Hi all, this is my first post on here, help and advice needed.
I own a K1 Intex inflatable kayak single seater, it was given to me as part of a deal when I bought a camper van, great I can bring it with me in and around Northern Ireland lake area’s etc.
I am 6’ 4 and weigh a lite 16 stone or 200 lbs give or take.
Some times within 5 minutes I get very painful legs my right more than my left leg.
Why would that be ?
Dave
Have you been checked out for sciatic pain?
I have the same problem brought on by pinched nerves in my lower back.
But before you go there, how supportive is the seating? If it’s mushy I’d look there first.
Any time we force our bodies to sit in an unusual position for a period of time we are apt to have some parts rebel and/or pain us. The answer is usually to work on stretching and strengthening those body parts before we do that activities so that positioning is no longer a stress on the joints and muscles.
I would be surprised if you did NOT have some discomfort at using a blow up boat like that for the first time unless you are quite athletic and flexible. Those fat highbacked inflatable seats encourage some back-straining seating posture and make efficient (and safe) paddling technique awkward. Can you sit comfortably on a floor in the house with no back support and your legs outstretched with knees splayed slightly out? Without strong back and abdominal muscles this can be tiring and even painful. You might try deflating the seat back and sitting up straight rather than leaning back to see if that helps. Rotating your torso from side to side as part of your paddle stroke also helps keep muscles and joints from complaining and improves your propulsion.
As with any sports activity, some instruction helps a lot.
Kayaking uses different muscle groups than most other activities, you will probably grow into it.
In the mean time, roll up a towel and cram it under your thighs, that will take some strain off of muscles that don’t like the new position you are forcing on them.
I will try and answer all here in one reply.
Celia, I would have to be near dead “no joke” before a doctor will see any body as they are ALL hiding behind the coronavirus test-demotic… We have had more people die here in N.I. of suicide than Pneumonia, flu, cold and covid19 combined.
So sciatic is a possibility
String, there is not enough room for me and the rear of the seat when I have my buoyancy jacket aid on, I can swim, but the wife says “Put it ON” and yes I do have a damaged back
Willowleaf, As I have said above about the back of the seat, I have it so deflated, I don’t have it,
When I first got the kayak, the seat in it, is a 2 part thing bottom and back, which was coming apart, so I took it apart carefully and put the bottom away in the bottom of the box. As it is an inflatable, the base or keel is good enough to sit on and it lowers the centre of gravity.
So when I first give it a few paddles, “late last year,Sep - Oct” before I bought a buoyancy jacket aid, I used the back and had no leg pains? but now with the jacket on me, I don’t think I could rotate my torso. I do have to sit back in the thing as far as I can, (lack of room in the bow for my feet) so therefore I may be sitting upright ? Must try that sitting on the floor in the house, see how much some thing may hurt.
CraigF, Don’t think there is enough room for me, jacket and a towel, I can see big visions of me trying to get a towel crammed in under me legs, then falling out and drowning in a foot of water.
As a foot note, my wife’s grandfather drowned in 4 inch of water.
Hope that is every one answered in a logical way and you can all understand my rants
I think the thing is too small for me and I would be better of owning an Itiwit 2 + 1 inflatable
Dave
I would also suggest sciatica. I once bought a very low sporty car that required an almost straight out leg position. The leg pain got to the point I traded in the car. When doing so the salesmen asked if my pain went away when not in the car as his did not. He was driving the same car as a demo.
We were both well again when we ditched that model car…
There are many buoyancy vests now made with floatation only in the upper portion of the back to allow better positioning with a high backed seat. since I have a short torso and prefer using a low backband in my kayaks I have one of those as well as another vest with very thin foam in the back — both help with proper contact with the lumbar support without forcing me into an awkward position.
But you may indeed just need a different boat. Some boats simply do not suit certain body structures and proportions no matter how one attempts to adapt them.
I don’t know if chiropractors are as commom and qualified in the UK as they are here, but a good one can be very helpful in analyzing back related pain and suggesting ways to mitigate or avoid it. Do you have that option across The Pond?
When I had back pain my wife recommended her chiropractor. She has had back issues and has been going monthly for at least a decade. During thrice weekly sessions I always felt great when I left his office, but pain was returning by the time I got home.
Then my doctor sent me to a physical therapist and after 10 weekly sessions I was good. A psychological advantage of the PT is that I could work on exercises at home and feel like I was accomplishing something, whereas with the chiro all I could do was wait for the next appointment. The pain has started to return twice - each time a couple rounds of the home exercises fixed it.