surfski & lumbar spine?

I tend to occasionally re-injure my lower back when rowing. How is surfskiing for a touchy lower back? The twisting motion concerns me a little.

rowing and paddling are completely different activities, and put very different stresses on the lower back. Getting injuries in one doesn't necessarily make you any more likely to injure in the other.. However there is no guarantee and the lumbar region "controls rotation"

Rowing has a large flexion/extension loading with very strong thigh muscle forces.
Paddling there should be less lower back load, the forces being rotational must come from a combination of upper back movement and hip pelvis movement with the lower back pivoting and providing control. Each lumbar spine segment only has less than 2 deg of rotation to an overall max of 15 deg for entire lumbar spine.


There has been some concern over rotation training putting xs load on the lower back as explained in the following article, however this training is not paddling and not sitting position.
www.cef.co.nz/articles/44-mark-article-1
www.strengthcoach.com/public/1107.cfm?sd=51



where the two activities overlap is the forward/upright position we are trying to maintain in the ski. if this is what your back doesn't like rowing then it will also not like it paddling, if you allow your spine to slump you may have issues.
there shouldn't be to much risk in trying a gentle paddle to test yr back.

Having rowed for 18 years and having to give it away after too many lower back injuries (L4,L5), took up ski paddling 10mths ago and back feels great. Doing 4-5 ski sessions a week, and my back went on me once after a few mths but this was from my hip flexors getting very tight(which they do when you're learning) as your bodys not used to it.I now stretch my hip flexors/glutes every few days and not a problem, my back has'nt felt this good in 15 years, but everyones different, so as physio said, give it a go.

I have had back problems for at least a decade with a squashed disc and a couple of vertebrae fixed in flexion. I had to give up riding road bikes and sports motorbikes. I improved it a lot with strenuous Pilates (don't let anyone tell you Pilates doesn't work; it just means they haven't been doing it hard enough) but now find if I'm paddling 3x a week my back is pain free. When I've been traveling and unable to paddle I sometimes use a rowing machine. This isn't great for my back. Obviously as it isn't an activity I do regularly you wouldn't be surprised at problems. But there is no doubt at all that paddling is beneficial rather than detrimental in my case, where rowing isn't. Probably to do with the core strength enhancement.

I can only agree that paddling is nothing but good for your back.

I tore two lower discs, surf ski healed them.
It was the reason I took up the past time.