Surfing Waves

Hi,
My brother in law has chronic back pain. He's been surfing since he was a teenager and is now in his 40's.

He can't sit for more than a few minutes and has to stand all the time.

Could this be from surfing many years?

Does anyone know of the long term affects surfing has on the body?

not sure, is this after a surf? or just generally?

Surf in general.

Everytime you get hit by a high impact wave, is that similar to a mild car accident?

That sounds harsh, hope he is getting some help to sort the problem out?

From what I gather, if you surf a lot you have to train the other muscles in your body to avoid overstimulating/using particular 'surfing' muscles - the same with any activity.
If you dont then there is a chance you will suffer from injuries later down the line and those muscles become tired or your body adjusts its posture to compensate, meaning that some muscles become very weak and your body relys on certain muscles to hold it up. (lower back muscles from arching your back whilst paddling?)

I have bad posture which has led to pain all the time, sometimes debilitating pain in my upper back/neck/shoulders. Im only 25 (ok, fairly old) but my body has got so used to standing/sitting in a certain way. When I try and sit/stand up straight the muscles used to do that (abs and front of the neck) are so week that they dont managed it for long and I go back to slouching and raising my shoulders up high. This is a very common complaint - sooo many people have it.

To get over this you have to train the muscles that you wouldnt usually use. It seems to me that the 'best exercise for surfing is surfing' rule is somewhat a fallacy, especially if you have a poorly conditioned body. Either way, all round correct training of the body should help to combat the stresses put on it by repetative exercise, particularly 'core muscle' execises. If you want to look into it some more - check out the Surf flex book, it is rather good:

https://surfing-waves.com/shop/itemAZfittosurf.htm

https://surfing-waves.com/shop/itemAZsurf_flex.htm

Dont worry about it too much though and dont let it ruin your surf - just work on trying to prevent it if it concerns you. There could very well be a number of factors in causing your brother in laws back pain. Everyone's body is different, whilst I suffer from injury fairly easily I know many, many people who dont - and havent given preventative training a second thought!!

I would suggest that surfing by itself did not cause chronic back pain, unless he was repeatedly pounded on the spine by waves, which is a somewhat difficult thing to do.

The thing that hurts me the most, back-wise, are my shoulders and neck - from the paddling, and from laying on the board and looking up so much.

As with any sport, if you stay fit, surfing is a great aerobic exercise and shouldn't be harmful (minus sharks, reefs, jellyfish, spongers, kooks, locals, and so forth).

Chronic back pain doesn't suddenly occur, either - I'm assuming there were prior injuries from something.

One of the most common reasons for back pain is a worn out mattress. I know it sounds crazy, but it's a fact. Not too long ago I was starting to have back aches. Got a new mattress and I'm back to my old self.

Good luck,

Try reading this article, it may help.

http://hometreatment.net/home-remedies/bones-muscles-and-joint-problems/home-treatment-for-chronic-back-pain/

I get sciatica - its usually caused by rock climbing rather than surfing - but can cause chronic problems. I went to see a physio and she sorted me out with a load of streching and strengthening exercise muscles for back and core muscles. When I do them religiously I have no problems - sadly I'm a bit of a lazy old git so I don't do the exrcise and so get more back problems - sort out with physio exercies and repeat. Another thing about chronic problems is mainatining a positive attitude - being positive will encourage a more active approach to recovery.

I am 46 years old now, and I have had on and off back problems for years. I have surfed for over 37 years now, and I also used to skateboard a lot as well. Still do. I have taken more than my share hard knocks. I just think as you get older all those little falls and scrapes add up. I have started a pretty hard workout program, and I fell better than I did when I was in my thirties.

Here is some valuable information that may help you choose a path to manage or relieve back pain.
I'm a retired Chiropractor and now doing lots f surfing after work.
First statement, get it checked out by a qualified Chiropractor Physiotherapist Osteopath or Doctor, chronic back pain is not always a back problem! ( remember too that as this is an international forum, different rules and qualifications of any of the people I've mentioned apply).

You would be best advised to seek therapists who are well qualified around backs and also surf.

I recommend for all my patients to gather a group of Drs etc who can talk to and work with each other.

Once the problem is diagnosed then appropriate treatment, this will also suggest follow up and remedial exercises.

A good program to follow if all is well with the underlying structure of the spine is Pilates and or Yoga with a good teacher who will start you at the beginning and will take into account how your body is doing.

Regular massage is also great.

I can understand back pain from rock climbing especially unsuccessful rock climbing.

Dead mattresses are a culprit too .

Surfing per se. and wipeouts are not a cause of chronic back pain, if an individual wipeout causes back pain it would be immediately noticeable and memorable for all the wrong reasons. As per the Newport Wedge type wipeouts.

My immediate advice FFS is to get it immediately checked out and go from there.
Pain is a signal something is wrong, chronic pain more so!

I've included a link to another item I wrote in regard to this and other joints in this forum
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16315

When I started feeling backpains i stopped surfring.

ricaluanna wrote:When I started feeling backpains i stopped surfring.

Sad get them checked out and cleared and start surfing again

Most back pain is caused by a weak core. Strengthen the core and most back pain will go away; if not seek medical advice. Yoga is also great for the core.

Back pain in some way is permanent. Usually you can get rid of it unless you take pills . It is near about impossible to take these anesthetic pills throughout your life so you can go for heat wraps. They use infrared technology which reveals the pain quite quickly.. and no side effects so you can use it as and when you require.

Please remove this troll, back pain is a symptom of everything from muscle strain to kidney problems and worse.
Fortunately most of the causes are treatable and can be alleviated and a good exercise and as someone earlier in the thread getting the core muscles balanced and strong is vital.

heat packs and liniments Chinese plasters all have their place as does infrared technology.

Why do I ask for the previous post to be removed because it is limited in scope and does not acknowledge that back pain can have it's causes treated.
So IMO inappropriate.

I know this is an old post, but though I would reply after doing a search on back pain. I have been getting lower back pain for a couple of years now, but have been managing it with some Yoga and medication. After a really bad episode of pain and sciatica I went and got an MRI scan. I then got checked out be a spinal surgeon with a good reputation who diagnosed degenerative disc disease/disorder. he has since referred me to a physiotherapist. My back had started to settle down when i had my first appointment this week. Unfortunately since my session with him I can now barely walk. Does anyone know if this is a normal occurrence? Personally I’m thinking I should not go there again?

Hi Chamber66, I am a retired chiropractor, so I may be able to offer some advice for you to check out where you live, to see if there is help available.
I say check it out because things are different in different countries. What country are you in
First good you have had the MRI makes the diagnosis correct.
I'm thinking from your problem that is a disc bulge at L5 and maybe L4 a little less.

Your yoga was a great solution until it blew up as it makes the core strength in the muscles that support the spine carry the load.
When the degeneration/injury causes the bulge to put pressure on the nerve well there is sciatica.

First course relieve the swelling of the bulge and injury and the surrounding tissue that increases the pressure on the nerve.
It also seems that you have been developing this problem over a few years, most people know if they do it as a one time acute injury.

If your body and your medico find it fits your current health profile some pain killers ( doesn't fix but relieves pain) and or some anti inflammatories, ( again doesn't fix but decreases swelling) Usually both are prescription drugs, follow instructions.

Postural relief, you can lie on the floor on your back hips to knee upright at right angle from body, knee to ankle at right angle resting on chair lie there for a while this can allow the disc and tissue to lessen their swelling.
Other relief, get safely into a swimming pool and just walk while de-weighted, don't swim.


Some massage may relieve it slightly but it also can cause more problems, you need to have masseur you really trust.
Again massage is only a relief technique at this stage, better value later.

Physiotherapy (this my opinion) is great for rehabilitation after muscle and limb injury but I find the spinal manipulations that Physio's use in Australia not as beneficial as they could be.


Chiropractors do manipulations that may help but all in all the discs are degenerated so other than taking the mechanical misalignment pressure off the disc and inflammation/swelling will decrease but the underlying problem is still there.

If you can get the spine structurally aligned the stress on the disc will be as little as it can be, then build a musculature that supports the spine this is after you get past the acute stage pain etc, you are well cautioned to consider lifting and weight carrying techniques as a start.
Next I would resume Yoga and/ or take on Pilates making sure that your teachers know of the back problem.

All this is particularly important if you have a sedentary job.
My suggestion for any surfer is to have a team of a Medico, Chiropractor , masseur and physiotherapist hopefully all of whom surf or at least understand surfing and are prepared to talk and work with each other.
Just a general note here, this is general advice I haven't examined you so it is based on how I would treat a similar case here.
That fact that you had an MRI helped, for others reading this post, not all back pain has the same cause , get diagnosed properly by a professional and then you will have a clear path to follow to recovery.

Thanks that was a fantastic reply. I live in Wales, U.K. I don't have a sedentaty job and since this started approx 2 years ago i have been walking 5 miles a day to and from work, regardless of the weather. The yoga is a fairly new thing to me, as i have only been doing it for the past 3 months and only do around 20 mins or so in the mornings. I was quite happy with the way things were going, untill the physiotherapy this week. The guy has a good rep. It's just this increased pain has made me a little wary of him. I shall go back on Monday and have a long talk with him, and see how I feel then. As for pain relief, breakfast for me at the moment is anti-inflamtorys and mild opiates But they do help.

Once again thankyou for a fantastic reply.

That's good to give the Physio feedback, if they take it well and change what they do then , a good sign. Hey and Wales got up against Ireland in the Rugby. If you want to talk about your back of forum PM me but the advice might help someone else too.
Back on track your pain will also lessen over time doing nothing. if you can come off the medication quite promprtly prolong usage of any medication can have negative effect over time. Discuss with doctor.

Hi, I stumbled across this post in google while searching for something else. It could be that your brother has muscle imbalance, cause by the movements/strains of riding a surfboard. Basically it is cause from repeated use of certain muscles and causes the opposing muscles to strain to counter the effect of the overused muscles.