Training For Paddling & Common Paddling Injuries

[Dave.E]

Hey Cboats,

This spring I really want to step up my paddling. To do that I am working really hard to get in solid shape as well as practice on flat water as much as possible. For over three months now I have been going to the gym 6 days a week and pool session on the 7th day.

This got me thinking, do you take more of an athletic approach to paddling? If so, what do you do?

Also, what would you say the most common paddling injuries are? It would be good to strengthen those muscle groups.

Comment however you want. This could turn into an interesting discussion.

Dave

[JFC]

So far, my only serious injury was a torn distal biceps tendon from dumping the boat (Yeah, it was a dumb rookie move.) I've also heard of rotator cuff issues and various blunt force traumas, but I haven't been there to see any. I'd like to hear what others say as well.

Lately, I've been hanging out in the local play hole, working on crossings and just riding things out. My guess is that it helps me avoid going to the gym. My pecs and biceps can be sore afterwards, also my elbows at times. My core and abs also seem to be stiffening up, but I have a long way to go in that area.

[hazardharry]

shoveling my 300' driveway rhythmically at a fast pace with the shovel at my onside pitching the snow under and back kinda like the way i paddle. i have more kinds of shovels for different snow than paddles for boat! my shoulder hurts but what does'nt at 50?

[pblanc]

Well I have seen and heard of a goodly number of injuries resulting from blunt (or sharp) trauma during swims including broken and sprained ankles, broken toes, broken or dislocated fingers, broken ribs, blunt head trauma (including traumatic brain syndrome), contusions, abrasions, and lacerations.

Of course, the head, neck, thorax, and upper extremities can sustain significant trauma even if you stay in the boat. I have a friend who broke his neck from blunt trauma due to a submerged rock.

I don't know of any way you can train for this kind of thing.

There are injuries that seem to be commonly associated with boating. Most common (in my experience) are shoulder girdle issues including subluxations, dislocations, separations, occasional clavicle fractures, rotator cuff tears, various forms of tendonitis or tenosynovitis affecting the shoulder (such as bicipital tendonitis), tears of the glenoid labrum, proximal biceps tendon ruptures, etc.

I have also seen a number of repetitive use type injuries involving the elbow and wrists, most common being medial epicondylitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, less commonly lateral epicondylitis. Carpal tunnel seems to be more common in kayakers. I have also heard of a number of distal biceps tendon ruptures and biceps tendonosus.

I think the thing that you can do that would be most effective to prevent paddling injuries would be regular stretching to preserve shoulder and neck mobility, and resistance exercises to strengthen the shoulder girdle muscles and rotator cuff muscles. Dumbell exercises like front raises, side raises, and bent over rows are good. The posterior deltoid can be worked with resistance bands, a pulley machine, prone dumbell flys, or a dedicated resistance machine. Supine dumbell flys (in addition to front raises) are good for the anterior deltoid.

The rotator cuff muscles are probably best worked using resistance bands or a mid-level pulley machine doing internal and external rotation against resistance with the upper arm fully adducted (close in to the side) and with the upper arm abducted to 90 degrees (elbow at shoulder level).

[BooYah]

Train with a slalom group. The coaches there will know how to train specifically for paddling and to prevent injuries.

[h2sk1]

Train with a slalom group. The coaches there will know how to train specifically for paddling and to prevent injuries.

This has been mentioned in other threads, but this list of exercises is specifically for shoulder stabilization

http://www.daveyhearn.com/Coaching/Tech ... outine.htm

[Roger]

Any kind of weight training, exercises, stretches, etc. that you do will benefit any physical activities. Might want to give the body a chance to rest between workouts depending on the extent of those activities. Balance is always something that paddlers should address.

[ian123]

Anything to stabilize the shoulder.
Working on form is the best way to prevent injury in the first place. It's boring though.

[h2sk1]

Train with a slalom group. The coaches there will know how to train specifically for paddling and to prevent injuries.

This has been mentioned in other threads, but this list of exercises is specifically for shoulder stabilization

http://www.daveyhearn.com/Coaching/Tech ... outine.htm

Yet another link to paddling specific strength training:
http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/show ... ategory=26

[jakke]

Paddling is fairly single-sided, and I do not mean single-bladed.

Basically you want to follow a full-body training program, and focus maybe even more on the muscles you don't use for paddling, or the opposing paddling muscles. Especially if you're interested in a long paddling career.

In theory it's really simple, in practice, it's quite a bit harder:
- you want to use the right muscles for the movement, this is a serious issue in our seated culture. By training without putting focus on this one, you can train yourself into more dysfunctions and injury!
- you need a mixture of: strength training, mobility training and stretching. All needs to be in the right order though and the right muscles. First mobilize, then strength, then stretch the opposing tight muscles. Chances are good you do have opposing tight muscles.
- and of course you need shoulder stabilization exercises

Very fundamentally, you want to start with a good core-training foundation (and there is a lot of nonsense core-training programs out there), and get rid of eventual dysfunctions and muscular imbalances. After that, work further towards the upper and lower extremities. And instead of increasing the speed, number of repetitions, ... in your training, increase the complexity of the movement if you want to step it up.

Crossfit might do the trick, but be careful where you go, there are quite a few crossfit institutions who sacrifice good form for reps, which is a bad thing and guarantee to injury. I personally like tacfit better, the marketing is a disaster (my opinion), but the content of the programs I've seen is good.
If you're suffering from dysfunctions, you might want to work on these with a good physio therapist first.

But as for any form of cross-training, you have to do a lot of research to filter out the right stuff you find online and in books. Or you have to find the right trainer.

[fez]

I do calistenics combined with "some kind of yoga". At first I did it to remove my muscular dysbalances from paddling and to get fit fast after a herniated disc - but now it means a lot of fun to me. Improved my paddling indirectly cause I´m much fitter now.

[RobertM]

Not being a gym rat, I had a hard time figuring out what some of the motions on the Davey Hearn shoulder workout were, but some web searching lead me to this:

http://cnu.edu/weightroom/video/upperbody/price.wmv" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No production values, but it seems to be the same set of exercises as the Hearn set, although in a slightly different order.

I found the video in a somehwat buried link from this:

http://cnu.edu/weightroom/pdf/strength.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

which describes the shoulder video thusly:

"P.R.I.C.E. FREE WEIGHT SHOULDER PROGRAM
The following program is designed for shoulder strengthening and
endurance. The Philadelphia Eagles training staff for the maintenance
and rehabilitation of shoulder injuries developed it.

It is designed for therapists,trainers, and coaches who are
interested in keeping throwing athletes strong enough for the rigors of
their sport. It is a nine-minute program of eighteen exercises. These
exercises are to be done continuously without any rest between sets.
Complete each exercise for thirtyseconds at a steadily increasing
weight. Start with something light, and then build up. "

Your milage may vary, good luck

[djutzi]

A lot of potential injuries relate to being upside down (or sideways) - meaning staying vertical can play a big role in this.

To that end, a couple of thoughts:
-upper body strength is important, but lean strength is best. Too much weight above your gunnels means a higher centre of gravity which means you'll less stable in your boat and more likely to be upside down if you start to tip...
-a good excercise that improves stability and core strenght is kneeling on an inflatable exercise ball. start out kneeling flat, and then practice 'holding the tilt', etc.

[lung]

Here's another link to some exercises aimed at paddlers.
http://www.rapidmedia.com/skills-whitew ... rever.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[cheajack]

don't forget things to improve balance: Yoga standing poses, dyna disc, balance ball. Also train cardio for short rapid bursts of power, ie, swimming.