Canoe shoulder injuries

[ChrisKelly]

In a thread below some people talked about injuries resulting from exposing one's shoulder.

Several years ago I tried to keep track of canoe related shoulder injury. I have a theory.

There are far fewer dislocations resulting from canoe paddling and there are more rotator cuff injuries. The reason is that when kayakers paddle out of their box and the kayak paddle gets stuck it forces the shoulder open and out of the joint. Wheras, canoeists tend to hurt themselves by pushing the paddle down while lifting the head up and away. This tends to strain and rip the rotator muscles. I am not sure I am correct about this. I do think it happens more to newer canoeists because when we are new we have not yet learned to drop our head when we brace. We tend to instinctively move away from the water.

How many of you have had canoe related shoulder dislocations and how many rotator cuff injuries. How about other shoulder injury?

Chris Kelly

[Bob P]

One vote in for rotator cuff. It happened when I rolled on a strong eddy line.

[Mike W.]

My shoulders were really hurting this year. I was told that the point of pain indicated rotator cuff.

The water dropped & the wave is now only good for front surfing. Due to water level, I haven't attempted spins since August. Now my shoulders don't hurt much at all. I think I need to work on my spin technique

The thing that bothered me most is that I did a 40 mile flatwater race w/ no pain at all, but 2 hours playing on the wave would cause me to hurt for 3 or 4 days

[kballard]

Multiple dislocations. Left shoulder (I paddle lefty, so it was my bottom arm) while on extended low braces in turbulance. Best I can figure, I let the paddle and my arms drift behind me instead of being perpendicular to the boat. I was in a C-1 not an open boat if it matters. After the 4th or 5th dislocation, I had an open surgery to repair the torn labrum and tighter the ligament capsule. After a couple months of extensive physical therapy, I was back in the boat. No problems since. I finally have learned to just flip and roll rather than try to save it with a brace.

[philcanoe]

mine's in the opposite direction... an A/C impingement

flipped downstream while playing on the Ocoee in Gonzo Shoals ... was so shallow the boat would not flip over all the way, so ended up Brillo-Padding the bottom with that shoulder for quite a ways (scraped it pretty clean), was in a big old MR Explorer and simply could not get out of, nor get it off the top of me... ended up with several lacerations and a still impinged shoulder that works with occasional flare ups... rolls seem to cause the most problem, so i'll simply go for a swim - if feel non-threatened

.... Whereas, canoeists tend to hurt themselves by pushing the paddle down while lifting the head up and away. This tends to strain and rip the rotator muscles. I am not sure I am correct about this.

humm... may be raising my head too soon (while rolling), will have to look into

[Open Gate]

Left shoulder dislocation.

Lefty, hit a rock going down a water fall while in a bracing position. Shoulder went up, while I kept going down Umerus poped right out...and stayed there for 4,5 hrs

Been running easier stuff since felt loose joint a few times. MRI showed torn Labrum and a fractured bone. Surgery to occur in a few weeks, should be back in business next spring.

[Larry Horne]

Gravity, miniscule amounts of water, and not enough space between rocks = Torn labrum on my shaft arm. Arm was forced too far in a direction that it didn't want to go.
Orthoscopic surgery....6 months before I could paddle. A year before it felt decent. Two years later, it feels a little funky, but strong.

[marclamenace]

Right shoulder Supraspinatus muscle tenditis. Part of the rotator cuff I beleive. Happened early spring thought it would eventually go by itself but finally had to do some physiotherapy at the end of summer. The pain kept on going and coming back since I couldn't help being back at paddling every week-end out of two.

Bad rolling technique I beleive: was not sticking my right hand close to my forehead but rather trying to reach further with it; helps making the move more efficient so I thought but pulls on the shoulder muscles pretty bad.

Definitely looking at a pool practice before the season's back.

[Alden]

Never torn anything, but I've had tons of problems from shoulder impingement. Plus, I think I had sort of perma-tendonitis in my left forearm during all of the last two race seasons. Felt like certain things in there were only about another Dickerson session per weekend away from snapping! Legend has it Leck Haller actually did have that happen . . . and didn't know it. That kept me going.

The things we do for love . . .

Alden

[oc1paddlr]

totally not a paddleing rotator injury, but my wife had her rotator cuff torn useing a flexie-leash. while looking the other way our 35 lb. dog runs to the end (26 ') of the leash and snatches out her fully extended arm. just a heads up to any flexie/dog owners.

[the great gonzo]

Had an unusual shoulder injury 4 years ago. Screwed up the line down a shallow rocky drop, flipped in a hole on my offside and ran the hole thing upside donw, hittting a rock at the bottom at full tilt.
Borke my scapula, cracked the shell of my carbon-kevlar helmet and 80% the paddle blade broke off. Took me almost the entire season to get the mobility and strength in my shoulder back, but now it's again back to 100%.

TGG!

[jennifer]

Use no weight to start. Do not do anything that causes pain!

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

[ezwater]

The only boating shoulder problems I've had have been pain at the top border of the deltoid from bad technique or just trying too hard.

A year ago I damaged the back part of my left rotator cuff trying to pull a tree down with a rope. Strangely, it didn't keep me from paddling easy on my left side, but it limited upward extension. I could feel it a bit on extreme cross strokes and when paddling righty. It was actually a more disabling injury OFF the water.

I kept paddling easy and avoiding stress, and now I can only feel a small tightness and a shadow of pain when raising my left arm right up along my head.

[John Coraor]

I had several subluxations (partial dislocations) of my right shoulder back when I paddled kayak, always from the lower arm hitting a rock when extended on a duffek. When I started paddling C-2 and C-1 that was one of the reasons why I elected to paddle left. Paddling C-boat I have not had a problem with subluxations or dislocations, but have had minor rotator cuff injuries. Most often they seem to occur because of bad form on cross-strokes, which are sometimes then aggravated by sleeping on that shoulder. I have been successful with rehabilitating the shoulder by using Davey Hearn's shoulder routine (as suggested above) after a period of rest and recovery.

John

[ezwater]

John C., did you know you can experience heartburn by NOT sleeping on your left shoulder?

When I messed up my left rotator cuff last fall, I no longer could sleep on my left side, my favored side. Subsequently I started experiencing heartburn. When I googled on the topic, I learned that sleeping on the left side tends to keep the entry valve to the stomach shut, so there is much less reflux into the esophagus. People with GERD are often advised to try to sleep on their left sides.

My interim measure was to take a course of Prilosec, which helped quite a bit. Now I am back to sleeping on my favored, left side.