PoleVaultPower.com

wasnt sure whether to post this in the technique section or traning, cuz its kinda both, but here goes.
ive kinda had a lot of back problems with vaulting. pulled two lower back muscles two years ago, and in the past two months i have had various back pains (one was i think a hyperextended back and the other some problem with some muscle next to my spine) and the worst is right now. i strained my lower left back muscle almost a week ago, to the point where i could hardly walk for a day or two. its also messing with my sciatic nerve so sometimes i feel a pain shoot down my leg. im taking care of it with physical therapy and all but heres where i need help. an athletic tranier told me that this is a technique related injury. i kinda know what the strain is related to with my technique but i cant really grasp exactly what the problem is that i need to really work on so that when i vault again soon i wont continue to aggravate my back.
ill try to explain the way i vault and hopefully someone out there will be able to tell me at what point in the vault im straining my back to much.
i have really good speed, and my arms arent bent at the takeoff, but i block pretty bad. when i rockback i hinge at the shoulders pretty bad too so that i cant even rockback all the way, and then i hardly invert cuz i turn over eraly and come off the pole mostly horizontal cuz i always rush through the vault. im not sure if the biggest problem is my blocking, hinging at the shoulders, or turning early, or most likely a combination. i know i need to fix all of this, but can anyone help me pinpoint the big problem thats messing up my back?
also, this is slightly related, what are your guys opinions on how much a vaulter should vault each week, included competion? cuz i also think i might have vaulted too many days last week and that was just too hard for my back to handle.
allright, any feedback is appreciated. thanks!

o yeah and im a lefty vaulter, if that makes any difference (muscle strain is on my left side)

A lot of times back pain is associated with taking off under.

yeah, except im pretty good at not taking off under, thats where my speed helps, cuz i normally dont slow down at the end...hmm

how bout this:
http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/vie ... 276b#62293

maybe you have the same problem with the torque or wutever

It is probably take-off related. If you even stretch a few inches in your take off step, it can create a tremendous stress on your lower back. It will be noticable only in slow motion so video your practices and meets. Watch your last three steps in your approach. Then key in on the pole when it hits the back of the box. If the pole is bending before your right knee passes your left knee at take-off you are not taking off the ground freely. Anytime you are not taking off freely, there is lost energy that should be put into the pole, instead, your back and hips are absorbing the energy. The pain comes from this. The fact that you are getting faster, is great, but if you aren't transitioning your speed into your take-off, you are going to struggle to swing, you are going to shoot out at the bar often and you are going to have lower back problems.

Work on your take-off with your new speed, and I recommend a Chiropractor. Jump and Align Baby!

SweetPVJumps- Sorry I noticed that you are a lefty in another post. Change my statement on the take off to: If the pole is starting to bend before your left knee passes your right knee on your take-off step, then you are not taking off freely. We call it being on the negative side, and there is a lot of lost energy, it makes the jump much more difficult to complete, and it surely torques the back and hips a whole bunch!!!!!

More like if the pole is bending before you leave the floor then you aren't taking off free.

If you are laoding the pole at all as your left knee passes your right (or vice versa for you odd people) then that is hugely under and going to cause problems.

Gator, how can you bend the pole while still in contact with the floor and call that 'free'?

PaulVaulter- You are absolutely correct. A free take off is when the foot is leaving the ground before the pole starts loading. It is very subtle to be able to see where exactly the foot is in relation to the ground on video in slow motion, unless the vaulter is taking off "outside" by 12 inches or more of their optimal take off mark.

This is what we all want obviously when jumping, or coaching our vaulters, but is often hard to accomplish with the most experienced vaulters, let alone high school or new college vaulters.

Please read my comment again. If the pole begins bending before the right knee passes the left, you are on the negative side and are not taking off freely. (therefore lost energy) If we were watching video of vaulters together, I would be able to show you exactly what I am referring to. Difficult to explain, easier to show. [/quote]

yes, back problems, the achilles of a pole vaulter.... couple of years ago I had 2 fractures in my lower back, because I always jumps with poles that were too big to handle and because I was under a couple of times. and then you know what happens, confidence is gone, you do more run-throughs than a 100m runner.
at first I also used a back corset like the one posted on the link. but after a couple of weeks that didn't help any more either.
now I know that is the worst you can do. this way you muscles go away because they think something (the corset) is doing the job. and the end you have almost no stability muscles left.
and it are those muscles that are SUPER importent in vaulting. I went first to a chiropractor so everything was in place, the fracture was gone so I hit the gym and did a lot of stability exercises. I keep doing those at least once a week, and sometimes go to the chiropractor, but hardly...
my back is fine now. bet you also have some hamstring that are pulling all the time... well this way you fix that as well.
hope it helps you like it helped me...

ok thanks people. my backs doing great now, just scared of reinjury. so gator alum, let me see if i get this right. if im not completely tall and stretched at the takeoff, thats probably messing up my back? cuz if thats so it would make a lot of sense. my arms are up by im blocking really bad with my bottom arm, and im never taking off with a nearly straight leg, its always too bent and i place my takeoff foot in front of my body, not under it. (so i gotta fix my takeoff!!)

SweetJumps- You nailed the part of your take-off leg! (right leg) If you are reaching at all on that step and it is in front up your hips when the pole tip hits the back of the box, you are going to feel a lot of strain on your back. There are many other problems associated with this: you will have a low take off angle, (won't be able to raise your grip) you will break more poles, you will struggle to swing, you will consistantly come up short into the pit, (land on the bar or worse yet, land in the box) you will shoot out often at the bar instead of getting back behind the pole and shooting your hips vertically.

There are many more to discuss, but those are the major points. Work very hard on getting that last step (take-off) under you and jump up!!!!!

Look at the Dave Johnson approach/mid chart on this site. You will notice that the take-off step is shorter than the rest. This is the way it should be to jump up after your penultimate step. (long then short) (gather, then jump)