I have to share this with any back sufferers in the club. There's something out now called a "fitness ball," made by Body Trends (can be seen at BodyTrends.com, 1-800-549-1667), that is remarkable for stubborn low back weakness post injury.

It's a big 65 cm (about 25 1/2 in.) round blue ball/sphere that you sit on and stretch on. When a PT showed me one I laughed at it. Looks and sounds gimmicky but has worked greatly for me.
For years my low back injury resisted physical therapy; my low back would get weak within minutes of sitting in front of computer (or driving). After using this thing for several DAYS only, that was gone.

They call sitting on it the "dynamic sitting position," and there is some truth to it, because in sitting on it, you have to hold yourself up instead of just letting a chair totally support your weight. For the first few days when you sit on it (5 to 20 minutes at a time, whatever you can stand), your legs and low back get very fatigued and even a little sore. Those are sitting muscles you don't usually use when you just let the chair totally hold you up, perhaps slouched in bad posture. On this, you have to hold yourself up and balance yourself in good posture, and the response of those key low back muscles had been great, at least for me. I sit in front of my computer now not even believeing how strong my low back feels.

It comes with a list of 15 or so stretches that also help.

End of soap box. But it's worth it to know about it for low back sufferers.

I rehabbed my low back for years and never got anywhere near the response I got from this in only two weeks. Benefits lasted a couple months already.

Back to chipping.

Take care,

Cinch