Bass Fishing With A Bad Back.

[Missourifishin]

Anyone else have back problems? I'm always in pain when I'm bass fishing. But I love fishing, so I just grit my teeth and bare it. Today was one of those days though... Worse pain than usual, and to add insult to injury, I didn't even get a bite. It's pretty discouraging.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here with back problems. So how do the rest of you deal with it?

[iabass8]

exercise, stretching, water. i've had a bad back for a while and have gone through chiropractors, pain relievers, etc. nothing has helped more than stretching and drinking lots of water. a couple years ago i had trouble fishing for 5 straight hours my back would ache. now i can fish well over 8 and don't feel it the next day. assuming you're talking about lower back strains..if it's herniated disks...i got a while before i hit that age.

[Missourifishin]

exercise, stretching, water. i've had a bad back for a while and have gone through chiropractors, pain relievers, etc. nothing has helped more than stretching and drinking lots of water. a couple years ago i had trouble fishing for 5 straight hours my back would ache. now i can fish well over 8 and don't feel it the next day. assuming you're talking about lower back strains..if it's herniated disks...i got a while before i hit that age.

Yeah, it's mostly lower back strains for me. I have some bad neck problems too. But fishing seems to aggravate the lower back issue more. I already drink plenty of water. But perhaps I do need to start doing more stretching/

[Sam]

Mo, please see an orthopedic back doctor if you have not done so. An MRI or X-Ray can give the physician a lot of information on why your back hurts.

 

I hope the pain is from weak muscles. If not, the doctor can tell you the problem and you will have to decide if you want to have surger to repair the damage.

 

Back surgery is not fun. My wife has had seven and is still in pain. The ortho doc we saw this week viewed her X-Ray and told us what the problems are but wanted a special dye put in her and another picture taken to try to find what nerves are in distress and causing the pain.

 

Back surgery recovery is slow and painful. Don't plan to fish for at least four to six months.

 

Good luck and T&P sent for a fast and easy recovery.

[Loop_Dad]

I have bad back. For me, fishing itself never gives me pain, actually it gives me relief cause I am standing more than usual. Only things I need to be careful is lifting things before and after fishing.

 

Like iabass, I vote for exercise and stretch. The exercise I am talking about is light exercise and the boarder between stretch and exercise becomes blur. Doing daily yoga, even when you are feeling well,  religiously helped me tremendously.

[Todd2]

My fishing buddy has some pretty bad back pain. I've seen it get worse over the years. A back brace has helped some.

[WRB]

Back problems always have a cause, you need to determine what is causing your chronic pain.

The common cause is weak core muscles, leading to hips moving out of line with your stride motion, transferring stress to your lower back L4, L5, S1 vertibreas. If you are over weight this exaggerates the problem.

Injury is another cause, however you would know your history.

Having lived with severe spinal injury for over 50 years, there are things you can do to reduce pain, starting with a examination to determine why you have a problem. Strengthening your core with exercises designed to reduce back stress, stretching to reduce muscle stress, lower back support brace and meds to control inflammation.

It's up to you to take control of your back pain.

Tom

[Missourifishin]

Thanks for the responses guys. I actually do have an injury to my neck. But the main problem while fishing, as I said earlier, is the lower back. I've been meaning to see a doctor, and I'll stop putting it off. Exercise, stretching and losing a few pounds could be all I need. I'll get a doctor's opinion on it soon though.

[tomustang]

Get checked out by your doctor so you can find out what's wrong and take a proper course. Figure out the origin before you try anything.

[Catt]

Depending on the injury exercise may not be possible.

I have 2 ruptured disc ln my lower back that are deteriorating along with torn ligaments exercising the core is impossible. The odds of surgery helping is less than 10% so I've opted to deal with it.

I've learned my limitations & fish within them

[WRB]

Catt, The technology has changed in past few years. Had my vertibreas L5 fused to S1 a year ago and feeling better today then I have for years. The recovery is about 1 year and you need top surgeons.

Tom

[tatertester]

I have had lower back pain for many years....I started sleeping with a pillow between my legs, and that has helped me more than anything else...If I have a flair up, a session of back stretching and lower back manipulation is very helpful.

[SirSnookalot]

Fish with a bad back everyday.

[Oregon Native]

PT is the way to go. Will give you some strenghening exercises. I had to go as I could not fish over an hour or two. I just did eight yesterday.....awesome

[Catt]

Tom, I'm very aware of the advancements in technology but every doctor will tell you the same thing, "every injury is different and what works on one person doesn't work on the next". Some of the top surgeons in the world are located in the Houston/Dallas/Fort Worth area.

As Sam stated his wife has had seven surgeries and is still in pain. I have a close friend who had one surgery 20 yrs ago and has zero pain while his wife has had thirteen surgeries and the doctors have give up. Jack (fishfordollars) Yates had every possible procedure done to his neck and still dealt with severe pain daily.

[TRYTOFISH]

I have had back surgeries and problems for years. I found that avoiding ruff water and sitting or leaning on something as much as possible when fishing helps. running the trolling motor is worst. I let my partner run the boat and fish from the back when possible. The best thing you can do is catch a fish on every other cast! That will take 99% of the pain away at least while your on the water!

[BassinLou]

Missourifishin, a well rounded weight training routine will help you tremendously in your situation. Regardless if you are sitting or standing while you fish, compounding fishing time into the equation, your muscles that help keep support of your low back, are weak and the only way the body can tell us something is wrong is with pain. Core exercises, low back exercises, and a back specific stretching routine will do wonders for your situation. Helping people like you is what I do for a living, and I to suffer from back issues, from an injury I suffered while playing sports in H.S. When I stray from the path, my back let's me know real quick.  

[tomustang]

Tom, I'm very aware of the advancements in technology but every doctor will tell you the same thing, "every injury is different and what works on one person doesn't work on the next". Some of the top surgeons in the world are located in the Houston/Dallas/Fort Worth area.

As Sam stated his wife has had seven surgeries and is still in pain. I have a close friend who had one surgery 20 yrs ago and has zero pain while his wife has had thirteen surgeries and the doctors have give up. Jack (fishfordollars) Yates had every possible procedure done to his neck and still dealt with severe pain daily.

It's also true that you can go to different surgeons and they'll all give you different answers.

I also urge the OP to get checked out before you do anything others suggesting. Sometimes something simple as physical therapy exercises will adjatate an injury and set it constantly in motion for more pain/problems.

[WRB]

Tom, I'm very aware of the advancements in technology but every doctor will tell you the same thing, "every injury is different and what works on one person doesn't work on the next". Some of the top surgeons in the world are located in the Houston/Dallas/Fort Worth area.

As Sam stated his wife has had seven surgeries and is still in pain. I have a close friend who had one surgery 20 yrs ago and has zero pain while his wife has had thirteen surgeries and the doctors have give up. Jack (fishfordollars) Yates had every possible procedure done to his neck and still dealt with severe pain daily.

We have world class spinal surgeons in the Los Angeles area, most major cities have them. The key to successful spinal surgury is researching who is the top surgeon for the procedure you need before it's time you need it, then go there. If your quality of life is OK without surgery, no reason to subject yourself to having it done. When you need surgury, then go to the best surgeon you can find to start with.

Tom

[tatertester]

I know that many consider Chiropractors to be quacks, but, I've found a good one can do wonders for a patient that suffers from back problems that relate to muscle spasms and misaligned vertebrate or hips......Mine gets me pain free with 2 or 3 treatments after I have spasms or extreme pain that make it difficult to even walk......This is not to downplay necessary surgeries or other measures done by  a medical specialist or back surgeon....Pillow between your knees when sleeping can do wonders also.

[SudburyBasser]

Try a wading belt. While it doesn't eliminate lower back pain I find that wearing one does reduce it.

[BassAssassin726]

After casting all day my lower back usually hurts. I find stretching before helps. Before I make my first cast Ill stretch my back and arms. Loosen up a bit and get the blood flowing. 

[Boomer_bassin]

I herniated two discs back in early August... Light duty at work, plenty of stretching, and knowing my limits has been the key, I should be back to normal soon just had to learn that I am not superman...the light exercise that is fishing helped me out a lot love being on the water!

[retiredbosn]

You are going to get many varied answers, everyone has a different pain threshold, there are many different kinds of herniated disc (posterior, anterior, some with nerve impingement some without, etc), so saying you have a herniated disc doesn't mean much. Personally I've had five major spine surgeries, I finally gave up on most of my hobbies due to pain. I'm fused from L4 thru S1 and C5 thru T1. I've had the best PT u can get, (my last therapist was Emit Smith and Troy Aikman's trainer), I have to much damage to be fixed, my progress with PT is limited because of nerve damage and bone disease, I plateau early. So is life, I miss Jack Yates (fishfordollars) he was a big help and inspiration for me.

Get checked out, before doing PT or anything, without knowing what is wrong no treatment should be tried. Once that's done then we can give u better advice. I fish sitting down most of the time and limit my time on the water.

[Bankbeater]

Once in a great while I throw out my back and it takes roughly a month to heal up.  When it happens I fish out of a boat. I just can't take walking on uneven surfaces.