Trim feedback lower back pain

[crofrog]

Yes the tank sometimes nudges my lower back— which is why I was considering a different bcd… we have the tank up as high as possible given where the straps are I believe.

I think the way I wrote what I said was confusing.

Move the tank so that the valve and regulator is closer to your head and there is less tank in contact with your butt. You might find that way, you're not "arching" your butt into the tank as much.

Switching to a backplate and wing would let you look at different single tank adapters as well, and you might find that the extra spacing of the tank away from your back by the STA would give you a bit more room so that you're not arching as heavily into the tank. Depending on your height, make sure you get a small backplate if appropriate if you go that route.

 

[FreqFlier]

I weigh 180 and use 18lbs weight

18lbs in a 3mm shorty? That's kinda weird. I'm 6-2 and 245 lbs, need around 12lbs in a full 3mm, my wife is 5-7, 170 lbs, 6-8lbs in a full 3mm. Very shallow dives may call for a bit more weight, but anything below 30' is just fine. Perfect neutral @ safety stop.
My 2c - adjust your tank to be a bit higher and tinker with weights - 18lbs is waayyy too much. Maybe your BCD bladder has difficulty emptying?

 

[grantmac]

A backplate and wing might spread both the load and the weight out while letting you move the tank.
Also do you have any pictures where you are completely relaxing in the water just to see what your natural trim is?

 

[dmaziuk]

Good question— scans show the attached and recommendation is pt. Which I’m going to resume full time now!

L4-L5 bulge and protrusion, that's similar to what I had a decade ago. Swimming is the best PT as it remove the weight from the spine and core muscles, and lets you exercise them in a relaxed state. However targeted core strength exercise can get faster results, initially. Whatever you do, don't forget stretching.

 

[Kikabock]

A backplate and wing might spread both the load and the weight out while letting you move the tank.
Also do you have any pictures where you are completely relaxing in the water just to see what your natural trim is?

Here you are. I have maren avanti Quattro fins.

 

[lowwall]

Trim looks fine. Like several of the posters above, I'm wondering about the amount of lead you are carrying and whether you have to work hard to maintain that position. The beauty of water is that it supports you, you should have less muscle and skeletal stress in the water than in the air.

What happens to your position when you close your eyes and go completely limp in the water? If you go vertical, then you need to start moving weight up. I like a steel backplate because it distributes most of the weight I need every over my torso. It makes keeping position in any attitude very low effort.

As far as the back goes, I have similar issues with the discs and vertebrae in my lower back which show up as sciatica (specifically, pain and numbness in my right leg) when I'm on my feet for a while. I'll note that it doesn't happen at all in the water.

After a few false starts on different therapies (including a spinal steroid shot which felt amazing for about 48 hours and then the effect completely wore off), I went to an old friend who runs a PT clinic. He looked at my scan and said he believes most people in their 50+ have similar degeneration in the lower spine. He thinks the big difference in whether it causes symptoms or not is flexibility from the hamstrings on up. He's got me doing a group of stretches in the morning and it definitely helps reduce the symptoms throughout the day.

The point is that PT should help with your back pain in general, but you might need to try a few therapists before you find what you need.

 

[Kikabock]

Trim looks fine. Like several of the posters above, I'm wondering about the amount of lead you are carrying and whether you have to work hard to maintain that position. The beauty of water is that it supports you, you should have less muscle and skeletal stress in the water than in the air.

What happens to your position when you close your eyes and go completely limp in the water? If you go vertical, then you need to start moving weight up. I like a steel backplate because it distributes most of the weight I need every over my torso. It makes keeping position in any attitude very low effort.

As far as the back goes, I have similar issues with the discs and vertebrae in my lower back which show up as sciatica (specifically, pain and numbness in my right leg) when I'm on my feet for a while. I'll note that it doesn't happen at all in the water.

After a few false starts on different therapies (including a spinal steroid shot which felt amazing for about 48 hours and then the effect completely wore off), I went to an old friend who runs a PT clinic. He looked at my scan and said he believes most people in their 50+ have similar degeneration in the lower spine. He thinks the big difference in whether it causes symptoms or not is flexibility from the hamstrings on up. He's got me doing a group of stretches in the morning and it definitely helps reduce the symptoms throughout the day.

The point is that PT should help with your back pain in general, but you might need to try a few therapists before you find what you need.

Thank you for this.

 

[Imla]

To me it looks like you are wearing a jacket-west? Consequence of that is that the bladders often are on your sides, and when bc is cinched to fit waist, it also pulls the tank close to your back/butt. This makes you fight the tank to get that flat nice trim that you have. Might not be enough to be concious about in the moment, but plenty to notice after an hour in the water. This is exacerbated with the lead being in the front, pulling the waist "down".

Personally, I prefer a back-inflate/BPW. It allows me to keep the air in the wing, and with some mindfull placing of leads, you can use the air in your wing to "lift" the tank off your butt and give som respite to your backmuscles.
My tip: try a BPW with a steel plate. It might get you lower on needed weight. However, while 18lbs(9kg) might seem like a lot, some females (my self included) have different buoyancy characteristics to men. (I can read a book floating in fresh water, and cannot swim under water un-weighted at all) this might actually be what your body needs with the equipment you are using. There is no specific number that fits all.
Switching to a BPW will get the bladder between you and the tank, and any air needed to offset gas-weight can be used to lift the tank off your bum.

Also... one of my most experienced GUE instructors said: Trim is situational! While it is important to be able to keep flat/proper trim to the environment, going "out of" trim to ease tension is not wrong. Use constructive positioning when you can.

 

[Kikabock]

To me it looks like you are wearing a jacket-west? Consequence of that is that the bladders often are on your sides, and when bc is cinched to fit waist, it also pulls the tank close to your back/butt. This makes you fight the tank to get that flat nice trim that you have. Might not be enough to be concious about in the moment, but plenty to notice after an hour in the water. This is exacerbated with the lead being in the front, pulling the waist "down".

Personally, I prefer a back-inflate/BPW. It allows me to keep the air in the wing, and with some mindfull placing of leads, you can use the air in your wing to "lift" the tank off your butt and give som respite to your backmuscles.
My tip: try a BPW with a steel plate. It might get you lower on needed weight. However, while 18lbs(9kg) might seem like a lot, some females (my self included) have different buoyancy characteristics to men. (I can read a book floating in fresh water, and cannot swim under water un-weighted at all) this might actually be what your body needs with the equipment you are using. There is no specific number that fits all.
Switching to a BPW will get the bladder between you and the tank, and any air needed to offset gas-weight can be used to lift the tank off your bum.

Also... one of my most experienced GUE instructors said: Trim is situational! While it is important to be able to keep flat/proper trim to the environment, going "out of" trim to ease tension is not wrong. Use constructive positioning when you can.

Thank you so much I really want to consider this new configuration— I will look in that ScubaBoard section for recommendations or feel free to dm me with ideas!

 

[Kikabock]

I just want to send a note of appreciation to this community. For the many fantastic ideas and insights. I appreciate it greatly as diving is my love!