Entry 235-3
Huntsville Hospital and The Orthopaedic Center Provide Medical Care to Strike King Pros
Editor’s Note: Dewayne Manning is the director of sports medicine at Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama. Huntsville Hospital and The Orthopaedic Center (TOC), also located in Huntsville, have teamed up to offer medical advice and treatment to the Strike King Pro Staff members. We’ve asked Manning, a certified athletic trainer, about the injuries fishermen commonly suffer, and what treatment options are available.
Part 3: Arthritis and Lower-Back Pain
Question: What’s the third most-common injury that most professional bass fishermen have?
Manning: I’d say wrist injuries are the third most-common injury we see. Professional anglers often suffer mild sprains in their wrists when they set their hooks, are lipping bass and are trying to boat them. Remember that the full weight of the bass, anywhere from 3 to 12 pounds, is at the very end of the angler’s hand. When that bass starts flipping from side to side, that change of direction of that much weight at the very end of the hand can and does create stress and strain problems within the wrists. The fishermen are applying maximum pressure to try and hold onto the fish as well as dealing with that much weight moving around.
Some of our Strike King Pros have told me, “After 3 or 4 hours on the water, my wrists are aching, and I lose my gripping ability. My wrist and my hand will begin to burn.” These are all symptoms of fatigue in the wrist. The remedy for these fatigued wrists is exercises to strengthen the wrist. A stronger wrist won’t become fatigued as easily. Once we get those muscles in the wrists really strong, the pros will be able to fish an 8- or a 10-hour-day without experiencing that burning or aching sensation in their wrists.
Question: Are you seeing any arthritis in the fishermen’s wrists?
Manning: Yes, we are. Many fishermen have old wrist injuries from when they were younger, and those injuries were never properly rehabilitated. As the fishermen get older, arthritis will begin to set up. On cool, rainy days, they’ll start feeling pain in the joints, especially in the mornings. However, with proper medicine and exercise, we can help alleviate some of these problems so the fishermen are able to fish.
Question: What’s the No. 4 injury you see in these fishermen?
Manning: Low-back pain caused from standing all day long is another problem affecting professional fishermen. Fishermen generally don’t maintain the proper posture when they’re fishing to prevent low-back pain. Their shoulders usually roll forward, and they stand more hunch-backed while they’re fishing instead of standing more erect. And, besides that, they’re standing on boats that are often moving due to wave or wind action. 
Therefore, they must constantly shift their weight to stay balanced.
A lot of fishermen have lower-back problems. This problem is compounded when you consider that these athletes will often drive all day long, and sometimes all night long. This not only creates back problems but also neck problems. Your hamstrings are attached to your lower back. Many times when you think you have low-back problems, the problem is actually caused because of tight hamstrings. If we can get the fishermen to start stretching out their hamstrings, many times we can alleviate the lower-back pain.
You can contact Dewayne Manning at TOC at Huntsville Hospital at 256-539-2728 or email him at dewaynem@hhsys.org. For more information about The Orthopaedic Center, call 256-265-5000 or go to The Orthopaedic Center website.
