VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Hey any one else suffered a "stress fracture" from their waist harness. This is the latest on my ribs and I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem. My rib injury isn't the usual sternum creak, although I did have some of that when I first started using it. My injury is below my right scapula. I now have a lovely bony prominence which makes my waist harness very painful

I only recall these problems before spreader bars became the norm. Is it an overuse injury, or did you have a traumatic impact?

Try this guy:
http://www.ikiteboarding.com/kiteboardi ... is-in.aspx

after breaking my rib 3 years ago (big jump gone bad) I too have a protrusion where the end of the rib sticks out and can be painful with a waste harness or laying on a surfboard for a long time. I switched to the Nitrous seat harness. The initial difference was that I felt I was sitting in a swing when jumping. Now I don't even notice it and nothing is near my broken rib. There is no squeezing on my ribs anymore, most of the force is on my back since the Nitrous doesn't provide much support on the back. If there was a better designed seat harness with a thick back support pad then that would be the ideal solution.

I have 4 "misplaced" ribs on the front of my chest all right above my harness. All from hard landings. 3 were broken and extremely painful. The 4th was possibly broken, but not nearly as painful, and it still has a bony protrusion. I cannot surf for more than half an hour in a thin suit, but it works out ok in a 6/5mm. Docs have told me it is going to stay like that. Luckily it does not get in the way of the harness, just laying on a surfboard like pasta dude. May just have to go back to the diaper

Kiting kook here, still too much of a newbie to have any war stories like this to pass along.

But for the surfing rib pain thing, I may be able to add to the conversation. I have some kind of bony growth on my xyphoid process, like a surfer bump on the bottom of my rib cage. I figure from all those years of paddling with no abs, ha ha. It is no problem surfing in a 5mm, but in the tropics, I quickly get a super painful paddling rash from it ... like grinding off my skin painful to the point of not being able to surf (even with a rash guard).

As unbelievably lame as it looks, this is the answer:
http://www.wetsandsurfshop.com/PaddleAi ... _1976.html

It won't help for your kiting issue, but if you find it painful to prone surf, I suspect this would help you too. Doesn't do much for your credibility in the line-up, but who gives a crap really.

Thanks for the input fellow kiters! I am back to the seat harness and chomping at the bit to get kiting again. Heading for a CT to make sure it's nothing other than inflammation. I have a fabulous chiro who has been a god send. But "rest" has never been in my vocabulary so I'm my own worst enemy!

I had the same thing happen to me in Zanzibar. Rented gear and the waist harness was a little too small. After only 5 minutes on the water, the harness rode up under my ribs and pulled outwards, breaking my 2 lower ribs on my right side. I, as well, now have the "bump" which makes it painful to surf (among other things).

I've switched to the Dakine Nitrous board short harness and don't regret it for a second. I'll never go back to a waist harness.