Lumbar support ideas?

On Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 1:51:33 PM UTC-4, noel.wade wrote:
All -

For the third year in a row I've somehow managed to injure my back
early in the season (base of the spine/sciatic nerve). I'm beginning
to suspect its not my day-job or rigging my ship (I have a one-man
rigger); but rather my flying and seating position in the cockpit
(DG-300). Short early-season flights don't seem to cause a problem;
but a couple of long flights in a row (or a long drive in the car + a
long flight the same day) may be what's touching it off... Its
getting VERY frustrating to be bed-ridden for a couple of days (at age
33)!

So while I get going with physical therapy (again) and meds (again),
I'm thinking about ways to change my cockpit and take pressure off the
base of my spine. I've already added some seat-foam; the only other
thing I can think of is to try not to have my spine bent in such a "U"
shape.

Anyone out there have suggestions on creating a lumbar support pad?
As I understand it, the pad should sit between the parachute and my
back (not between the 'chute and the seatback). Tips or ideas would
be greatly appreciated!

--Noel

Noel,

I know a fellow that use to ride bicycles a lot and now has to sit on a cushion. The type of foam you are sitting on may not be correct for you. I have only minor back issues but I'm short and instead of using some kind of seat foam that may compress too much I read up on the Confor Foam and opted for 3 pieces of 1" each of the hard, medium and soft. I glued them together and trimmed to fit in the seat pan nicely. I then trimmed a raw cut piece of lambs wool to cover the foam and the entire pan seating area. It is great. No part of of my body hurts nor goes to sleep nor do I have any aches or stiffness after getting out of the glider. I had a job where I sat in an office chair for 25 yrs. The last 5 I had to use a mesh bottom and back ergonomic. And now I can not sit more than a few minutes in a regular chair. So, the type of foam you use may not be right for you.

Casey

On Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 5:20:53 AM UTC-8, Casey wrote:
On Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 1:51:33 PM UTC-4, noel.wade wrote:
All -

For the third year in a row I've somehow managed to injure my back
early in the season (base of the spine/sciatic nerve). I'm beginning
to suspect its not my day-job or rigging my ship (I have a one-man
rigger); but rather my flying and seating position in the cockpit
(DG-300). Short early-season flights don't seem to cause a problem;
but a couple of long flights in a row (or a long drive in the car + a
long flight the same day) may be what's touching it off... Its
getting VERY frustrating to be bed-ridden for a couple of days (at age
33)!

So while I get going with physical therapy (again) and meds (again),
I'm thinking about ways to change my cockpit and take pressure off the
base of my spine. I've already added some seat-foam; the only other
thing I can think of is to try not to have my spine bent in such a "U"
shape.

Anyone out there have suggestions on creating a lumbar support pad?
As I understand it, the pad should sit between the parachute and my
back (not between the 'chute and the seatback). Tips or ideas would
be greatly appreciated!

--Noel

Noel,

I know a fellow that use to ride bicycles a lot and now has to sit on a cushion. The type of foam you are sitting on may not be correct for you. I have only minor back issues but I'm short and instead of using some kind of seat foam that may compress too much I read up on the Confor Foam and opted for 3 pieces of 1" each of the hard, medium and soft. I glued them together and trimmed to fit in the seat pan nicely. I then trimmed a raw cut piece of lambs wool to cover the foam and the entire pan seating area. It is great. No part of of my body hurts nor goes to sleep nor do I have any aches or stiffness after getting out of the glider. I had a job where I sat in an office chair for 25 yrs. The last 5 I had to use a mesh bottom and back ergonomic. And now I can not sit more than a few minutes in a regular chair. So, the type of foam you use may not be right for you.

Casey

Noel's original post was from 2011. He's since fixed the problem by buying an ASG-29 ;-)

Cheers,
Craig

Noel
This is what I did. I bought a sheep skin pad for my National 425 that goes between my back and the chute. I using adhesive velcro tape, I velcroed' a small lumbar support cushion to the back of the chute container, and velcroed' an inflatable lumbar support bladder to the back of the sheepskin. The lumbar support bladder has a hose that runs up the shoulder strap and ends with a squeeze bulb similar to a blood pressure cuff. Usually the lumbar support cushion is enough, on long flights, a little inflation on the bladder makes life good again.

Example of a inflatable lumbar support
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/inseluinairc.html

Example of a small lumbar support cushion
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...vel/1014256946

Sheepskin for parachute
http://wingsandwheels.com/parachute/...pskin-pad.html



SF

I bought an inflatable lumbar support cushion from an ad in Soaring
magazine almost 30 years ago. It still performs and I still love it.

On 11/18/2016 7:59 AM, SF wrote:
Noel
This is what I did. I bought a sheep skin pad for my National 425 that goes between my back and the chute. I using adhesive velcro tape, I velcroed' a small lumbar support cushion to the back of the chute container, and velcroed' an inflatable lumbar support bladder to the back of the sheepskin. The lumbar support bladder has a hose that runs up the shoulder strap and ends with a squeeze bulb similar to a blood pressure cuff. Usually the lumbar support cushion is enough, on long flights, a little inflation on the bladder makes life good again.

Example of a inflatable lumbar support
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/inseluinairc.html

Example of a small lumbar support cushion
https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...vel/1014256946

Sheepskin for parachute
http://wingsandwheels.com/parachute/...pskin-pad.html



SF


--
Dan, 5J

There are probably two different issues: cockpit comfort and crash protection (for the spine). Inflatable cushions no doubt provide comfort, but my guess is that they provide nothing towards crash protection. EAF cushions probably provide both, but can be awkward to get right. A motorbike back-protector should make an excellent shell to slip between my back and my chute, and provide a mount to glue some EAF where the cockpit contour makes a void under my back.

Motorcycle back protectors provide little to no protection in the vertical axis when sitting. And may move crash injuries further up the spine.

Sorry if this has been suggested already but have you tried a cylindrical lumber support custion which can be placed below you parachute.

https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/t...03nxoC373w_wcB

Craig Funston wrote on 11/17/2016 9:45 AM:


--Noel

Noel,

I know a fellow that use to ride bicycles a lot and now has to sit
on a cushion. The type of foam you are sitting on may not be
correct for you. I have only minor back issues but I'm short and
instead of using some kind of seat foam that may compress too much
I read up on the Confor Foam and opted for 3 pieces of 1" each of
the hard, medium and soft. I glued them together and trimmed to
fit in the seat pan nicely. I then trimmed a raw cut piece of
lambs wool to cover the foam and the entire pan seating area. It
is great. No part of of my body hurts nor goes to sleep nor do I
have any aches or stiffness after getting out of the glider. I had
a job where I sat in an office chair for 25 yrs. The last 5 I had
to use a mesh bottom and back ergonomic. And now I can not sit
more than a few minutes in a regular chair. So, the type of foam
you use may not be right for you.

Casey

Noel's original post was from 2011. He's since fixed the problem by
buying an ASG-29 ;-)

Cheers, Craig

Too bad - the foam would've been much cheaper!

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"

https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf

On Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 1:51:33 PM UTC-4, noel.wade wrote:
All -

For the third year in a row I've somehow managed to injure my back
early in the season (base of the spine/sciatic nerve). I'm beginning
to suspect its not my day-job or rigging my ship (I have a one-man
rigger); but rather my flying and seating position in the cockpit
(DG-300). Short early-season flights don't seem to cause a problem;
but a couple of long flights in a row (or a long drive in the car + a
long flight the same day) may be what's touching it off... Its
getting VERY frustrating to be bed-ridden for a couple of days (at age
33)!

So while I get going with physical therapy (again) and meds (again),
I'm thinking about ways to change my cockpit and take pressure off the
base of my spine. I've already added some seat-foam; the only other
thing I can think of is to try not to have my spine bent in such a "U"
shape.

Anyone out there have suggestions on creating a lumbar support pad?
As I understand it, the pad should sit between the parachute and my
back (not between the 'chute and the seatback). Tips or ideas would
be greatly appreciated!

--Noel

Noel,

You can try using a small round neck pillow between your back and parachute, but what I have found to work best for me is a folded up bath towel or hand towel, depending on your desired thickness. With the Bath towel (between your back and parachute) you can put it up your back (sweat collector) and then roll a small portion as lumbar support for your lower back.

On Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 4:34:02 PM UTC-7, sisu1a wrote:
I agree with the suggestion below about CONFOR foam and a cushion for lower
back support. Â*One cool thing about it is that you can cut it with a sharp
knife or even scissors and you can shape it with sanding paper (especially
when it is cold and hard) - so you can make a nice, smooth cushion of
varying thickness.

The weapon of choice for foam sculpting is an electric kitchen knife,
usually available for less than a buck at your local thrift shop...

-p

or a soldering iron....