Take care of your back!

[mixxedbagg]

Not so much an ice fishing topic, but for me it is!

With all of the snow shoveling and roof cleaning this winter, I've been feeling some dull back pain on and off all winter, and yesterday it really hit me while I was ice fishing.

I got out on the lake and popped a couple of holes to check depth. I was surprised by how quickly the auger went through the ice, causing me to lurch forward a little. I just sort of heaved the auger out of the hole like I always do, and set it down. I was on snowshoes and double-tripping to get my gear out there, so I hiked back to grab the sled and towed it out. I bent over on the snowshoes to pick up my auger and tried to stand up. Instantly I felt the "catch", and I howled in pain. I plopped back down, took a couple of breaths and used my legs to get the auger lifted onto the sled.

After some stretching, I was able to auger more holes and fish, but I'm still feeling some pretty serious discomfort today. That's no fun for anyone, but it's particularly concerning for someone in his early 30s to have back pain.

I think of all of the potential back-wrenching tasks that are possible when ice fishing....

-Lifting the sled and auger into the back of a truck or car (I drive a Saturn wagon, so getting that auger in places the weight squarely on my upper back).

-Snowshoeing or postholing in deep snow while towing a sled.

-Freeing a stuck ATV or snowmobile.

-Lots of stress on the upper back when augering holes, especially when the auger pops through and you have to lift it out.

-Jacking up a permanent house.

-Shoveling snow from the area you set up

-Hunching over in a cramped fish house on a bucket or little chair.

-Carrying a loaded bucket of fish

Probably quite a few others....

Anyway, yesterday was a reminder to me to try and maintain a good posture while I fish and to keep my back straight and lift with my legs when ice fishing and everything else.

[Jim Almquist]

I feel for you

I hurt my back dealing with slush and a snowmobile a few years back and it took close to a year before the twinges of pain finally stopped. I am a lot more careful now with anything that might involve my back.

[eurolarva]

Welcome to the club. Problem is this is a club you dont want to be a member of. Mine went the first time around 35 years old. Since then it will go out without warning. For me if I am active and dont lay around or sit around a lot it does not go out on me often. Sunday we were on Waconia and I picked up the shovel to shovel away the ice chips from the hole and pop. Been in massive pain all week. It has been getting better by the day and I am almost 100 percent today. I work on my feet and despite the pain if I dont work the pain wont go away. Usually it is a hamstring that pulls the sternum out of alignment. Try crossing your legs. One leg usually is uncomfortable doing this. That is the leg you need to concentrate stretching. That is where the tight hamstring is and can hurt your back

[harvey lee]

Yep, very bad deal and take care of your back, one only gets one and they seem to have not figured it all out yet.

Mine went at age 34 and has continued to get worse. 6 dic's that are shot and alot of nerve damage. I have been through about everything short of surgery. All the other fixes seem to be a temporary fix to relieve pain.

[lutzy]

You don’t want this to get any worse. When I turned 30 I herniated 2 disks. 3 spine surgeries later I now have a bunch of titanium holding my spine together, 6 screws, 2 rods, and a plate. I have a hard time just sitting in a portable for more than 2 or 3 hours. That is usually the extent of a day of fishing for me. Take care how you lift and do other things or you will be regretting it the rest of your life. I am now 42 and it is no fun.

[Northlander]

I was I think 27 when I had my back surgery. Mine was from a lot of abuse in sports and then a bad water skiing wreck. Finally 1 day I was mowing the lawn and stepped under a tree and when I stood up from under the tree my back popped and I fell to the ground. Had to crawl in the house on all 4's. Surgery worked for me but I still have to be careful. I dont attempt a lot of lifting I once did.

My advise is take your time with all this snow. Stretch before and after and drink a TON of water.

[mixxedbagg]

Water?

[dairyman]

Yep-----flush out the old kidneys

[Boar]

this is so ironic to see this thread. yesterday on lak o woods i was pulling out my sld in the soft snow while hauling gear to my house, an POP gose my shizzle. i made it to my housewith the help of upnorth fishin an his track vehicle. 5 hours later, he was gone home an i couldnt take it any more. luckily i had put his number an northern daves number in my phone from the LOW forum, called him an him an a freind came a retreved me an my gear an loaded up my stuff an sled, an turned my truck around an waya I went, I collPESSED IN THE PERKING LOT OF oppps. of DQ an my son an his freins helped me up into he truck an to the ER I went. My wife actually was workiing the ER so that worked out. Im pretty sure I'll nweed surgery, cause I have disk damage. Cant type worth a sh it lying on my back. So here I lay an the rest of the season is probably over for me. Could be worse. Later boar

[magicstix]

Yes it sucks having a bad back. 1st time 21yo, 2nd time 33yo, last year 44yo, this time 2 disk ruptured and another badly damaged. its better but still bothers me. The PT gave me some very specfic exercise to target certain muscles[exercises i'd never seen before], what a difference it has made. If I could go back to 21, I'd definetly stay in better physical shape. Now I just have manage best I can with a junk back, Always thinking about how I'm lifting, bending, how heavy, sitting etc. Standing is best for me now.

[mixxedbagg]

What are the exercises called?

[Northlander]

Water is good for everything including muscles, discs and tissue.

[gr82fish]

Similar to Northlander, I had lower back problems aggravated from sports, ended up having lower back surgery (discectomy and partial laminectomy) at 37(11 yrs ago). As for exercises to do, google 'lower back exercises for pain relief' and you will find numerous stretching and core-strengthening exercises to do now (with pain in lower back) as well as exercises to do later(post-pain) to help prevent lower back pain in future. The exercises to be done now will be more daily stretching initially with the intent to keep the back and attached muscles, etc. loose to help recover (NOTE: Must be done S-L-O-W-L-Y with pain threshold the limiting factor!!), but the real key is exercising for the future, to keep the stomach/core strong and acting as a shock absorber for the lower back. As you noted, correct lifting/turning is the best preventive medicine to keeping the (lower) back healthy, and I too, was told good hydration is key to keeping the muscles, organs working comfortably in unison with the rest of the body. Good luck, I have felt your pain, but knock on wood, not for 11+ yrs now.

[BobT]

Back in 1984 I was working in the logging business. I was piece cutting. When we would get into an area that contained too much mixed wood to justify using heavy equipment, we were sent in to cut it manually. We basically cut a 60 foot path through the woods. We'd fell the trees, cut them into 100" length and stack them by species for easy pick up later by the skidder operator. This involved a lot of heavy lifting and carrying of wood. I got to the point that I could pick up a 12" diameter log 100" long and carry it. The point being that my body got quite strong.

I had been doing this work every day for over a year and then one day I bent down to start my wedge cut to fell a tree and the next thing I knew I laying on the ground. I had to be carried out of the woods and brought to the clinic. Turned out I tore a muscle in my lower back. Laid me up for over 3 weeks.

I asked the doc how this could happen considering how physically fit I was. He explained that it could have been as simple as standing on uneven ground or stick just right that my muscles had to work a little different and the rest is history. I was also told that I had to be more aware of how I used my back because once injured it is easier to do it again. Needless to say, I've since injured my back twice. Once while lifting cement block out of a wheelborrow while building my basement and the other when I tried to help my neighbor lift an implement to get it connected to his tractor.

Ten days ago, my wife was at work and slipped on some stairs. When she grabbed the hand railing to prevent her fall she damaged her back. By last Tuesday she couldn't even walk so they ordered a CAT scan and discovered that she had a torn and slipped disk in her lower back. All she did watch grab a hand railing to catch her fall. They injected her with steroids and she is recovering but she's been ordered to stay home for at least two weeks before the doctor will release her to her job as a forklift operator.

Sucks getting older sometimes.

[eyeguy 54]

My da used to say "be nice to the old man yer gonna be" to me a lot when I was younger and of course I didn't listen. Being a type A and finding skiis was a lotta fun! I am just coming out of 9 months of pain killers and laying on the couch but PTL I am coming out of it. Back surgery in August 2010 and May of 2006. No more ice fishing, no more down hill skiing (maybe:>)). Missed a lot in 2010 and sure hope 2011 is better!

[magicstix]

I don't know the medical names but can try to describe some of them. A better term would be muscle contraction training.

Most people are with back injury are familar with pelvic tilts, they have you doing this one by just contracting the muscles, the pelvic is hardly moving.

Another is the is a muscle that runs from your hip to your grion area, if i remeber right, contracting that one tightens muscles around L4 L5.

Contracting muscles in the upper buttocks, squeezing them together, works the muscles around the verebrates in the lower part of back. This one was the hardest to learn to get it right.

Theres is few more. I was walking about 3-4miles on flat ground and then do exercises, ice for 5-10 minutes, twice a day, and some times a third at night too.

Like someone else said there is a lot on the internet and remember the term "No Pain No Gain" Does Not apply here. If it hurts stop. Walking on flat groung is good too and like Northlander said drinking lots of water is good.

[Ed Carlson]

"Cat Stretch's" is a good exercise for keeping your back loose and lessening the chance of sudden stress injury. You get on all 4's and arch your back up high and take a deep breath and reverse the position and arch to the lowest you can comfortably achieve...then repeat this 10 times. Do it daily and it helps. You look goofy, but it works.

I have had 3 back surgery's and learned the simple act of fallowing a stretching regime is critical to good back health. When I slack off on it, I will pay for being lazy.

There are a lot of good exercise stretching programs illustrated on the net. Should check with your Dr first and see what they recommend for you personally, as each case is highly individualistic on where you should start and at what rigor.

Stretching helps, and it does not take much time to do.

[The Grebe]

I've always been pretty strong. Started when I was a kid with a sledge hammer and pry bar, loading limestone onto flat bed trucks in the quarries of southern Minnesota...used it for building retaining walls. From there on, most everything I did was physical, I was never out of shape.

Later, I was building retaining walls with Railroad ties and I could shoulder one of them bad boys and walk off with it, no problem. I've worked at coopering grain cars, throwing around those heavy grain door inserts like nothing, I did hand power shoveling flax out of grain cars for a couple of years, loaded 100 pound sacks of linseed meal, stacked 8 high, into box cars. On top of that, I would hit the gym.

The old guys would always tell me...."You'll be sorry for all that heavy lifting when you get older!"

Well, as fate would have it, the old guys were right...I continued heavy lifting and I did get older and I did get injured, hurt my back on more then one occassion. Last summer was the worse!

Last August, I was building a boulder wall for a client and my wife was along for the ride and to help out where she could. She started feeling poorly and I tried to hurry to finish up and I lifted to heavy, while at the same time, turning wrong....within two days I could barely stand up! The pain, numbness and tingling going from my lower back, down my leg to my toes was almost unbearable at times.

That was the beginning of a long odessey that still isn't over. I started with the chiropractor....some of the time when I would come out of there, I thought I was going to have to crawl to my truck on my hands and knees. Their's seem to me to be a cookie cutter approach to back problems....they do pretty much the same thing for everyone it seems? Well 6 sessions in I was no better then when I first went to them. I went to the doctor and found out I had a slipped disc and it was pinching nerves, the largest being the sciatic nerve....I was even walking crooked!

The doctor gave me 3 options, therapy, steroids, surgery, I chose therapy to begin with and I'm glad I did! It took a number of sessions and continued therapy at home, but I got straightened out and gradually the pain and the numbness and tingling went away...from August to December, I was on a steady diet of iboprophene, 2 every 4 hours and muscle relaxers before I went to bed. In January I was able to stop taking the tablets.

The excercises consisted of bridging, abdominal bracing, supine leg thrusts and hamstring stretch, among others. The one that did the most for me I do believe, I don't know the name of it? Whatever way you are bent, you lean your opposite shoulder and arm againt the wall, move the feet out a little ways so you are at and angle and do about 20 reps of pushing the hips toward the wall. And, cold packs work 100% better then heating pads, it did for me anyways.

I still have some residue and I'm sure I'm going to have to watch myself, but once you feel strong again, a person goes back to what they know, what comes natural to them, but I know that if I don't make an effort and pay attention to what I'm doing, I could be right back in the same shape again. I usually do 30-50 ice fishing trips a season....I've been out twice!

[Wensel]

Good thread, I broke lumbar bones L3 L4 L5 playing hockey 27 years ago.

Two things work for me

1 Keep the weight off....not easy I'm 6 2 and I like beer.

2 Hydrate, like northlander said this is huge, I try to drink a gallon of water a day

[poorB]

I hurt my back the first time playing football in collage. I have tired lots of different things to ease the pain. 2 year ago i went to the instute of athletic medicine. They really showed me the importance of a strong core. I went the better part of the last 2 years pain free. i train my core pretty much daily and have lost more then 40 pounds which helps alot. Unfortunately i tweaked my back this last weekend at mille lacs. my auger grabbed at the bottom of the hole and pulled me down 6-8inches when i wasn't ready that was all it took. 3 days and i am almost back to normal. If you are looking for a great tool to develop your core take a look at the TRX suspention trainer. and the healty back DVD to go with it. I use it daily it doesn't look like it will do much but it works better thane anything else i have ever tired.