Mid-Lower back pain

andiss

So since I dropped triathlons and started adding up the mileage in the pool I have noticed that Ive started to get a mild (numb) lower back pain. ( i am a bit surprised cause I don't run anymore and not hunched over a pair of handlebars on a dirty bicycle)

I surf and been told i kind of have a surf swim style - high water position - so maybe i am hyperextending the back?

I don't really kick that much and I have been working on my form, snorkel work and etc so thought that should help.

I do also have young kids so there is a lot of lifting going on - still im a bit surprised with the development of the lower numb back pain.

Anyone else been here and has a few tips?

Core strength? Change of position in the water?

wendyv34

Hi andiss,
I have good natural buoyancy/body position and tend to get lower back pain when I use a pull buoy or a full length wetsuit, especially if there is a lot of sighting involved. I was hit by a car in '08 while cycling, which did a fair amount of damage to my hips & lower back. Unfortunately, that limits the amount of time I can sit on my bike, (I get that numb/burning lower back pain) which makes me sad, because I love biking.

Do you use a pull buoy very often? If so, I'd recommend trying your pull sets without one. Working on getting your body position aligned should help and it sounds like you're doing that. Raising your head or swimming with a high head position can definitely put pressure on your back. If you have a coach, have her/him look at your form to see if they have any advice to improve your body position.

More core strength never hurt anyone. Dolphin kick is a good way to build that in the pool and is lots more fun that crunches.

A low back stretch on land: lay on your back, bend one knee (grab your leg below your knee, if it helps) and cross it over your other leg while keeping your hips on the floor. In the water, I like to start in a prone streamlined position, with everything squeezed tight, (as tall as I can get), then transition to a cannonball, knees at chest & hugging my legs.

I hope you are able to resolve this issue. I understand how frustrating it can be when pain limits one's activities.

IronMike

I had lower back pain in a 10K I tried about a month before Swim the Suck (10miles) and it freaked me out. So I worked on "staying horizontal" in the days leading up to StS.

Part of my prep was doing dolphin kick sets with zoomer fins. I would do 4 x 100 thusly: 1: dolphin kick face down, 2: dolphin kick facing to the right, 3: dolphin kick face up, and (you guessed it) 4: dolphin kick facing to the left.

Great core workout and I think, combined with many long sets (5 x 1000 for example), it figured prominently in my success in StS 2012.

Oh, and lift (rugrats) with your legs!

andiss

Thanks for the tips lads!

AnthonyMcCarley

@andiss,
You may want to consider holding your head in a different angle – try looking straight down and holding your head a touch deeper (relax your neck) to see if it relieves the pressure on your lower back.
(A car accident broke a couple of my vertebrae – it took experimentation to find the angle I could hold my head for extended periods of swimming time. Heads are heavy.)

Sharko

@andiss....I grew up surfing and was a beach lifeguard with not a lot of proper swim training so my head position is high and I notice as I have gotten older my rotation is not as good...When I was seriously training for marathon swims I did a lot of core work such as pushups on the psyio ball (hands on side of ball) in classic push-up mode and other exercises and my core got strong and very little back pain...so I would guess...bury your head a bit and go into the gym and do some core work....