Author Topic: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?  (Read 23588 times)

firesurf

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 273
    • View Profile
Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« on: November 28, 2014, 07:53:34 AM »
It started late summer, the inside of my elbow ached on the way home from a long sup surf session. I pretty much have ignored it although the pain has been nagging me on and off for months.
This week we've had some surf, and being a big starved for it I evidently hit it too many times and stayed in each session too long.
My normal is after excessive sessions I generally will eat a belly full and lay out on the couch. Next morning a bit stiff but otherwise good to go.
Not so this time. The elbow pain has gotten worse, and now radiates up my inner forearm and into my wrist and fingers with certain movements.
The most concerning was after the last cold sunset session I had crazy shooting burning type pain.  I generally can ignore and work through most issues.
Passed on a session this morning as I don't want to fire it back up.
I've been putting Arnicare on the area several times a day, and have ordered a FlexBar by Thera-Band to help strengthen the muscles.
Any suggestions appreciated.

supsurf-tw

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1062
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2014, 08:29:08 AM »
Is it hurting on the bottom or top arm when paddling?

It's a tendon issue and unfortunately will require rest to heal. Those heal slow enough with rest and super slow if you keep pushing it.

One of the causes is gripping for a long period. If this is your case you can try putting some padding on your paddle where you grip with the bottom hand (Wetsuit material). this allows you some comfort and less tension.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2014, 08:35:55 AM by supsurf-tw »
Boards:

 
8-10 x 31 Egg
8-11 X 32 Double wing Fangtail Tom Whitaker
8-6 X 30 1\2  Inbetweener Tom Whitaker
8-4 x 30 Hyper quad Tom Whitaker (wife's now)
8-4 X 31 1\4.  Round (wide) Diamond Tail Quad Tom Whitaker
 9-4 X 30 1\2. Swallow Stinger Quad Tom Whitaker (ex wifes now)
10-0 Brusurf for teach

firesurf

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 273
    • View Profile
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2014, 08:42:54 AM »
I'm not really sure what position is aggravating it. I will pay close attention on my next outing. The over gripping is a real possibility.

addapost

  • Peahi Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 606
    • View Profile
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2014, 11:19:40 AM »
I had “Golfers elbow” in both elbows bad. I definitely got it from SUP paddling. The cause was “over doing it”. It developed in May of 2013 and stuck with me all summer and fall. Last November I finally decided to stop paddling for the entire winter to let it heal. Within about a month or so, by Christmas, the right elbow felt fine but the left was still painful to the touch (right on the medial epicondyle- the “funny bone”). I continued to not paddle and it continued to hurt. Finally in March I went to see an orthopedic doc, mainly for a PT referral. He confirmed that it was medial epicondyle tendonitis and listed the treatment options. I opted for PT to start. The PT gave me this routine which I did for a week and the pain totally went away and has not returned. I have been paddling since with no issues.
-400mg ibuprophen  twice a day for a week
-Direct ice on the site for 10 to 15 minutes followed by
-heat for 15 minutes followed by
-massage and stretching for 5 minutes.
-Repeat two or three times.
Do that once or twice a day for a week or so.
 I did that routine once a day at night for a week and it went away. 
Good luck with whatever you do.
Bunch of old shit

Tecpartner

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 315
    • View Profile
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2014, 04:43:54 PM »
Try 100 mgs of B6, daily.  A guy who knows paddles and paddling recommended that to me, and it worked for me.  My case was caused by surf ski paddling, and wasn't quite as bad as you describe.

firesurf

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 273
    • View Profile
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2014, 05:15:48 AM »
We have a PT/MT so am setting up an appt. asap.
Thanks for this helpful info...

Mmac

  • Malibu Status
  • **
  • Posts: 56
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2014, 07:17:35 AM »
This may sound a bit homeopathic and I haven't tried it but people in other sports report that Alfalfa supplements relieve and relinquish tennis elbow or tendonitis.  It's cheap so it may be worth a try.   

jeffrey11

  • Waikiki Status
  • *
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2014, 09:59:44 AM »
The Thera Band flexbar definitely worked for me.  I had been seeing a Dr for my elbow tendonosis with some success but a friend gave me the flexbar and said it had cured him in six weeks after seeing a Dr. for a year.  I used it for about six weeks as well and am pain free (at least in my elbow).  The other modification I made was to shorten my paddle a bit and that seems to put the blade in a better position at the start of my pull.

PonoBill

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 25864
    • View Profile
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2014, 07:47:45 PM »
It sounds a lot like a stroke issue. I think you are paddling with your arms--that doesn't work. People get a good stroke and then get excited in the surf and it goes away. Watch the Dave Kalama videos and pay attention to reaching and short strokes--well in front of your feet. Dave says technique is MORE important in surfing than racing because if your technique is bad you won't get the waves. If you're in Kalama sized waves that's a big deal, because big bruddah is right behind--and you're too far in.

Keep your arms straight, don't bend your elbows and pull. You can do that  little bit later on when you stop hurting yourself, but for now, they are poles. No bends. Stack your shoulders, reach way out, and pull by rotation of your core and thrusting your hips. If you catch yourself reverting, then stop. Go paddle outside the break, get your technique back, and surf some more.

You hands need to be open. Not just loose--open. Upper hand NOT holding the handle, lower hand gripping with fingertips. And Sorry, TW, but padding makes that worse--you grip the padding, and that exacerbates the problem. Open hands, not gripping.

If you're hurting yourself paddling you don't need PT, you don't need medicine, you don't need therabands, you need to stop hurting yourself. I'm 67, I have bad shoulders, I paddled hard for ten miles today and I feel great. That's not because I'm anything special, it's because I paddle with decent technique.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2014, 07:55:17 PM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

peterp

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 430
    • View Profile
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2014, 08:46:00 PM »
I had sore "funny bone" on both elbows after a surftrip up the coast a few weeks back - I normally don't suffer from tendonitis at all. What I think happened in my case is that I switched from a long- to a short sleeve wetsuit on this trip and since I have a habit of clutching for board when I dismount I kept knocking my elbows in the same place when falling. It got so tender I could barely touch it - at first I thought it was tendonitis but the knocks made more sense to me and pain has since gone away completely.

So going forward I either try and fall differently or wear long sleeve suits......

Not saying this is what is happening to you - but just putting it out there as an option.....

abmatt

  • Rincon Status
  • ***
  • Posts: 188
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2014, 03:18:55 AM »
While surfing, I had considerable elbow/forearm pain develop until switching from a big teardrop shaped blade to a slender one (mine is from Werner). Instant relief. Worked on technique as well, as PonoBill wisely suggested in this thread. The narrower blade seemed to help that greatly, at least for me. Good luck.

Dwight (DW)

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 4780
    • View Profile
    • supSURFmachines
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2014, 04:05:39 AM »
Quote from: PonoBill

You hands need to be open. Not just loose--open. Upper hand NOT holding the handle, lower hand gripping with fingertips. And Sorry, TW, but padding makes that worse--you grip the padding, and that exacerbates the problem. Open hands, not gripping.


So true. That's why my paddles always have non skid on the shaft. Otherwise they are slippery and require you to grip hard. Bad, bad, bad. If you get blisters toughen up.

Off-Shore

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1663
    • View Profile
    • HksupaHK SUP and Downwinding
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #12 on: December 02, 2014, 05:45:19 AM »
This might sound far fetched, but I had exactly the same type of problem.. and here was my solution..

I took out a friend who had just started SUP on a short paddle in the bay. To model "perfect" form and paddle technique, and because I'm always told my elbows are too bent, and to ensure I got some sort of work out, I decided to lock both elbows and paddle slowly along with him as I coached.. Keeping the elbows locked, meant gripping the paddle more tightly...

So next day, I get this searing pain in my right elbow and wrist with shooting pains up to the shoulder. I head to the same PT I have been using for 15 years who is a miracle worker. Her expertise is sports physio and getting semi pro sportsmen and women back on the field mid-game. Multi-PT visits for the same issue don't work for me. I like one shot solutions and she normally delivers.

Ah, she says, all that paddling has made your forearms and shoulders too tight. She showed me some stretches, massaged the arm, and off I went. This made sense.. I rarely stretch before or after paddling.

3 days later, despite the stretches, the pain got worse. I was about to go back to see the PT when I remembered this video, and thought, wait a minute, it could be my back that is causing some sort of referred pain..

So I got out the knobbled roller and lay over it on the floor, and MIRACLE, the pain literally left my elbow and wrist in an hour and has never returned.  Even my PT was amazed... I thought I'd be off paddling for months...

It was the back roll exercise in this vid that did it.

http://youtu.be/Hqgxr_V2i5I
SB 9' x 33' x 4.1" - RPC 9'8" iSUP - SB All-Star 12'6" - Blue Planet Bump Rider 14 - SB Ace 14 x 27 - RedAir 14' Elite Race - SIC Bullet 14v1 TWC - SICMaui F16v3 Custom

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HksupaHk_SUP_and_Downwinding

The Kernel

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 344
  • Dana Point, CA
    • View Profile
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #13 on: December 02, 2014, 08:40:18 AM »
I had “Golfers elbow” in both elbows bad. I definitely got it from SUP paddling. The cause was “over doing it”. It developed in May of 2013 and stuck with me all summer and fall. Last November I finally decided to stop paddling for the entire winter to let it heal. Within about a month or so, by Christmas, the right elbow felt fine but the left was still painful to the touch (right on the medial epicondyle- the “funny bone”). I continued to not paddle and it continued to hurt. Finally in March I went to see an orthopedic doc, mainly for a PT referral. He confirmed that it was medial epicondyle tendonitis and listed the treatment options. I opted for PT to start. The PT gave me this routine which I did for a week and the pain totally went away and has not returned. I have been paddling since with no issues.
-400mg ibuprophen  twice a day for a week
-Direct ice on the site for 10 to 15 minutes followed by
-heat for 15 minutes followed by
-massage and stretching for 5 minutes.
-Repeat two or three times.
Do that once or twice a day for a week or so.
 I did that routine once a day at night for a week and it went away. 
Good luck with whatever you do.

addapost:

Thanks for that regimen...I've had an elbow bothering me for over six months; not sure if it's from paddling or jiujitsu or something else, but I talked to a PT in my jiujitsu class and he told me essentially the same thing you noted. 

I'll put up a post in about a week or so to let everyone know how it went....
Kernel:  Cutting through the bull**it.
"This is the kernel of the argument."

Over 50, but usually pushing it like I'm 25 and paying for it later.

8'0 L41 Simsup
9'2" T. Patterson Rising Sun
9'2" Riviera Nugg Turbo Carbon
10' Riviera Machete

firesurf

  • Sunset Status
  • ****
  • Posts: 273
    • View Profile
Re: Golfer's elbow... is my paddle stroke wrong?
« Reply #14 on: December 02, 2014, 12:31:20 PM »
First off, thanks for all the advise!
I just finished doing the paddling exersizes video with Suzie Cooney.
Great stretch. Visuals are very helpful!

Truth be told, I'm thinking I got away with a lousy paddle stroke which has finally caught up with me. I'll be checking out the Dave Kalama videos as well.
Changing up my stoke will be a real challenge. Can't teach an old dog...
Most of the time I use my KeNalu elite Maliko with XTuf shaft so don't think it's the paddle.
The PT/MT   really dug into the entire area and she concurred with the regimen of  ibuprophen, cold/ heat/ stretching.

One of the exersizes our PT recommended was to drill a hole through a piece of PVC, tie a piece string through the hole and hang some weight. Using an exaggerated overhand method, wind the the weight up and down.

 


SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal