I'd like to know what people's suggestions are regarding whether I should use a seat or waist harness? I'm 39, ride a 5'10 surfboard with straps, usually a 9m kite and am into wave riding more than tricks. I use a waist harness because that's what I learnt with. I have a dodgy lower back with intermittent pain and some sciatica. I have seen a doc/had a scan and its mainly degenerative changes/getting old. Which harness would be best?
In my opinion and based on my own experience, not expertice.
Waist harness is better.
If you work in an office using a computer stop sitting on a normal desk chair, purchase a kneel chair this will make a huge difference.
Make sure your car seat has good lumber support.
I second the Doctor,
da Kine shorts with sliding dyna bar hook. Best harness ever. No twisting and chafing like a waist harness. Slingshot effect out of turns.
Kind to ageing backs.
Flying objects combo harness with a rope dyna bar . Awesome toe side abilities and goodbye sore back
+1 to dakine shorts and dynabar sliding rope. You don't even know you have it on. Waist harness kills my back.
+2 for Dakine boardshort , suffer chronic lower back pain that's relieved after a kite, my Physio actually recommends kiting, similar effect to traction therapy
I had a bad back for a while - blown disk and sciatica etc. I have a DynaBar and it made it heaps better on my back (waist harness).
In regards to your back - doing some stretching and getting the hockey ball into the sore spots has eliminated my pain and changed my life:
I use the dakine/Liquid force shorts and mainly on a surfboard and its fine..... but the best thing is you just pop off the bar hook and your drest, ready to go straight to the tavern/pub or if you live in NSW out for a latte
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The mechanics of using waist harness for kiting is similar (not identical) to lifting a heavy object. At wave riding the spine is often rotated at a time when a sudden pull of the kite happens. This is very similar (again, not identical) to lifting heavy object with rotated spine. For a healthy spine and lower back these are strengthening exercises. For an injured spine / lower back they are inherently risky.
A good, comfortable seat harness is the start. How high the spreader bar you like is individual. That's where seat harnesses appear to differ a lot. If a degeneration / injury is lower, i.e. L5, L4..., then a lower spreader bar may suit better. IF the injury is higher, i.e. L1, L2, T12 higher spreader bar is better. (With any problem in the thoracic level with otherwise strong lower back waist harness is the go.)
With stuffed up lower back unhooking is very risky unless you use a large board and small kite, i.e. low or moderate pull, but even then sudden pulls against a twisted spine will still be risky.
If you don't unhook, then a sliding bar is the way. If you don't want to spend the money on something complicated, then make up one... it takes about 20-30 min. Check out my photos.
Spinal degeneration is common and advances quickest in the lower lumbar spine. Joints stiffen and adjusting is the only way to restore movement, and stretching will help.
The waist harnesses will never perfectly fit the contoured concavity in your lower back, and instead push on the base at one end and the top of your lower back with the other end, causing a flattening of your curve that is opposed with muscle contraction of your erector spinae muscles, which causes fatigue and pain.
The dakine waist harness is very comfortable, moreso than the ion B2, but if you were boosting big and often the ion is more reliable (I have broken 2 dakine harnesses).
If you need any adjusting and deep tissue, I'm only too happy to help a fellow kiter, as I help others in the racing scene. Reynolds Chiropractic Centre in Applecross, 0409107066 if you need anything. I'm not trying to advertise, just educate and help someone with the same passion for the water.
Select to expand quoteChiroTrev said..
adjusting is the only way to restore movement
You gotta be joking mate.... there is a range of treatment modalities available (just search the net) for spinal degeneration, and chyro cracking a degenerated stiff spine is not on the list by any standard... if you check some medical research from the US and from two physio universities in Oz they have a very different opinion based on evidences....
Your "analysis" on a waist harness disregards the webbing of the harnesses and the fact that it distributes (hopefully evenly) the pull of the kite on a properly contoured back support.
Im on my third harness with a bad back. Ive broken multiple vertibrae and have degenerative discs. Anyway, some great advice already offered. The boardies were ok, seat harness better but waist is the best for me provided i stretch and stay conditioned ie kite weekly.
If you're in melbourne you can borrow all my harnesses and see which one you like as i kept them all.
I've had some l4l5s1 issue's, find that smaller waist is most comfortable
Start doing squats and deadlifts to strengthen the support muscles in that area!
