Backache and wargaming...

[Harry Faversham]

Anybody else suffer with it? Recently after a battle lasting, maybe a couple of hours, I've had a bad back for the rest of the day. I don't think it's the height of the table, as that's been a constant for years. Could it be because we like to fight stood up, no chairs. Or worst case scenario, the inevitable creep of old fartdom?

[Von Trinkenessen]

It's all that daring do at the bridge 'arry it's caught up with you .

[Spinal Tap]

I suffer too.

Most seems to b as a result of leaning over with straight legs to eyeball line of sight and reach minis across rather than moving around to get them.

Remaining conscious of what I'm doing helps but can be difficult when I get lost in the game.

[Inkpaduta]

height of the table does make a difference.
My table is just right for stands or sitting on a
bar stool. So no backaches.

[levied troop]

Height of table is the first thing I’d look at if you are standing around the average dining table height.  I elevate my boards on those collapsible plastic crates (light and easy to store). it does depend on personal elevation, I am over 6’, but raising the game makes a hell of a difference.

Second thing I’d look at is old fartdom, but basic yoga or physio exercises will take care of that (in the short term)

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

It's definitely approaching senility!

If you would like to join an elite group of LAFers, have a look at this page about half-way down.

The Spinal Nerves would be very happy to have you swell the ranks of sufferers!

[Eric the Shed]

echo heights of table - standard table height far too low if standing up to play a game

[Harry Faversham]

It's definitely approaching senility!

If you would like to join an elite group of LAFers, have a look at this page about half-way down.

The Spinal Nerves would be very happy to have you swell the ranks of sufferers!

Oh, just marvelous. I always said wargaming would be the death of me!

   

[Ray Rivers]

I am somewhat of an expert on this topic... 

First, I suffer not only from old fartdom but also from a back and neck injury incurred after ejecting out of a broken jet. Those pains will be with me for the rest of my life.

But more importantly!!!!

I also run a cafe and have plenty of experience serving folks at their tables. Like most wargamers, waiters have a tendency of bending straight forward over the table to move their troops. This inevitable leads to back strain. The proper way to serve/move your troops is not to bend over frontally, but to turn sideways keeping the back erect, bend at the knee or leaning forward on one leg and use one hand to do the moving.

To recap:

WRONG!
 

RIGHT!


Mind you, balancing to keep the back erect to reach long distances can also be a problem for old farts, but it sure beats the hell out of back pain... and it just takes a little practice.

[Ray Rivers]

echo heights of table - standard table height far too low if standing up to play a game

Height of the table does make a huge difference and a dining room table is not too low. I mean if you bend over frontally it will cause you all kinds of grief, but if you turn sideways and bend at the hip, you will be able to reach just about any part of the table without bending your back.

Keep your back erect. It takes some training, but one day you will thank me for it. (The exact words I use with a new waiter.)

[Norm]

Backache is my constant companion!

height of the table is everything. Mine (a set of pasting tables) are on extendable legs and then they sit on a pair of skids (those square plastic drainpipes for lightness and strength). This gets my table to 40" height. The degree of 'tilt' of the back is reduced by this.

I also stand to game, 2 hours is actually a long time to do this. You might try breaking the session down into 30 - 40 mins  sections with short breaks between.

I find 4' too wide to comfortable reach the centre and have cut my table boards down by 4" which also helps more than you would think.

[Shahbahraz]

I'm definitely going to the 'wrong' bar.

I found that I spent too much time standing up during a game, so I am now conscious of this and try to sit down more while playing. This also goes to table heigt.

In the circles I moved in, there was a notable complaint called 'Norman Back' - so called because impetuous knights could be relied upon to be in the opponents half of the table almost immediately, and you spent the rest of the game bending right over. Walk around the table as required.   

[DS615]

Anybody else suffer with it? Recently after a battle lasting, maybe a couple of hours, I've had a bad back for the rest of the day. I don't think it's the height of the table, as that's been a constant for years. Could it be because we like to fight stood up, no chairs. Or worst case scenario, the inevitable creep of old fartdom?

We suffered from the same thing for years, so it's not just age related.
My brother was the first to suggest dehydration as a cause.  So we started drinking water, lots of it.  You lose track of time easily while playing, so it makes sense.
Once we started with the water, it has helped significantly.

[pancakeonions]

I am somewhat of an expert on this topic... 

First, I suffer not only from old fartdom but also from a back and neck injury incurred after ejecting out of a broken jet. Those pains will be with me for the rest of my life.

...

OK.  We're drifting off topic here, but MORE INFORMATION PLEASE!  I can only assume that you were playing at a wargaming table so large, it required a jet to traverse.  Naturally, those are a bit expensive, so perhaps you skimped on the maintenance?  Or bought one second hand from Chad?  Either way, I presume that you were under the hood, mid-flight, addressing something likely to do with the fuel pump when suddenly a wheel came off and whoops!  You had to take the parachute down?

OK, perhaps not, but it's rare when the potential for a rather thrilling ancillary tale gets left untold...  I mean, if you don't mind.

(and I too suffer from backache issues, starting from an old ultimate frisbee injury from High School, decades ago.  I still get sciatica [rarely] and play with a stool or highchair nearby.  And as much as I don't like it, I stretch, do situps, etc, to try to maintain some semblance of readiness for table top wargaming, among other things) 

[Ray Rivers]

OK.  We're drifting off topic here, but MORE INFORMATION PLEASE!

Look here:



Here I am relaxing afterward: