Sorry to hear about your injury,
Great idea about the rubber band Ken.
A simple but effective restraint I use consist of a piece of rope long enough to wrap around the tail and back to a tie off point (about 4 or 5 foot )with a two inch or so loop at each end. At the field we have tie off points (large hook) on our tables and a couple of concrete blockes with hooks for portable tie offs.
At home (and can be used anywhere) I have a dog tie out stake (one of those twisted metal ones that you screw into the ground)
We always start our planes on the ground when possible (I have seen combat planes started on tables, they have no landing gear )