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 This
article focuses on specific stretching exercises and proper posture to
keep from aggravating your low back while climbing up
trees, hanging treestands and sitting in treestands. Understanding my background of both being a chiropractor and the developer of the Treesuit ? "The Treestand You Wear" it is obvious that I feel strongly about both. Nevertheless this will help no matter what you decide to hunt with and regardless of the condition of your spine. Low back pain and treestands go hand in hand because the mechanism of sitting effects the low back and the mechanism of climbing and hanging stands effects large muscle groups which effect the low back. Educating treestand users on how to sit and how to stretch these muscles will eliminate many aggravations. The Mechanism
Now flatten your entire back against the wall. This loss of curve is the mechanism that will cause you an injury, aggravation and discomfort while sitting. Now to demonstrate how the large muscle groups in your buttocks and legs affect this curve stand against the wall again and put your hand behind your back. Now extend your leg out slowly as to kick a ball in front of you and you will find that the back becomes flat against the wall. This is the mechanism that will affect your back while climbing and installing. Maintaining the lumbar curve while sitting is a conscious decision. If you are sitting on a platform stand in a slumped posture with your back hitting the tree it is incorrect from a mechanical standpoint. The same goes for any treestand that holds your low back in a rounded position. After a long period of time, the discs or cushions between your vertebra (back bones) will eventually load up with fluid toward the back of the vertebra and this will be the mechanism that will cause pain. Throw in a good cough or sneeze or stand up too quickly and you will have a great possibility of developing a herniation or bulging of the discs. This situation can be totally avoided however, by maintaining the normal curve. Comfort in a treestand is achieved by the ability to change positions. I don't care if you are sitting in the most comfortable recliner. After several hours it gets uncomfortable and you have to stand. Sitting and standing should be a regular sequence in a treestand. No matter how conscious you are in keeping the normal lumbar curve you will be fighting a loosing battle if the seat is to low on your treestand. This can be demonstrated by sitting on your toilet. If your knees are above your hips (which is the case for most on a toilet seat) it would be very difficult to maintain a normal curve in the low back. This is one of the challenges of being tall. While hunting from the Treesuit I make a point to regularly change my seat height from my treesteps or climbing stick so that my legs are at different angles. Because I am not permanently fixed to the tree this is a process that only takes seconds. The mechanism that causes back injury from climbing trees, installing treestands and using climbing stands is that the large muscle groups are being taken to their outer limits of movement, sacrificing the mechanics of the spine and pelvis. The following are specific stretches that should be started a month before season and continued throughout the hunting season.
#1. Sit on the floor put both legs in front of you.
 Gently bring your chest forward toward your feet. Altering the angle that your knees are bent will stretch different muscles and you have the option of having your feet close to your body or out further. Take your pick or do them at several different angles.  
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