Question:

.  i have always done pull-ups and push-ups to stay in shape.  my doctor said that the push-ups are bad for the joints, so i now longer do those, but i still do the pull ups.

Ditto. I quit doing pushups years ago, don’t do bench presses. But cable flies and dumbell flies are still fine.

Response:

I have had quite a history with shoulder tendonitis.  Having somewhat of a blue collar job, I found nearly impossible to quit using it altogethor. After going through a range of treatments including cortisone-lydocane   injections, physical therapy and 4 different anti-inflamatory medicines I ended up having arthroscopic surgery.  This was very painful, but it was performed by a very talented surgeon, a sports specialist named Richard Marder.  I am now back to 100 percent of my paddling ability, but if you can avoid this course of action you should because it took about 6 months to recover.  The surgery involves shaving away bone to make more room for your tendons.          To avoid this cours of events i should have taken motrin regularly and used ice after workouts.  i have always done pull-ups and push-ups to stay in shape.  my doctor said that the push-ups are bad for the joints, so i now longer do those, but i still do the pull ups. My advise would be to get rest as long as you can standit, take motrin with meals and use ice on your shoulder after any sort of work out.  The ice helps me -some people don’t much like it.  Hope this helps out.

Response:

Just get things really smooth and don’t force anything and you’ll be back on the river with us soon… Hope so.  At least, there’ll be less swimming next time ;-)

Don’t you do any swimming without me being around with a camera to take the carnage-shots, you hear! ;-) (I must admit I haven’t been paddling fo r a couple of weeks now so you might even be in a better shape ..) Doubt it, after four months of doing nothing….See you soon, on another one of our bloody carnage trips on the Rur ….

Don’t get your hopes up too high Marc… the Rur is a bit more difficult than what you’ve been paddling so far, and after losing one friend on the river, I don’t want to loose another paddling buddy! Wilko

Response:

Thanks for all the tips!I did have a good phyiscal exam. Apparently, it was a clear case of tendonitis, no bursatis, or rotator cuff tear. Today, I was getting sick of staying at home after four months, so I decided to go to our pool training. Guess what: I did my first succesful eskimo-roll ever today. On both sides.  Now, that feels good! Must be the four months’ frustration

Congratulations Marc! Just get things really smooth and don’t force anything and you’ll be back on the river with us soon… (I must admit I haven’t been paddling fo r a couple of weeks now so you might even be in a better shape ..) Shoulder still feels OK. So far….

Keep it up.. HP, Michiel — Michiel Verhoef phone:  (078) 6392587

Response:

On saturday, I went to our pool training and did my first eskimo rolls. On sunday I played squash! Today, (monday) still no complaints whatsoever! Can’t wait to paddle again… Moral: listen to your doctor! It pays to take absolute rest: four months in my case.  No injection, no medication…. OK, four months is a long time, so if you’re really in a hurry, a shot may help, but I’m a whimp, so I didn’t.. Marc

Response:

Congratulations Marc! Just get things really smooth and don’t force anything and you’ll be back on the river with us soon…

Hope so.  At least, there’ll be less swimming next time ;-) (I must admit I haven’t been paddling fo r a couple of weeks now so you might even be in a better shape ..)

Doubt it, after four months of doing nothing….See you soon, on another one of our bloody carnage trips on the Rur …. Marc

Response:

Congratulations Marc! Just get things really smooth and don’t force anything and you’ll be back on the river with us soon… Hope so.  At least, there’ll be less swimming next time ;-)

Uh oh, sounds like I should be improving on my rolling skills :-) But your Diablo should be a lot more stable than the Rockit anyway.. (I must admit I haven’t been paddling fo r a couple of weeks now so you might even be in a better shape ..) Doubt it, after four months of doing nothing….See you soon, on another one of our bloody carnage trips on the Rur ….

Just ordered a couple of neoprene gloves so whenever you’ll be going next year (gotta move first, december 20) I’ll try to be there.. SYOTR, Michiel — Michiel Verhoef phone:  (078) 6392587

Response:

Guess what: I did my first succesful eskimo-roll ever today. On both sides.  Now, that feels good!

Way to go!  Most of us never even tried getting an offside roll until the onside one got good enough I’ll bet.  Keep working both sides and you’ll never even realize the difference between on and off sides.  Keep practicing…….Steve

Response:

One additional note, I don’t do exercises where I lift the weights above my shoulders.

Only thing I do with my hands overhead are pullups and pullovers. Pullovers (flat on back on bench, pull a dumbell up from behind your head) are super. Like pullups for your chest. They just feel great.

Response:

Guess what: I did my first succesful eskimo-roll ever today. On both sides

That shoulder tendonitis may be due to keeping your shoulders square instead of rolling them loosely with each stroke and yanking back with the hand near the water too much while not punching forward with the upper hand.

Response:

Marc,  My first couple of years of paddling were plagued by tendonitis, although mine was in the elbow.  I did lots and lots of exercises, stretches, and ibuprofen till I had an ulcer, but no relief until I tried a paddle with smaller blades; I found that the smaller surface area of the blade face reduced the strain that I could put on my joints.  I now paddle with a Lightning Jr and haven’t had a single twinge of pain in 2 years.  You might consider buying a smaller-bladed paddle or grinding down the blades on what you have now.  I don’t know how much it’ll help shoulders, but my elbows have loved it! Patrick – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This year in August, during a paddle holiday in Austria, I got a shoulder tendonitis. Dull rest pain with the occasional extra shot of pain. Didn’t care about it much in the beginning and continued paddling. Until I noticed that it didn’t cure and every time I exercised it got worse. After a month, I went to the Doctor, who recommended simply rest. Very difficult, with the high waters we were having recently.. I thought it would never go away, and everytime I stressed my shoulder just a little bit (e.g. just carrying a little bag) it got worse! But very very very slowly, the symptoms disappeared. Only now (almost four months later), the symptoms have disappeared entirely. Anybody had something similar ? How fast should I go paddling again ? Many people are warning me to take it very easy in the beginning. Don’t want to have a chronic tendonitis! Marc

Response:

I had tendonitis in my wrist once. It occurred when I was chasing a friend round the Cheshire Ring race in a WWR ( he was in a K1 marathon boat, and was attempting a solo effort, and just made it within 24 hours). Two of us were taking it in turns to encourage him thought the night stages. I had been paddling C1 & C2 almost exclusively at that time, and the extra strain on my wrist did for me. A physiotherapist friend recommended 2 months total rest, and I was lucky that it happened at a non-critical time, and so I followed his instructions. The problem has never returned, even though I have reverted to kayak paddling now. A friend of mine has also suffered from tendonitis of the wrist, but couldn’t give up training, and was plagued with problems for 2 years. The moral is – follow the advice. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This year in August, during a paddle holiday in Austria, I got a shoulder tendonitis. Dull rest pain with the occasional extra shot of pain. Didn’t care about it much in the beginning and continued paddling. Until I noticed that it didn’t cure and every time I exercised it got worse. After a month, I went to the Doctor, who recommended simply rest. Very difficult, with the high waters we were having recently.. I thought it would never go away, and everytime I stressed my shoulder just a little bit (e.g. just carrying a little bag) it got worse! But very very very slowly, the symptoms disappeared. Only now (almost four months later), the symptoms have disappeared entirely. Anybody had something similar ? How fast should I go paddling again ? Many people are warning me to take it very easy in the beginning. Don’t want to have a chronic tendonitis! Marc

               Dave Bradshaw Visit the Manchester Canoe Club Website at       http://www.davebrads.u-net.com

Response:

Enquired:This year in August, during a paddle holiday in Austria, I got a shoulder tendonitis.

<snipOnly now (almost four months later), the symptoms have disappeared entirely. Anybody had something similar ? How fast should I go paddling again ? Many people are warning me to take it very easy in the beginning. Don’t want to have a chronic tendonitis!

I’m with Gregg on this one. A proper warmup and flexiblity exercises help keep this at bay. I also try to maintain a shoulder and upper body weight program to strenghten the muscles. I personally find that light weights with high repititions in a single set seems to enhance my on river performance better than the more traditional 3 sets with more weight and low reps. Mine is already chronic. Good luck. Larry

Response:

Marc: For a long time I fought what I thought was a losing battle with tendonitis in my shoulder (both front and back sides). This summer I tried Chiropractic therapy and was extremely surprised with the results. After a three week period of spinal adjustments and ultrasound treatments to the shoulder, my "chronic" tendonitis cleared up. I’ve been paddling pain-free ever since. I had been told (by my allopathic doctor) that only rest, ice and NO PADDLING! was going to relieve my symptoms. If you have flair-ups in the future, you might want to consider Chiropractic. Apparently, I had accumulated spinal "subluxations" (or as I understand it, vertebra were out of alignment)  from old injuries that had put my whole upper body out of kilter. Greg B.

Response:

you might want to consider Chiropractic. Apparently, I had accumulated spinal "subluxations" (or as I understand it, vertebra were out of alignment)  

Chiropractic cured me of dandruff, stinky feet, and got the crabgrass out of my lawn. Gregg

Response:

I’m with Gregg on this one. A proper warmup and flexiblity exercises help keep this at bay. I also try to maintain a shoulder and upper body weight program to strenghten the muscles. I personally find that light weights with high repititions in a single set seems to enhance my on river performance better than the more traditional 3 sets with more weight and low reps. Mine is already chronic. Good luck. Larry

Be careful about the weights, Larry. My shoulder pain came from sub-acromial bursitis which I unwittingly aggravated by the repetitive stress of NordicTrak arm motion and in particular free weight training, especially lifting over the head. Regular paddling with the elbows kept low and in tight helped maintain mobility and shoulder strength without aggravating the problem. Reducing the paddle blade area helped relieve stress. I was also instructed by PT in stretching exercises and a program to strengthen the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder blades. I didn’t give up any paddling and I recovered in about a year. I haven’t touched the weights since. Marc needs a good physical exam of his shoulder to determine the exact nature of his injury (bursitis? rotator cuff tear? joint damage?). From there a specific PT regimen can be determined. Cheers, Jordan

Response:

Now, now, let’s be nice.  My last chiropractor removed a major source of pressure from my hip…..my wallet. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – you might want to consider Chiropractic. Apparently, I had accumulated spinal "subluxations" (or as I understand it, vertebra were out of alignment) Chiropractic cured me of dandruff, stinky feet, and got the crabgrass out of my lawn. Gregg

Response:

I started working out my shoulders and upper body with light weights and numerous reps to help prevent shoulder problems.  In addition to those benefits I have also noticed that my paddling strenght has increased. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Enquired:This year in August, during a paddle holiday in Austria, I got a shoulder tendonitis. I’m with Gregg on this one. A proper warmup and flexiblity exercises help keep this at bay. I also try to maintain a shoulder and upper body weight program to strenghten the muscles. I personally find that light weights with high repititions in a single set seems to enhance my on river performance better than the more traditional 3 sets with more weight and low reps. Mine is already chronic. Good luck. Larry

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m with Gregg on this one. A proper warmup and flexiblity exercises help keep this at bay. I also try to maintain a shoulder and upper body weight program to strenghten the muscles. I personally find that light weights with high repititions in a single set seems to enhance my on river performance better than the more traditional 3 sets with more weight and low reps. Mine is already chronic. Good luck. Larry Be careful about the weights, Larry. My shoulder pain came from sub-acromial bursitis which I unwittingly aggravated by the repetitive stress of NordicTrak arm motion and in particular free weight training, especially lifting over the head. Regular paddling with the elbows kept low and in tight helped maintain mobility and shoulder strength without aggravating the problem. Reducing the paddle blade area helped relieve stress. I was also instructed by PT in stretching exercises and a program to strengthen the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder blades. I didn’t give up any paddling and I recovered in about a year. I haven’t touched the weights since.

I’ve separated the same shoulder twice.  Nowadays I do a fair amount of strength training using weights, but I’m very careful about range of motion.  The common "wisdom" is that the biggest problem with any joint injury is "getting your range of motion back".  My guess is that with shoulder injuries, striving for maximum range of motion and flexibility is often the exact _worst_ thing you can do.  The shoulder isn’t a super-stable joint to begin with, and the advice I got from my ortho was to strengthen it within a very conservative range of motion.  Many exercises with free weights over the head are very risky for shoulders, especially if your form’s not pretty close to perfect.  Machines such as Nautilus or Universal are somewhat better, but again, there’s plenty of potential to hurt yourself if you’re not careful.  The average fly machine, for example, is set so that at the extreme, the range of motion is way too great to be good for you — it takes your elbow all the way back to the plane of your torso, and sometimes beyond.  Bad thing!  Lat pulldowns, if your form’s not good or you start with too much weight…even exercises like triceps extensions or biceps curls, that shouldn’t affect the shoulder, can result in problems. With that said, I’m getting good results from my program, but I also get a lot of help from training karate, where the emphasis on form allows me to build strength without straining anything. Marc needs a good physical exam of his shoulder to determine the exact nature of his injury (bursitis? rotator cuff tear? joint damage?). From there a specific PT regimen can be determined.

Agreed, absolutely.   Out of curiosity, has anyone on this group ever tried to compile a list of paddling-knowledgeable health care professionals?  I know that similar things are sometimes done on other groups, to much mutual benefit.   — ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::         "They write books that contradict the rocks…"

Response:

One additional note, I don’t do exercises where I lift the weights above my shoulders. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I started working out my shoulders and upper body with light weights and numerous reps to help prevent shoulder problems.  In addition to those benefits I have also noticed that my paddling strenght has increased. Enquired:This year in August, during a paddle holiday in Austria, I got a shoulder tendonitis. I’m with Gregg on this one. A proper warmup and flexiblity exercises help keep this at bay. I also try to maintain a shoulder and upper body weight program to strenghten the muscles. I personally find that light weights with high repititions in a single set seems to enhance my on river performance better than the more traditional 3 sets with more weight and low reps. Mine is already chronic. Good luck. Larry

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Be careful about the weights, Larry. My shoulder pain came from sub-acromial bursitis which I unwittingly aggravated by the repetitive stress of NordicTrak arm motion and in particular free weight training, especially lifting over the head. Regular paddling with the elbows kept low and in tight helped maintain mobility and shoulder strength without aggravating the problem. Reducing the paddle blade area helped relieve stress. I was also instructed by PT in stretching exercises and a program to strengthen the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder blades. I didn’t give up any paddling and I recovered in about a year. I haven’t touched the weights since. Marc needs a good physical exam of his shoulder to determine the exact nature of his injury (bursitis? rotator cuff tear? joint damage?). From there a specific PT regimen can be determined. Cheers, Jordan

Thanks for all the tips!I did have a good phyiscal exam. Apparently, it was a clear case of tendonitis, no bursatis, or rotator cuff tear. Today, I was getting sick of staying at home after four months, so I decided to go to our pool training. Guess what: I did my first succesful eskimo-roll ever today. On both sides.  Now, that feels good! Must be the four months’ frustration Shoulder still feels OK. So far…. Marc

Response:

Thanks for all the tips! Today, I was getting sick of staying at home after four months, so I decided to go to our pool training. Guess what: I did my first succesful eskimo-roll ever today. On both sides.  Now, that feels good! Must be the four months’ frustration Shoulder still feels OK. So far…. Marc – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Enquired:This year in August, during a paddle holiday in Austria, I got a shoulder tendonitis. <snipOnly now (almost four months later), the symptoms have disappeared entirely. Anybody had something similar ? How fast should I go paddling again ? Many people are warning me to take it very easy in the beginning. Don’t want to have a chronic tendonitis! I’m with Gregg on this one. A proper warmup and flexiblity exercises help keep this at bay. I also try to maintain a shoulder and upper body weight program to strenghten the muscles. I personally find that light weights with high repititions in a single set seems to enhance my on river performance better than the more traditional 3 sets with more weight and low reps. Mine is already chronic. Good luck. Larry

– Marc Kouwenhoven Clinical Scientist MR Angiography Philips Medical Systems PO Box 10.000 NL 5680 DA  Best The Netherlands tel  +31-40-27 62554 fax  +31-40-27 63459

Response:

This year in August, during a paddle holiday in Austria, I got a shoulder tendonitis. Dull rest pain with the occasional extra shot of pain. Didn’t care about it much in the beginning and continued paddling. Until I noticed that it didn’t cure and every time I exercised it got worse. After a month, I went to the Doctor, who recommended simply rest. Very difficult, with the high waters we were having recently.. I thought it would never go away, and everytime I stressed my shoulder just a little bit (e.g. just carrying a little bag) it got worse! But very very very slowly, the symptoms disappeared. Only now (almost four months later), the symptoms have disappeared entirely. Anybody had something similar ? How fast should I go paddling again ? Many people are warning me to take it very easy in the beginning. Don’t want to have a chronic tendonitis! Marc

Response:

Do a couple weeks of physical therapy type exercises for your shoulders before paddling hard. I have to to do that occasionally, should do it religiously. Gregg

Response:

Hi Marc, Please take care and take it slow! It would be a shame to have you not paddling for a while like last summer/fall. It’s cold outside anyhow so I’d say take some light exercises and start paddling very slowly. Just a bit of paddling on the Dommel to make you get the feel back. Not to much, perhaps even less than twenty minutes. I know this sounds crazy (changing clothes will take longer) but to really cure this thing your shoulders need rest. SYOTR (in a while :-) , Michiel Do a couple weeks of physical therapy type exercises for your shoulders before paddling hard. I have to to do that occasionally, should do it religiously. Gregg

– "You’re in your boat, right side up, with your paddle in your hands. I guess you had a good run" Michiel Verhoef phone:  (078) 6392587

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