your stroke. There's not enough range of motion there.
What does the coach in the corner of the ring tell his fighter when he comes back from a round of love-tapping his opponent with his arms and shoulders. He reminds his fighter of footwork, tells him to get his legs in position, get on the balls of his feet, and tells him to drive those short punches home with his legs.
The glove still travels the same distance, and stops at the opponents face. It uses bigger energy. It has bigger results.
The paddle still travels the same distance, and comes out of the water at the hip. It uses bigger energy. It has bigger results.
It also has a significant benefit in terms of lower half long-term comfort, even if only used intermittently. So I hate to leave it as only useful for powerful paddling types.
Does this make sense? I guess I've just never looked at anyone paddling that's overextending their stroke, and thought that suggesting less rotation was a good answer. I would point out controlling it from the elbows, then shoulders, then upper torso, while encouraging power and rotation from the legs, hips and lower torso. If someone is inclined to use the more powerful muscles, why discourage it? Why blame overextension of the stroke on the good, powerful stuff?


You’re recommending short,
powerful punches generated by relatively small movements of the legs, body, shoulders, and arms. Clearly correct.



But then you’re saying I should prolong my rotation and extend my stroke farther back. Is that a short, compact stroke? No. And prolonging the kayak stroke too far back does what, in rowing circles, we called “pinching the boat.” The kayak paddle force vectors are inward against the hull, and upward lifting water, if the stroke is prolonged. Relatively little forward force is generated back there. One of the reasons wing paddles are so effective is that, with its “lift”, the wing paddle moves outward and does not pinch the boat or lift water as much.



By not prolonging the stroke farther than just past the hip, I am able to raise my stroke rate a bit, and progress better with short, efficient strokes. The boat waggles less from side to side. And if I am just paddling easier, this “cab forward” stroke tends to pull the boat forward by the nose, with less tendency to veer.



This high angle, cab forward stroke is similar to the cab forward stroke I use when solo canoeing. In a canoe, it brings a revelation: I seldom have to J-stroke or rudder, because a forward reach, firm catch, and early blade extraction magically keeps the canoe headed forward without veering.



The cab forward kayak stroke pays real dividends when used with whitewater kayaks, which are very inclined to veer when paddled with an exaggerated “full” stroke.



I think your boxer analogy tends to support my point. At any rate, after so many years of paddling, I’m sure my style has evolved into what is most efficient for me.



For the doubters, Chubby Checker says, “Twist again, like we did last summer…”

misinterpreted
"you’re saying I should prolong my rotation and extend my stroke farther back"



No, I’m not saying that. I was never one to get high praise from my composition instructors though.

You’re right. Your composition is OK,
but better paragraph breaks would help.



Om teaching use of torso rotation, if I provide a realistic target, there’s more chance of students achieving and matching it than if I provide a very exaggerated target without telling them it’s only for teaching purposes.



On whitewater, one can see paddlers freezing at the torso because they’re in hard stuff and trying to paddle and prepare for anticipatory bracing at the same time. Ex World Series slalom champ Scott Shipley, though, wrote in his book that he limits his high angle style to about 45 degrees, so that he can keep rotating and pulling while deriving an active, ongoing brace in heavy water.

Back troubles
I have had back problems since the late 1960s. I have found kayak seats to be too confining and too upright. Try a canoe where you can move around freely and even stand up once in awhile. It is like a different sport. I can paddle on a week long trip in a canoe, but get stiff in a kayak within 2 hours.

Try a Canoe
A single blade propelling the craft from a higher seat position is vastly easier on the back and a canoe provides a near infinite range of body position options compared to a kayak…Kneeling or partial kneeling can eliminate the pains often associated with the seated leg extended position of a kayak.

Well, Dave, if a kayak paddler has
achieved loose hamstrings via stretching, then that paddler can quit leaning on the backband and use forward and aft leans quite effectively to control the boat.



It’s easier to use fore/aft lean when kneeling, but if one’s hamstrings, etc., are loose enough, an enormous amount can be done from a sitting position.

conjecture

that’s wonderful
Meanwhile let’s try and help the OP with the bad back.