Severe pain, what would you do if single handing?

[bdgWesternMass]

I found these excercises
work for my sciatica.

Originally Posted by thomm225

Its hard to tell how you would handle that situation since as most know that have had back problems they are all different.

For the last two weeks, I have had sciatica or problems with my sciatic nerve causing pain in my left leg from top to bottom and lower back plus a slightly sprained lower back since.

I think I did it building my backstay. The vice wasn't mounted so I was holding it which held the 1 x 19 wire and then cutting the with a hacksaw in two spots. I'm close to 70 years old but don't seem to understand that at times.

This thing refuses to heal and is very painful at night.

I have been walking every day and on Friday pulled an old jib off the boat to measure. Folding that sail back up was quite painful.

So I sailed on Sunday for the first time in at least two weeks. I was tired when I left the dock.

Wind was gusty so when raising the mainsail while standing by the mast I could feel my back muscles telling me to be careful or else.

I was also balancing myself as the power boats sped by in a great hurry to sit at anchor some place all day to fish.

I was exhausted after a 3 hour day sail but was happy I could still walk.

I did buy a heating pad and have had that on at times below my lower back at night.

As far as getting sails down etc if single handing with severe back pain you would have to plan a strategy based on your pain and get the sails or a sail down.

If possible maybe just drop the main and tie it to the deck then lessen the jib and sail downwind slowly for a few days under autopilot.

As far as pain meds and belts etc the Doc mentioned above, I have been doing 600 to 800 mg Advil (Ibuprofen) several times a day and last night wore a leg warmer on my left leg like cyclists use in cold weather which fit quite tight with the heating pad under my lower back.

This morning pain is mainly in lower back but can be tolerated.

I have also been hanging from a pull up bar for 20-30 seconds several times a day to ease pressure on my spine

[AA3JY]

Following..tnx

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Franziska

You suddenly have severe lower back pain and can not move without enormous pain.
How would you deal with it? How have you dealt with it?

I know that exercise is tge best way to train your muscles, still, what would you do in the acute situation?

Watch this video - I found it helpful for reducing pain/restoring mobility immediately:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWmGArQBtFI&t=325s

I would also highly recommend cyclobenzaprine (brand name is Flexeril) - everyone I know who has ever suffered severe back pain knows these as the little yellow house pill.

[HankOnthewater]

Most replies to the initial question, has been how to prevent backpain in the first place. But faced with the dilemma of pain 10 out 10....... AND having to reduce sails and attend to the boat as well......

I agree with those who said to take whatever pain relief is available on board. Most of us won't have prescribed narcotics on board, but likely have paracetemol/acetaminophen (Panadol) and ibuprofen (Neurofin or Advil). However I was a bit surprised to see the amount of Ibuprofen tablets was suggested to take. In hospitals we (in Oz) hardly ever more than 4 tablets (of 200 mg) per 24 hours, while the Australian TGA recommended not to exceed 1200 mg. While in the US it seems that up to 16 tablets (3200 mg over 24 hours) is OK.
https://www.tga.gov.au/otc-medicine-...rofen-oral-use
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket...ug-facts-label
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-sup...e/drg-20070602
Either way, make sure that you have food in your stomach, and your kidneys are OK. Hmmm, creating a stomach ulcer or losing some kidney function is still a better option than losing boat/life.

I agree with posts #21 and 29: you have to do what you have to do, but if the backpain is caused by an unstable spinal fracture..... then again, one has very limited options (thinking of a lee shore with all sails up).
Maybe bracing the back with belts or webbing with clips, and rolled-up blankets and towels is a possibility.

[catsketcher]

I was not offshore but about 18 months ago I was singlehanding and my back just started to spasm when I was pulling up the main (38ft cat - 2:1 on the halyard).

Like all on this thread, I have had some issues before but I usually can somehow plod on, but this was like a knife in the spine and almost dropped me. That is probably one mistake - I should have dropped the main straightaway and motored to an anchorage but I just bent over and hung on the cabin, sailing the boat a few miles further on.

I dropped anchor and did my back exercises. I have worked with physios and osteos on exercises, but nothing worked. I got worse. I wanted to sail the 35 miles home but got more and more debilitated.

I ended up ringing home. My 30 year old son was flying out that day so I rang him and told him I needed him. (It was a sort of special father passing over to son being the strong one moment). But I had to move the boat to where he could get to. So I motored about 1 mile and tried to pick up a mooring - that took me about an hour to pick up the line, first onto the stern cleat and then, using a line to the bow, to the bow.

Then Kirren turned up and I motored over and he pulled the sails up and we sailed home. It was not too bad offshore and he did all the heavy work. Back home the physio who had cured me beforehand was no good. It took two weeks to see someone (an osteo) who gave me exactly OPPOSITE exercises to the physios and I started coming good in a few days.

When I had my next back issue I just got some muscle relaxants and kept moving. It worked well.

When I head offshore next year I will take some good muscle relaxants. I will also immediately stop when I get a twinge and not keep hauling sails up. My back is usually pretty strong but just every few years floors me and working out which exercises to do is really tricky. I would have no idea as to whether I should crunch or cobra and doing the wrong one is damaging.

So I would suggest, keeping an eye out for twinges, having a good muscle relaxant, and setting the boat up for low loads for incapacitation.

I would have been able to sail downwind - with the genoa only, but coastal was a worry with large course changes required and a bar crossing as well. It helps to have a good sailor family member you can "helicopter" in.

[Hhew]

https://youtu.be/xJnephnbHkI
I have several friends who swear by this technique to relieve back pain quickly. Worth a watch.

If the link doesn’t work, search on YouTube: “smashwerx lower back pain”

[gonesail]

stretching exercises are important but not always the answer. once you get a spasm there's not much you can do after that. my chiropractor suggested a weight lifters belt for me to wear when lifting or pulling. naproxen also works great as an anti inflammatory drug that I find better than ibuprofen.

[George_SD]

power through with any pain meds available to secure the vessel and make it as safe as possible to give myself more time, let the pain subside, have a chance to call for help.

Sometimes pain be so bad that one can't move regardless of willpower, even to get the meds. That would be really bad.

[AKA-None]

What hasn’t been said is what about pain that actually causes you to pass out
Better have a second person available

[Zanshin]

@AKA-None - it has been said about passing out from pain, I posted that earlier in this thread. I had to concentrate on not giving in to syncope as I thought I'd die if I did.

[boatman61]

Which reminds me..
Hey Franziska.. How's the back doing.. any better.???

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Which reminds me..

Hey Franziska.. How's the back doing.. any better.???

Thanks for asking. Yes, quite a bit. I can still feel it but we even went to Granada yesterday and I could walk reasonably fine.

Lots of good answers here.
Guess I'll need to do regular exercises now., and get a "green whistle" for our medical box.

Have a nice evening.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

What hasn’t been said is what about pain that actually causes you to pass out

Notwithstanding Zanshin's post, I was kinda thinking the same thing. The various posters who've said something like "fight through the pain" had me convinced they've never experienced the sort of debilitating pain that can come with lower back injuries.

The type of injury that results from "tweaking your back" rarely involves fractures, and in fact isn't really a "back" issue, but with one of the various supporting muscle groups being unevenly tensed up. Muscle relaxants take some time to work, so the most readily available course of action, is your preferred cocktail of pain relievers (with varying and minimal effectiveness) and/or to either fatigue out the offending tensed muscle (group) or deep massaging of same. This should always be assumed to be a temporary action to restore a minimal amount of mobility - enough maybe to heave to, or douse the sails. Of course having someone else on board, to take over is preferable, but some people sail alone. So this thread is a good resource for them. imho

[Chotu]

After a week of office work without enough exercise my back is killing me! Ha ha I could not help but think of this thread. I have been trying to do the stretches in a very confined space.

[bdgWesternMass]

Originally Posted by bdgWesternMass

I found these excercises
work for my sciatica.

https://www.bobandbrad.com/post/scia...f-in-4-minutes

forgot link