Ergonomic T-grip to help avoid Arthritis.

iRolled · Post by **iRolled** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:10 pm

I've been paddling pretty heavily for the last year or so. It's been awesome getting out there, enjoying new rivers, and making new friends. Unfortunately it's come with a price. I've recently began experiencing pain in my hands. Right in my middle knuckle on the t-grip hand. Has anyone else experienced this after paddling a lot.

I'm at day 78 so far this year and when I'm out there I push myself and I play hard. Surfing every wave and boofing every rock. We'll almost all of em. Anyhow, I'm thinking that It's got to do with my t-grip perhaps. I may be gripping the paddle harder than I should, or maybe it's something else. Does anyone have similar stories, ideas, or remedies.

My current paddle has a plain wooden dowel, and my other paddle is an Aqua bound with the plastic t-grip. I'm thinking custom t-grip. what do you all think.

TheKrikkitWars · Post by **TheKrikkitWars** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:13 pm

Werner T-grip...

Post by **sbroam** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:42 pm

There was a guy on this board years ago (SpaceCanoe) who advocated, among other things, a great big grip, the size of a bar of soap. He sent me a foam plug to make one from fiberglass and I never got around to it but have been intrigued with the idea. I have thought about mixing up some resin and thickening (and lightening) it to make a lump of putty consistency and just squeeze it in my hand to form a grip. Then, stick it on a spare paddle and see how it works...

Shep · Post by **Shep** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:45 pm

Don't have a lot of experience with this, but wondering...
Do you wear gloves? Always, Sometimes, Never?
Do you have some time away from the boat scheduled in which you can see if the symptoms decrease?
Are you paddling lefty or righty? Are you right or left handed?

I think hcanging up the glove thing or changing the T-Grip size as SBroam suggests are probably the simplest, and least frustrating, things to try.

Shep

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:41 pm

I most always replace mine, with one that better fits my grip....

cheajack · Post by **cheajack** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:10 pm

Alex, if I ever get to paddle 200 days a year you'll never get to hear me complain about my hands. It would be impossible to talk through the permanent grin on my face. No wonder you are such a happy friendly guy.

Bill M · Post by **Bill M** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:17 pm

Which fingers? All or just the middle 2? Its possible you are gripping so hard that you are causeng the fingers to bend unnaturally around the shaft where it joins the T grip. It seems there was a thread about this a year or so ago.
Bill

ezwater · Post by **ezwater** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:20 pm

Just a starting point for "getting a grip".

IMG_0073 by ezwater, on Flickr

IMG_0074 by ezwater, on Flickr

IMG_0072 by ezwater, on Flickr

IMG_0075 by ezwater, on Flickr

The grip puts force through the palm and back in line with the wrist. The fingers curve over the top and have enough room that they can curl back without scrunching. For cross-strokes, the thumb and hand slide easily into a suitable position, and return easily.

This grip is for my very large hand, but a grip of this nature should be carved to fill the user's hand, comfortably, to avoid the accomodations that are necessary with ordinary T-grips.

A wooden grip allows one to carve a notch or recess if a particular joint is aggravated by pressure.

cheajack · Post by **cheajack** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:26 pm

WOW! Ezwater that's beautiful. Looks more like a wine stopper than a T-grip.

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 10:43 pm

another ergonomic at home design...

... curved palm, rolled over top with finger recess, angled down (left to right) to fit inside of my grip. This helps remove what I perceived as a unnatural wrist kink to one side. And sized to allow my finger tips to warp around. One tip of 'tee' was intentionally lowered to create a hook, in order to more readily snare a boat.

This one in black walnut, which allowed use with no finish... provides a rock solid grip, with no slipping. And a stainless screw to insure safe extraction of any weight of wayward boater.

A man as talented with wood as you (Alex) should come up with something rather easy. I used a bad saw to rough out, and a flipped over belt sander to do bulk of work. Finished with a round rasp and some sandpaper... one night and it was glued.

eddyhops · Post by **eddyhops** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:38 pm

iRolled wrote: My current paddle has a plain wooden dowel, and my other paddle is an Aqua bound with the plastic t-grip. I'm thinking custom t-grip. what do you all think.

I make my own grips, but favor the dowel shape. Not all hands nor grip technique are the same so I'm definitely for trying some of your own.

As well as shape, play around with the length and diameter... I've found increasing to 4 7/8" X 1 1/4", which is a little larger than most stock dowels, has made a big difference in my control and comfort.

Also, different woods & different finishes = a different tactility.

ezwater · Post by **ezwater** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:37 am

I have a mildly curved piece of dogwood branch that I may try as a dowel substitute.

The grip I pictured is made of elm, a wood that seems resistant to water. It's "finished" with Minwax 209, a thin oil. Almost like unfinished.

I'd thought of the idea of angling or tipping the grip, and that may put the wrist and forearm in a better driving position.

I also thought of putting the grip on the shaft slightly askew to make the J correction easier. But then I discovered that I didn't need the J or any other correction very often.

iRolled · Post by **iRolled** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 1:49 am

sbroam wrote:I have thought about mixing up some resin and thickening (and lightening) it to make a lump of putty consistency and just squeeze it in my hand to form a grip. Then, stick it on a spare paddle and see how it works...

I might try this with some clay or putty, then transfer the shape onto some dark walnut.

I'm a lefty and I hate wearing gloves when I paddle. I feel that with gloves, you lose sensitivity and tend to grip on the paddle more, thus wearing out you're arm muscles 10X times faster. Even though I'm not wearing gloves, I think I'm gripping too hard on my paddle. I'll just make a t-grip that's molded for my palm. That way when I grip on it, all the pressure is distributed evenly across the t-grip.

Awesome Pictures too.
Thanks for the feedback guys, thats awesome.

oopsiflipped · Post by **oopsiflipped** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:35 am

might be less work to not to squeeze your paddle so hard....just sayin

thanks for calling when about those paddles when you were headed that way alex. i've not had much time latley or i would have called you back. didn't even make it over to big creek, i have got up to the rfg the last two sundays and might make it out tomorrow if anything local come up.

you ever get that mitchell fixed?

cheajack · Post by **cheajack** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:41 am

Alex, here's another thought. Might it be an issue of hand strength? Not grip strength. I'm no Dude but dexterity is a large part of my daily work and my fingers never hurt when I paddle. I also don't grip my paddle very tightly either. There's lots of gimmicks in the sporting goods stores for developing finger strength. I like the putty. But, you could always take up piano in your spare time.

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Ergonomic T-grip to help avoid Arthritis.

Ergonomic T-grip to help avoid Arthritis.

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