correct paddle technique? (want to avoid shoulder injury)

[kai_wahine]

Just got my first SUP and am loving it, however, one of my shoulders gets really irritated from paddling.

It's not the "good" kind of sore you get when you've worked out really hard, it feels more like an irritation which leads me to believe I may be paddling incorrectly? It's only one of my shoulders (left) and I'm hoping it's not a weakness or old injury that's being aggravated.

Can you injure your shoulder from paddling incorrectly?

[kai_wahine]

sorry everyone, I just saw a very similar post from a few days ago. should have read the whole forum first!

[Admin]

sorry everyone, I just saw a very similar post from a few days ago. should have read the whole forum first!

Don't worry about that, no one here is going to get worked up.

BTW, welcome aboard!

Yours is a big question as it has probably affected most of us at one point or another.  In addition to all of the good info on that other post, I can just add that, for myself, I felt a strong popping in one shoulder for the first week or so when I was getting started.  I am not quite sure exactly what was doing it, but my guess is that I was trying to do everything with my arms.  As I started using more of my body in the stroke, this went away.

I hope that helps.

[1paddle2paddle]

Can you injure your shoulder from paddling incorrectly?

I'd say yes, if you are susceptible to shoulder injury; otherwise probably unlikely.  I just went through shoulder surgery and rehab.  My shoulder issues arose out of a 20 year old motorcycle injury and continual surfing and paddling ("repetitive motion") since the original injury.  I was actually surfing when my biceps tendon ruptured back in February.  After surgery and rehab I was back in the water after 3 months.

For protecting your shoulders, I'd say try to keep your arms in the "power U" like canoe paddling, and try not to let your shoulders "pull out" of the socket by reaching too far.  Use your body's core/trunk to apply power through the stroke instead of the arms, should be OK.

[surfpainter]

One paddle...great way to explain the technique. I also snapped my right bicep tendon a year ago unloading my new board, it also required surgery. Being ultra careful, I was in (flat water) in less then 4 weeks. Not exactly the smartest thing to do at the time but I knew my limitations. Using your core and trunk and the "Power U" is the way I was forced to do things right.

[1paddle2paddle]

Surfpainter - was it the distal (long head) of the biceps tendon?  That's what broke in my shoulder.  I still have some deformity of the biceps muscle.

For me it turns out I had damaged the nerve to the infraspinatus muscle in the original accident and only have about 50% of the nerve signal to and thus strength in that muscle, so my body has an imbalance which causes all kinds of other issues as the body compensates ("cheats") for the weakness of that muscle.  So I need to be extra vigilant with my shoulders to make sure I do not subject them to excessive wear through bad technique.  Previously (with canoe paddling) I had a bad habit of allowing the impacted shoulder to "rise" through a portion of my stroke, especially when trying to reach forward to get the catch.  I did not realize I was doing it until I got into rehab, where the physical therapist pointed out how I was compensating/cheating in certain exercises.

[surfpainter]

Paddle2paddle...yes it was the distal biceps tendon and there is a slight separation (flat area) where my muscle connects to my forearm. Since then, I've run across quite a few guys with the same injury all with different surgical results. My incision was barely an inch long but i've seen guys with long s turn type scars . I was lucky to get a great ortho the very next day and no ill effects at all. Boxing is the only thing I don't do anymore, paddle surfing is way more healthy and soul satisfying then anything I've ever done except Maybe windsurfing Maui in the 80's.

[1paddle2paddle]

My arm looks "normal" with both arms down, but when I flex my right arm it still does the popeye thing.  At least it still works OK.

O the joys of aging, eh?