Knees and Ankles are killing me... suggestions?

[photocodo]

I paddled for the first time yesterday, I found someone who had an extra boat (probe 12) and it was tons of fun. It was all class I-II but we worked on different paddle strokes, getting in and out of eddies, ferrying, surfing etc. I had a blast and definitely think canoeing is something I want to pursue. My only problem is that my knees and ankles were so sore and stiff that it literally took me about 10 minutes to get out of the boat. I guess it was a mix of having pressure on my ankles for that long and staying in that position for that long (about 2 hrs). The guy who normally paddles that boat is a lot smaller than me so I know the outfitting was not proper and the saddle probably needed to come up a bit.
Is this something that everyone just deals with or are there tricks to help with the pain. I know I need to get more flexible and that should help. He also said that if I put something under my ankles it will help keep the pressure off of them. Does anyone have suggestions or pictures of their setups that might help me out. Thanks

Cody

[sbroam]

1. Don't stay in the boat that long at one time - at least not in the beginning. get out, stretch your legs, get the blood flowing.
2. Seat height and other outfitting geometries matter a lot - a taller saddle will make a big difference. A 10" tall saddle is not unheard of in a boat as big as a Probe. Just know that height is inversely related to stability - you might have to do some experimenting to see where you are comfortable in both regards.
3. Don't get set up too tight - yes, being secure is important (especially when learning to roll), but there is such a thing as being too tight. Learn to use your feet / thighs to "tighten up" when you need to and relax to allow more blood flow when you don't
4. Condition yourself to the seating position - the age old advice is to get a basketball and sit on in in a kneeling position while watching TV. over time, let a little air out to get used to a lower seat.
5. Feet numb? Paddle harder - a slalom racer told me once that if my feet were going to sleep, I needed to paddle harder. It works!

[Sickboyuk]

All the above and make sure theres enough padding under your knees.

[indigobear]

All the other factors listed above play an incredible roll in comfort. One thing you can try is to get out and stretch 20 minutes into your trip if you have the opportunity. Get back in and you might find you can go a lot longer feeling comfortable that if you waited until you couldn't stand it anymore before taking a break.

I just got a C1 - I grew up only paddling in the summers in my summer camp's probe 14s. The saddle is only a little lower in the C1 but it makes a difference. I can sit in the probe all day long and only be slightly stiff. The first time I paddled my new C1 on the river (it's a Pyrhana H3 255 conversion) I sat in it straight for about 3 hours and my ankles were killing me by the time we got to the take out. Since then I've practiced a piece of advice I overheard which was to get out and stretch about 20-30 minutes after getting in. After doing that I can go for the rest of the run however long that might be.

[Brewbeer]

Ibuprofen. 2-3 at the start and more as needed.

[Dave.E]

I am not flexible whatsoever and paddling an open boat used to kill me and still does sometimes.

With my first boat I raised the saddle and put in huge ankle blocks. This helped A LOT, but the raised saddle definitely messed with my balance. The boat didn't have much primary stability to begin with so this really hurt my paddling. I ended up ripping out the ankle blocks and lowering the seat to its original height.

After a bunch of messing around I have a pretty good setup. I will still get out to stretch briefly all the time though.

- Small ankle blocks, shaped like triangles to support my ankles as well as shins.
- Some added foam on the sides of my boat right near the bottom next to my ankles. This helps keep my legs straight and relieves a ton of stress on my ankles. It also keeps me more secure in the boat.
- Flexible shoes. This allows for better circulation. I wear 7mm neoprene dive boots.
- I take my feet off the pegs on flatwater and move back out of the outfitting. If my knees are at 90 degrees it is just as good as standing.

Hope this helps

Dave

[nam]

wear loose shorts, even neoprene shorts- I find cuts off circulation. I went shoeless for a couple of summers. For C1.

I find rolling upside down a couple of times helps short tern pain relief. For c1.

Stretching- reaching toes with knees straight helps.

[jknkboaters]

To increase your ankle comfort, try a pair of ankle blocks. You can add some ankle blocks made of minicell. Here is a link to some adjustable ankle blocks for whitewater canoes.

http://ankleblocks.weebly.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He uses Velcro to attach them to the boat, nice setup.

[KNeal]

Hey, photocodo. Welcome to the "party"! All the above are good suggestions. Also, remember that when you start a new physical activity, you WILL get sore based on how hard and how long you do that activity for the first time. This inarguable rule applies even to highly active/athletic types. So, little bits at a time. Honor your level of fitness to the activity and sore muscles get better quicker when you do something active the days after you get sore--doesn't have to be paddling, just be active.

Have fun with it so you can keep having fun with it.