I've just undergone a huge lower back surgery and I'm thinking ahead to physio. I was a kite flyer as a kid and I've been into windsurfing and sailing for years. I wondered if anyone knew how good an exercise power kiting will be to strengthen lumbar muscles and prevent disk prolapse as a result of my surgeries.

I'm not rushing into anything and I'm only starting light and building up on all physio to prevent further damage, but kiting must be easier on my back than playing loose head prop, which resulted in breaking it in the first place.

I have a young family so money is a bit tight, but does anyone have advice on where i should start if at all!

Many thanks.

Power Kiting is NOT a rehab exercise program. follow your thyripists exercise/yoga programs heal well and strong then go fly a kite.

the other night I took some noobies out flying with me. I popped their Kiting Cherry.


I just gave them my little 1.7m, and it was great fun for them to see a foil kite they could repeatedly thwap into the ground and not break anything while screaming "wow that pulls hard"

I then pulled out my 6.8 and 3.3, and while they didn't fly those, they did comment "man, what a upper body and back work out" I was getting with the 6.8 that I had long scuds on..........


So start small and have fun.

Windsurf harnesses are just like kite harnesses. If you used them to windsurf you should remember how they fit and be able to talk to your doctor about whether it's OK to use one after surgery. Seems like they'd sit right on the repaired area.

Like windsurfing, you can use larger kites and have fun in higher winds if you use a harness. However, if you stay on land and snow you could use handles without a harness. This is fine in a buggy. It could be fine for a mountain board too but there's an increased risk of falling and re-injuring yourself.

Don't get me wrong, I'm following my therapist's advice. I was just looking into a sport which would, at a later date, compliment my recovery.

Does sound like fun though, a good upper body and back work out will definitely be required and if the sport removes some cobwebs at the same time then all the better.

Thanks both of you.

Quote: Originally posted by KAZEDOKA

Power Kiting is NOT a rehab exercise program. follow your thyripists exercise/yoga programs heal well and strong then go fly a kite.

I am not sure Dirtslide's physio would agree with that statement, but his was a different type of injury. I would take it over with your physio before you do it.
S

I agree, falling would be detrimental to my mojo. The harness would sit right in the wrong spot so that is out too. Just getting going gently on the beaches here on the Isle of Man would do me fine.

Can't wait now. 6 weeks of rest then I'll start with something the size of a postage stamp perhaps?

I think starting with small 2 line trick kites with little pull would help build core strength and then build up to small 2 line foils and see where that leads you. All with the blessing of your caretakers and in proper winds to only provide a little tension on the lines.

I just had the fragments of my L5-S1 removed last December. The disc basically exploded and migrated down along the nerves causing lots of fun nerve compression. I jus got back into kitesurfing four weeks ago. Taking it slow and easy... Well, as much as I can.

Yeah it's a huge workout and has left me sore for a couple days. Not sure if its helping me improve or not, but its hard to say no when the winds are blowin...

It is hard to do nothing when you've been active all your life. I contacted an orthopedic consultant friend and he seems to think that if you start slow then the no-impact nature of the exercise and the fact that you are building muscle which will hold those parts of the spine in place and help recovery. He did insist on starting slowly though and building up.

@new- where did you get the idea this was a no impact sport. Agree small stunt kite yes larger power kite hitting the ground has a certain amount of impact. Trust me i know about impacting the ground:D
scott

Plus, if you start throwing jumps, you are going to hit something hard at some point. Water isn't as forgiving as you might think. And sand is pretty solid as well.

Quote: Originally posted by flyguy0101

Trust me i know about impacting the ground:D scott

true dat!


injury and kiting...simple as this, IF you are injury prone....cautioned advised.


a minor back injury(not from kiting) i think last summer/ fall, i would gimp out to the beach , take forever to pump up my kite...and the magic traction made kiting totally pain free. my back injury rate has been MUCH improved over the 5yrs , BUT the rest has been tattered...both shoulders, knees, ribs, wrist ankles, toes, fingers, and ...countless whiplash. AND the most numerous SKIN abrasions and just plain impact trauma.

several months ago, a friend(an orthopedic spine specialist)i kite with, WE both had TWO facial injuries each, just one after another. cuts and abrasions and incidental tweaks are just common. helmet, GLOVES pads etc help but a slam is gonna shake the bones !

any sport that involves balance, acceleration/velocity will results in falls, which really isn't the problem, its the sudden stop that gets your attention.

the first pull over...is where the commitment blooms or dies.

don't fight it, learn to fall

No question…proceed w/ caution… I don’t know what the hell loose head prop is, I must be missing something..but I suffered w/ severe back pain many years… would be on a tens machine 24hrs/day weeks at a time and be hitting the pain killers and rubs at the same time…this has all seemed to go away w/ my kiting…I think this has done more to help me than anything else..but hey first off..be careful out there.

Quote: Originally posted by abkayak

No question…proceed w/ caution… I don’t know what the hell loose head prop is, I must be missing something..but I suffered w/ severe back pain many years… would be on a tens machine 24hrs/day weeks at a time and be hitting the pain killers and rubs at the same time…this has all seemed to go away w/ my kiting…I think this has done more to help me than anything else..but hey first off..be careful out there.

Rugby

Quote:

Prop The props "prop up" the hooker in the scrum.[26] They form part of the front row of the scrum and push against the oppositions props. The loosehead prop is positioned to the left of the hooker and their head will be on the outside of the scrum when it engages. The tighthead is to the right of the hooker with their head positioned between the opposition hooker and the opposition loosehead prop.[26] The prop's main role is to provide stability at the scrum and support the hooker in quickly winning the ball.[98] At the line-out the prop's role is to support the jumper as they compete for the ball. They are usually positioned at the front of the line-out with a jumper in between them. They are also often involved in lifting jumpers when receiving kick-offs.[95] While scrummaging is still seen as their main responsibility, modern props are also expected to contribute in attack and defence.[98] Props have to take in pressure from the locks and loose forwards pushing from behind and the opposition pushing against them, so they are often among the strongest players in a team. Some of the more successful props have short necks and broad shoulders to absorb this force as well as powerful legs to drive the scrum forward.[98] Since the game has become professional non-specialist props or hookers cannot play in the front row. If, through sendings-off or injuries, a team does not have enough specialist front row players, the scrums become 'uncontested' (i.e. no pushing is allowed and the team putting the ball into the scrum wins it).[96] On their own scrum, the loosehead's role is to provide the hooker with a clear view to strike the ball, while the tighthead tries to keep the scrum stable.[99] When the opposition is putting the ball in, the tighthead attempts to disrupt the opposing hooker or loosehead, making it difficult for them to win the ball.[99] Props in the International Rugby Hall of Fame include: Jason Leonard (England and Lions), Syd Millar (Ireland and Lions) and Wilson Whineray (New Zealand).

I'm going for a definite NO, whilst it does give muscles a workout, the unpredictable nature of wind particularly inland gusts, could cause strain, which I could hardly see as being advisable.
Some might say go with a very small kite to limit that ..... Sort of takes out the fun.

My father was a physiotherapist, one of the best exercises is swimming and water type things, you can load up muscles without the associated shocks, you want a controlled approach to your rehabilitation. Definitely speak to your physio, ask them, but I can't kiting being a sensible approach, if you get pulled over and slammed, you risk undoing all your work and worse.

Don't get me wrong I love kites, I just don't see it as being suitable physical therapy.

All the best with your back

Thought I replied to this.

Had either the same thing or something similar... slowly worked up to learning to kiteboard, but when I got into power-kiting, scudding didn't feel good. Neither did jumping with fixed bridles. Harness is better to use...

But there are better physio workouts. Just don't over do it - I've tweaked the back muscles again good'n'proper once (suppository pain killers! whee!) and just a litte a few times. And I freak out every time something twinges.

Flexibility and strength. Yoga may be good. Don't push it.

Got it….thanks…I agree this is not proper rehab at all… But this is something you don’t want to go thru life missing… getting on a 2m kite on moderate winds is something everyone should experience.. I wont even bring up buggy/board/water..Got to be smart about the approach and avoid unnecessary risk and all that. But for crying out loud the guys a rugby player…he’s destined to go out in a hail of bullets one way or another …So get the kite and get ready to get slammed at some point…your probably gonna enjoy the heck out of it..is it too late for a disclaimer now?

Been suffering from back issues for several years now. Long before I picked up my first kite. I have a damaged L7 vertebrae (that's the last one down before the hip bones) and it's a b#tch most days. I'm holding out to the bitter end before surgery. It's not debilitating, but the pain is there every day. Pain and injury vary from person to person. Like others said, take only professional advice IMHO!! For me, static and buggy puts a strain on my lumbar. Some days more, some days less. Seems for every 1 day I fly, I'm sore and stiff for 2-3 days. But yoga stretching, inversion, and tens therapy loosens me back up. That's my deal. Again, I don't cry about much it anymore. Just part of my daily lifestyle now. It's there everyday. A back injury/disorder truly sucks but I refuse to stop enjoying things in life. I will prolly never harness up just for the risk involved with further injuring my vertebrae. Pop-eye arms are much cooler anyway :D.

The joy of flying out ways the pain. And most of the time, I forget all about the pain during a good session.

Surgery sucks, but it gets better very quickly! Don't wait!
Of course, I had full coverage so I had to pay only $1300 in cash, and I got $1000 back...