I have a question regarding lower back pain and flip turns. I've had lower back pain off and on for about two years now. I'm no spring chicken being 50yrs old. I primarily swim front crawl and do flip turns. My doctor has suggested that doing flip turns is not helping my back condition. I never have any pain when do flip turns but my back does seem to be a little sore later in the day after my workout.
I've experimented with not doing the flip turns and really can't notice much difference with my overall back pain. I'm very careful about how I do my flip turns (slower and knees tucked in).
Are flip turns bad for your lower back?
Where I have had back pain on flip turns is when I do them incorrectly and, just like Sydney wrote, whip my legs over. The whip movement is done by bending at the waist (like in a pike position) and then throwing the legs over with very little knee bend. It feels like a big, powerful movement but really isn't very speedy. I like to think to myself "tuck and tumble" as I approach the wall to remind myself to spin in a ball. I've never felt any pain on the push off. I think maybe the key is to make sure your body is in a neutral position (not twisted, feet square with hips, back not arched) but that is just a guess.
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Where I have had back pain on flip turns is when I do them incorrectly and, just like Sydney wrote, whip my legs over. The whip movement is done by bending at the waist (like in a pike position) and then throwing the legs over with very little knee bend. It feels like a big, powerful movement but really isn't very speedy. I like to think to myself "tuck and tumble" as I approach the wall to remind myself to spin in a ball. I've never felt any pain on the push off. I think maybe the key is to make sure your body is in a neutral position (not twisted, feet square with hips, back not arched) but that is just a guess.
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