pain in lower back - harness or stance issue?

tramontana00 · Joined: 15 Feb 2010 Posts: 204

One more vote for seat harness. You have to try to know if it works for you.

Waist harness kills my back in 10 minutes.

brynkaufman2 · Joined: 10 Sep 2002 Posts: 383 Location: Kailua Oahu

I just wanted to say thank you for this post and the answers!

I switched to a waist harness and yesterday on a long run in the same direction, I had to stop because my lower back hurt. I just thought maybe my back is bad or I am standing wrong, but now I realize I need to use a seat harness again.

I am stoked to do a long run in the same direction with no back pain. As I researched it more, I realized for the type of sailing I do, a seat would be my best bet. Maybe my top speed and wind minimum will change with it too.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

OTOH, what kind of condition are your core and back muscles in? That probably has a lot to do with harness style and tolerance and back pain in general.

brynkaufman2 · Joined: 10 Sep 2002 Posts: 383 Location: Kailua Oahu

isobars, that could be part of the issue too. But from what I read people like a seat harness for long cruises where the water is not too choppy. I love long cruising, so I think it makes more sense for me. I also read a lot of testimonials where it eliminated the back pain.

I will update once I get my new seat harness and see if that eliminates the back pain. I really hope so. It is hard to focus on maximizing speed when you back is aching. Sometimes I have to stop and head the other way because of the pain, which eliminates the long runs I like so much.

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

My first harness in 1986 was a chest harness, but I found that it really worked my lower back, which resulted in a lot of discomfort later after the session. When seat harnesses came out not long afterward, I willingly made the change. All my back problems immediately evaporated.

Since then, I have stuck with a seat harness and ignored the calls to switch to a waist harness. Frankly, waist harnesses are a lot more money, and the need to switch just didn't make any sense. While it could be that a waist harness wouldn't be a problem for me, I think why switch from something that works perfectly? I'm certainly not going to switch from a seat harness because the coolness quotient presently points to a waist harness being the stylish way to go.