belt support for back problems??

[stepfen]

Hello everybody,

A friend of mine is having back problems and diving occasionally makes things worst for him. Top side he is using a wide elastic belt kind of support that according to him helps a lot.

Is there anything similar to be used underwater?? He was actually thinking/planning to use the same thing u/w. Anything else to help him??

I haven't seen any such discussions here. Maybe because I don't have back problems (thanks God) I just don't see such posts??

Cheers

 

[chillyinCanada]

The belt on shore good idea but he should also be doing specific set of exercises to strengthen that area (at a minimum?

Does he have a tummy?

 

[stepfen]

The belt on shore good idea but he should also be doing specific set of exercises to strengthen that area (at a minimum?
Does he have a tummy?

He is being doing gym/exercises targeted to this for some years now. They generally help but the pain comes back now and then.
He doesn't have a (big) tummy - good for him. Regular weight I'd call him. But, although he is going to the gym regularly I wouldn't call him well built nor (very) fit either - I think he mostly does back exercises, low impact low intensity and such. BTW he is about 50 years old.

For diving he says that the problem is mostly before and after the dive (entering and exiting the water with the gear etc - we do shore diving with easy entry/exit but still need to walk maybe 50meter or so) and not so much during the dive. Would wearing the belt during the dives make any difference?

 

[Altamira]

If he is using a weight belt instead of integrated weights, he might try an integrated system. I am a quarter century older than your friend, and the few times I used a weight belt in the past 10 years, I wound up with a sore back.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Maybe I'm confused but I thought it was a support belt for listing weights, like people wear in warehousing to protect their backs. And not an actual weight belt.

 

[ibj40]

I have lower back issues, dating back to my mid-20's (I'm now 70).

In addition to doing 100 crunch sit-ups everyday, plus some related stretches, I always wear a support belt when I am doing anything strenuous around the house, such as mowing or gardening.

For diving I have made a couple of accommodations.

First, since I wear a weight belt, I have added two trim pockets to my BCD tank strap, and have moved weight up off my lower back, as well as improving my profile in the water column.

Second, I have moved up to a 5mm full wet suit (specifically a BARE Velocity). I find that the thicker neoprene helps my lower back and provide a portion of the support that the belt I wear on the surface does.

I had previously considered using a support belt under my prior 3mm wetsuit, but thought the trim pocket/thicker wet suit approach addressed the issue more appropriately for diving.

 

[stepfen]

Thanks for all the answers and to the admins for moving this to this section - it didn't cross me as being "medicine" related issue although it is clearly a medical one :S sorry English is not my first language.

Just to clear things up: I was asking about support belts (the wide, elastic belts people with back problems use as a support when doing things top side). He is thinking to start using one during dives too. He was wondering if it would help him or not. Anybody who has tried this underwater??

Coincidentally he is also using weight belt (with about 6kg of weight for a 5mm full body wet suit). I will suggest to him to try his BPW weight pockets. Pockets came with his BPW but he hasn't tried them yet because his mentor (that's me) has tried them and they didn't suit him (me). I haven't thought though that they might help him with his back. I will let him know.

I have also tried to tell him (nicely) that he needs to reduce some lead weight or at least give it a try because he seems to me to be a bit overweight and relatively out of trim. But he doesn't have the mentality of trying to improve. He seems happy with his diving posture and the few times I convinced him to have 1 kg easily accessible and drop it for a while during his SS to see how it goes he seems to be doing it just to make me happy instead of him. Next dive he puts the extra kg straight back to his belt. This has happened already maybe 3 times - I have given up trying to help him more with that.

Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks

 

[formernuke]

Depending on exact location injury etc.

Part of why I like a bpw is it provides back support so that might be worth considering as well.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Thanks for all the answers and to the admins for moving this to this section - it didn't cross me as being "medicine" issue although it is clearly a medical one :S sorry English is not my first language.

Just to clear things up: I was asking about support belts (the wide, elastic belts people with back problems use as a support when doing things top side). He is thinking to start using one during dives too. He was wondering if it would help him or not. Anybody who has tried this underwater??

Coincidentally he is also using weight belt (with about 6kg of weight for a 5mm full body wet suit). I will suggest to him to try his BPW weight pockets. Pockets came with his BPW but he hasn't tried yet because his mentor (that's me) have tried them and they didn't suit me. I haven't thought though that they might help him with his back. I will let him know.

I have also tried to tell him (nicely) that he needs to reduce some lead weight or at least give it a try because he seems to me to be a bit overweight and relatively out of trim. But he doesn't have the mentality of trying to improve. He seems happy with his diving posture and the few times I convinced him to have 1 kg easily accessible and drop it for a while during his SS to see how it goes he seems to be doing it just to make me happy instead of him. Next dive he puts the extra kg straight back to his belt. This has happened already maybe 3 times - I have given up trying to help him more with that.

Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks

Where is he wearing the weights on his belt. Does he have them evenly distributed and some are laying on the small of his back? What if he moves the one(s) on his back over closer together but with even distribution, to either side of him?

All that said, if his bcd is made for integrated weights, he should put the weights in those purpose made pockets.
Does his bcd have trim pockets in the upper back area to either side of where tank should rest?

 

[stepfen]

Where is he wearing the weights on his belt. Does he have them evenly distributed and some are laying on the small of his back? What if he moves the one(s) on his back over closer together but with even distribution, to either side of him?

All that said, if his bcd is made for integrated weights, he should put the weights in those purpose made pockets.
Does his bcd have trim pockets in the upper back area to either side of where tank should rest?

He is using this BPW :

So far he is being using weight belt - not the pockets shown - and he likes his weights right behind him. There are also 2 trim pockets that he could add at the tank bands if needed but he is not using them yet.