Anyone else have shoulder problems? I have had some in the past, broken collarbone and separated (20yrs ago) but I've been paddling oc-1's for about a year and a half and have developed chronic pain in my left shoulder joint. Is this common? Don't want to give it up cuz I love the time on the water and I like the workout.
Submitted by beavis on Sat, 07/31/2010 - 8:34pm
I broke my left collar bone about 15 years ago and also started paddling about 3 years ago. I used to have pain in the joint after paddling for the first year. I used to not be able to paddle 2 days in a row and could only use all wood blades. I iced my joint after paddling and sometimes took ibuprofen. As time has gone by its gotten better. Im assuming that the supporting muscles have maybe gotten stronger? Not sure. Now I can paddle everyday all day and twice a day with pretty much no problems at all - other than just bad paddling!
I was told that the pain from an injury like that under these circumstances is the swelling. Ice and ibuprofen reduce that swelling.
#1 Sat, 07/31/2010 - 9:03pm
I would recommend diamondhead chiropractic. They do all kinds of stuff to keep my shoulders and low back from keeping me out of the water. Ultrasound, ART, graxton, deeptissue massage, chiropractic care, and much more. I would say they are one of the main reasons I am able to compete and train at a professional level. 8087374325 or dhchi.com
#2 Sat, 07/31/2010 - 9:04pm
I've found shoulder mobility is a big issue for me from paddling (and probably sitting at a computer too much). A few things that have helped:
Diesel Crew shoulder warmup:
Just throw some light (under 5 pounds) weights in your trunk and run through that before paddling. You don't need the bench, just bend over at the hips to do all of these. I do this before just about any physical activity.
Shoulder pass throughs:
Keep them easy and really shrug your shoulders up to get through the top. Can feel awful at first but helps immensely. I'd just get a broomstick or a piece of PVC, your paddle is probably too short to do these.
Get stronger: pushups, overhead presses, various plank holds, handstands will all help to build strength in the shoulders.
Finally, have someone look at your technique. I was having pain while paddling at the start of my season this year. I was able to eliminate it by paying attention to how my top shoulder was oriented and consciously engaging my lats to stabilize both shoulders throughout the stroke. Pain free these days.
Best of luck getting healthy shoulders again. They suck to have any pain in.
#3 Sun, 08/01/2010 - 2:10am
Thanks for the input. Strength isn't the problem, I've been lifting for 20 years. Haven't been lately, though. I may go back to doing some light weight power cleans and maybe snatches. Technique is probably the problem. I'll try using the lats more.
#4 Sun, 08/01/2010 - 2:39pm
I suggest seeing John Sugai at ShiatsuTherapistOfHawaii. The Sugai family has works on athletes from all walks all levels of competitiveness. John will work on your area of need and then expertly place Kinesio tape on the worked on area to suspend the skin so the body can naturally repair itself. I've been seeing the guy since 03. Sometimes it takes an hour session to get the problem solved or multiple session over a period of time to relive the pain. I swear the deep tissue therapy + the Kinesio tape is where its at.
#5 Sun, 08/01/2010 - 4:18pm
For what it is worth, I have been dealing with a shoulder impingement and slap repair for a couple of years now. I finally had surgery about 10 months ago and since have been in and out of PT. One of the things that probably contributed was that I was not rotating from my hips (I was using a lot of upper trunk) and I was collapsing my chest. Starting swimming again did not help much.
Today, when I paddle, I work on rotating from my hips up and also not collapsing my chest (think of collapsing your chest as trying to create cleavage) and keeping my shoulders back. In essence, trying to rotate and keep good posture!
lndbrusr
#6 Mon, 08/02/2010 - 9:16am
the dreaded "cleavage." makes breathing harder and does not help technique. I agree, head up, shoulders back, sit up and twist (at the hips).
#7 Mon, 08/02/2010 - 8:10pm
One other thing to be wary of, sleeping on your side can put your shoulder in some odd positions and aggravate an otherwise insignificant problem. So, it could be something external to paddling causing the problem, although if you're feeling pain while paddling, probably not.
#8 Tue, 08/03/2010 - 8:13am
I've also been shooting a bow, which aggravates the condition as well, but I"m paddling more. Side sleeping can be uncomfortable, too. As I'm not on Oahu, I can't go to the chiros recommended, but there's a guy I'm going to see.
#9 Tue, 08/03/2010 - 4:27pm
I swear to you the Kinesio tape works when paired with deep tissue. Look for it.
#10 Tue, 08/03/2010 - 8:28pm
Anowara - thanks for the videos. My should had been bothering me since April. Nothing seemed to help. Took some time off paddling, pain was right back when I started paddling again. I started doing the Ultimate 2 Minute Warm-up about a month ago every morning and before I go paddle. Pain is almost entirely gone and the little pain there is doesn't last for days like it used to. I paddled 10 miles yesterday with zero pain. A month ago it would have been sore for 3-4 days.
#11 Sun, 09/19/2010 - 6:23am
Nothing like a narrower blade to break-in the injured shoulder. Start out with a kids 7 inch blade to re-learn the movement and re-discover the magic touch. Gradually, over a period of time, widen the blade, as the shoulders improve, until you're back to your regular preferred blade width. Main thing is to be very very patient - no rush things, for you want all the tissues to repair themselves and get stronger. With a narrower blade, you can also experiment with longer shaft lengths, which will help the shoulder and the brain deal with different and additional demands/stresses placed on it (proprioceptive feedback training), which should help prevent future injuries.
#12 Sun, 09/19/2010 - 10:58pm
Another good resource related to mobility, and not just shoulders, is Kelly Starret's Mobility WOD blog. I've been following this since he started it a few weeks ago and it definitely helps. Hopefully people can get past his delivery, which is unique but fun, and the Crossfit association, because the guy definitely knows what's up (strong background as a PT). Good resource for anyone really. I'll also point out he's got a strong paddling background and is hoping to paddle the Moloka'i surfski race in another year or two.
#13 Mon, 09/20/2010 - 10:29am
You might try a much shorter paddle as well.
aloha,
pog
#14 Mon, 09/20/2010 - 11:26am
Push with the top hand will create strain on your rotator cuff, especially on the long biceps tendon.
Changing the technique may help - 'bottom hand' paddling:
Rotate your hip generously forward, including below the waist forward rotation, 2 - 3 inch ?.
Burry your blade and start your stroke with a push from your foot;
pull at the same time with your bottom hand, do not push with your top hand - the idea is to keep the blade equally deep buried, and vertical, throughout the stroke.
You can control that by keeping your top hand high, at the same level, throughout the entire stroke - this is important, it is your 'control' feature.
Start your exit when your bottom hand passes your knee - this ensures again that you do not push forward-down with your top hand as you do not reach the range of motion where this becomes painful.
The idea is to keep all pressure off the rotator cuff of the top shoulder. The 'push' that you got from your top hand before, now has to come out of the rotation of your trunk, supported by leg drive.
You can practice this 'leg push - bottom hand pull' by taking your top hand off the handle, but best by not letting your top hand drop below chin level.
Overall you change from an 'top-down' push(top hand), pull(bottom hand) to a 'horizontal front-back' push(leg), pull(bottom hand), sweep(trunk rotation).
I am quite convinced that you will not have rotator cuff related pains with this technique, as I do experience rotator cuff pain when I push too much with the top hand.
#15 Wed, 09/22/2010 - 7:22am
Eckhart: You sound like a kayak paddler where the three (3) principles of paddling are rotation, rotation and rotation.
#16 Mon, 09/20/2010 - 3:00pm