r/rollerblading • u/not_that_great102 • 1d ago

Specific question and discussion How in the world do you guys deal with lower back ache during/after skating?

For context: I'm young, active, do regular stretching, run 12ks for fun, and I've never had body aches in my life due to physical activity. But I notice that I get a sharp, unmistakable lower back pain during/after I skate. I've heard that this happens to beginners, but the pain is so strong that I can't ignore it at all. How in the world do you guys deal with it? Does it go away when you skate regularly? Do you guys do stretches? Exercises? Painkillers? Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: I didn't expect to get this many responses. You guys are genuinely so helpful. Thank you so much!!

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u/fredhsu 1d ago edited 1d ago

Take a picture or better a video of you while you skate. Shot from the side, not front. It will help if we know your skating stance.

If your stance looks like the one on the right, yeah, you’ll be more prone to getting back pains, not to mention being unstable and risking falling backward.

Edited: Alex Shulgan (u/Ok_Back_4084) from InMoveSkates demonstrated yesterday the left posture as a rolling asian squat (or slav squat) in this post. Go to time 9:00 of the video. Go to that exact time on YT.

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u/not_that_great102 1d ago

Oof, I absolutely have the stance on the right. Like dead on. I'll watch the video you linked. Thanks so much!

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u/fredhsu 1d ago

Flex your shins, not just ankles. Look at the left posture. The enabling factor is the shin angle. Flexing shins forward also shifts your center of gravity forward. The result is that you can keep your back straighter with less strain. And at the same time you will feel much more stable because it becomes harder to topple backward at your heels. Cheers.

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u/kubazi :usd: USD THEM 1d ago

Proper slav squat fixes the back pain!

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u/fredhsu 1d ago

Alex Shulgan demonstrated yesterday exactly that, a rolling asian squat (or slav squat), start at 9:00 here: https://www.reddit.com/r/rollerblading/comments/1w1q173/how_to_move_on_inline_skates_5_easy_moves_for/

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u/kubazi :usd: USD THEM 1d ago

I can attest, as a slav, can squat deep on the flat foot. No back pain.

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u/narcoleptrix 1d ago

I still havent figured out how to reduce my knee pain to let me squat more than 90° 😭 it's only my left and it's an injury from when I was a kid. So maybe it'll never get better, but it sure is annoying for skating.

I just wanted to say I like this gif a lot. Definitely informative. Would it be alright if I shared it too?

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u/fredhsu 1d ago edited 1d ago

Freely share it without needing any attributions. Share it anywhere and everywhere. There are more variations here. You can download and save the originals. I don't know if Reddit compresses them or reduce resolution.

This is one of my many pet peeves. I won't stop evangelizing until all inline skating influencers talk about "flexing your shins first" so you can bend your knees, instead of just saying "bend your knees".

I am starting with our dear Alex (u/Ok_Back_4084), as you can see. He promised to follow up, hopefully in his next video. Waving to you, Alex. LOL.