As said, you cant keep a good man down.

Yesterday the "man" was on his MTB on a easy ride.

Today 4/11/2012 at 3.20 pm at Nobbys the "man" took to the water in the Kiddies pool behind the reef.

There was no bigger smile on his face after only 10 minutes of kiting.

But im not quite sure if he needed to chuck in a couple of back rolls

Good that you back buddy

Take any advice you get from Internet forums with a grain of salt.

I am in a unique position to comment on this - kitesurfer, chiropractor, have suffered two separate herniated discs in my lower back.

1. Get yourself a good healthcare professional. I would recommend a good chiro because they deal with spines all day every day. A good spinal specialist physio can work also. traction should help. You have never been down this road before, they probably have been, they can offer their experience and treatment. They should do a thorough history and examination, and explain what the problem is and what they think that they can do to help BEFORE they treat you.

You should feel comfortable with them and their approach, and happy that you can work as a team. Anyone that dosent examine you properly, or ask you a heap of questions, should be avoided like the plague. As an example, i would do an average of 50 - 100 nerve and muscle tests on any new client. This minimises the chances of people not diagnosing you properly.

2. Anything you do will need to be repeated. be it stretches, exercises, mobilizations, or chiropractic adjustments. You dont retrain the body by doing things once. As an example, if someone like you was to walk into my office, I would probably plan to see you about 24 times over the course of 6 months. see below

3. Healing takes time. Any client of mine with a disc injury I give a 1 year time frame. First 3 months of active recovery - getting you back to close to pre injury status, improving mobility, decreasing pain. four to six months - getting core strength back, improving on stage one. 7 to 12 months - be careful, but start getting into stuff again. clinically speaking, i have found that a re injury within 12 months can put you right back to (close to) square one. taking it easy for a while will pay off in the long term.

Also recovery will be up and down. If your more down than up, do something different.

I almost underwent a second surgery on an ankle injury because i went surfing at ****ty 2 foot scarborough one month earlier than planned. I know its tough, but better safe than sorry with your spine

4. No pain dose not mean no injury. What do you think happens to those guys that have a back that is fine most of the time but hurts some of the time? It dosent magically go away, the problem just sits there and gets aggravated and settles down. dont stop doing the good stuff for your rehab when the pain stops (a problem that i have regularly with my clients, even though they know better). Wait till you have close to full strenght and mobility back, rather than just 'not hurting'

5. Core muscles do not fire properly when you are in pain. Dont try and strengthen when your back is sore.

6. Any brace will only take the place of your core muscles. Use them, but dont rely on them.

7. Sup is great for core, make sure you have a paddle that is longer rather than shorter, flexion (forward bending) will wreck your back. Once you are strong enough, kiting will help, but take it easy until fully recovered. Gym programs should be personalized to your specific problem.

Mate, dont wrap yourself in cotton wool, but take it easy, and get some smart people on your team. Pay the money, take the time, do it properly, and there should be very minimal long term consequence. Ignore it, put up with it, dont do it properly, can have bad future outcomes.

As an example, from my second disc injury, I was back kitesurfing and doing MMA within 6 months, and going full on in the year, and have had no problems since - unless i do something stupid, dont keep up my core work or dont get adjusted for a while when i need to.

Paul1 said...
Most people have some form of spondylolisthesis, Chiro's nearly always diagnose this. An x-ray is basically useless, go get an MRI at least and see a proper neurologist/back surgeon. I have had some extremely bad experiences with Chiro's and have been warned off them by all professionals I meet. They generally give you a bit of relief then sucker you into a lengthy re-hab that does zero. Good luck.

Mate, you clearly dont have a clue what you are talking about.

spondylolisthisis - an anterior or posterior displacement of one vertebral segment on the other. present most commonly around L5 slipping anterior on S1 due to a fracture, most commonly either asymptomatic or due to excess extension. present in between 5-7% of the population.

spondylosis - basically spinal arthritis. Yes, lots of people have it, lots of people have spinal problems, and the spine will wear out quicker than normal in the bits that arent working properly.

Just coz a chiro hasent worked for you in the past, dosent mean they dont work.

I had a bad meal at a cafe once, so i dont eat out anymore ;)

also, only go see a suergon if you have gotten a good recommendation, or you want to undergo spinal surgery.

Paul1 said...
Most people have some form of spondylolisthesis, Chiro's nearly always diagnose this. An x-ray is basically useless, go get an MRI at least and see a proper neurologist/back surgeon. I have had some extremely bad experiences with Chiro's and have been warned off them by all professionals I meet. They generally give you a bit of relief then sucker you into a lengthy re-hab that does zero. Good luck.

Fact of the matter is, Chiro is for some, physio is for some and "other" is for others. People need to do what works for them, not criticize other people's choices. In my case, had a back injury, tried this, that and the other and found Chiro worked best for me (backed up with x-ray evidence of correcting my scholiosis) but no need to go blowing any trumpets about miracle cures tho. Hope you have a speedy recovery and get back on the water soon! Good winds!

eppo said...
Agreed. Had nothing but good results from a particular Chiro ( who happened to have a degree in medicine as well). There is a strange misnomer is Australia about chiros and it has become a strange wife's tale about the perils of using a Chiro. Been to plenty of physios will little results. Like anything depends on the quality of the practitioner. To lump them in all in the same problematic place is very limited and reveals a lack of knowledge and or experience.

On a brighter notes, wow awesome you got out mate, that's awesome news.

Lack of knowledge and experience? Jeez mate I should have known you were an expert on this also.

Paul1 said...

eppo said...
Agreed. Had nothing but good results from a particular Chiro ( who happened to have a degree in medicine as well). There is a strange misnomer is Australia about chiros and it has become a strange wife's tale about the perils of using a Chiro. Been to plenty of physios will little results. Like anything depends on the quality of the practitioner. To lump them in all in the same problematic place is very limited and reveals a lack of knowledge and or experience.

On a brighter notes, wow awesome you got out mate, that's awesome news.

Lack of knowledge and experience? Jeez mate I should have known you were an expert on this also.

No think I made that perfectly clear. Although you seem to be the expert in launching kites.

Again awesome you are out on the water mate. Baby steps no 30 foot boosts just yet hey!

Hi Franz

I have L5 / S1 disc prolapse.

I use a Dakine fusion seat harness which I find offers a lot of back support. Trouble was in the surf it was too restrictive when kiting toeside on a surfboard but then along came a dynabar V7 and my problems were solved.

I also endorse the SUP for core and found that the mountain bike offered a lot of stretch in the lower back and legs. I find when I don't kite for say 3 weeks or more the back will flare up so my advice is to stay as active as you physically can.

Different things work for different people so try all that has been discussed in this thread and hopefully you will find the things that work for you.

Best of luck in managing your injury.