Good morning

Very old, very addicted, very novice SUP surfer here. I've given myself some tendon damage at the elbow (golfer's elbow).

The advice seems to be stop SUP surfing for up to a couple of months to let the damage heal and then do some physio. (I'd rather cut my arm off than stop surfing for a couple of months!)

Just wondering if other oldies here have been down the same path and learned other paddling, take off, or other techniques to avoid this injury in the first place.

For example, I know I've got to time my takeoffs later so I don't dig so hard for 3-4 strokes to take off

Thanks heaps

Mike

PS Rick Weeks if you read this message, I thought of emailing you directly but you've already helped me so much, I didn't want to bother you with another question!
I've been watching heaps of your YouTubes in slow motion and you seem to take off so effortlessly with sometimes only 1 or 2 easy strokes

Stop playing golf..

I'd heard of tennis elbow but not golfer's elbow before.
If I've got it right, tennis elbow is damage to the outside tendon at your elbow. Golfer's elbow is inside tendon damage.
And I don't play golf or tennis

Tai chi or Qi gong exercise techniques are really good for helping old blokes with joint issues and associated problems. Great for your balance too.

Release the death grip on your paddle. (Both hands)
I had the same issue. Worked for me

Thanks Hicksy

Feel your pain - I had it bad. It is curable but you will need to make some changes.
I took a long break from supping after small breaks, physio treatment/exercises, needling and anti inflammatories didn't work.
Went back to prone surfing and this didn't bother it at all, in fact it may have helped? I now do and enjoy both.
I concentrate on a loose grip as mentioned (waxing handle and shaft helps) and also keep your arms as straight as possible - almost lock the elbows. Feels weird but you get used to it.
Good luck!

Hi Mike, I had a few bouts of tennis elbow over the last decade of so, and for me it has always been time that heals.

With my last occurrence I brought a velcro arm strap that made a pressure point over the tender spot and that to my surprise really helped. Not sure if something like that works with Golfers elbow, but might be worth a look into.

Also these days many Doctors recommend you keep using/moving injured parts to aid in recovery rather than total rest. I have been working through a wrist injury the last six months and with care and a little strapping I have been able to still SUP.

Also as we head over the wrong side of fifty, it's very important to increase our muscle mass that we lose as we age. That might not help with this issue, but long term the benefits of weight training are fantastic. You don't need to go crazy with it, just three to four times a week for 45 to 50 minutes will help us to surf longer and more importantly live better in our older years.

Best of luck, time will heal and if you are playing Golf, burn those evil sticks

Steve.

I also had golfers elbow -- really sucked. I basically took some time off and studied proper paddle grip and technique. This forced me to use a much more vertical paddle technique. I was gripping the paddle with almost an arch to my top wrist (the one on the handle). I now bend my wrist a bit more closer to the shaft, and this helped me. Although it still took me a few weeks to feel better, but I haven't had it since!

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Hicksy 63 said..
Release the death grip on your paddle. (Both hands)
I had the same issue. Worked for me

yeah, this is great advice! Let your core and the paddle do more of the work.

Got both , tennis and golf in both elbows. Too much windsurfing and SUPing and not willing to stop for longer than a year. PRP therapy ( Platelet rich plasma) fixed 3 of the 4 tendons for about 10k Aus and rest.
Long term I use a bent wrist and elbow and load up the muscles more than the tendons to help with the golf one. No death grip will sort the tennis one. Look up the stretch exercises for both conditions they help as well as a good Physio.

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KneeloMike said..
very novice SUP surfer here

In my experience, technique is everything to avoid damage.

What enlightened me is trying to experiment with my paddling stroke. I was shocked to discover how a simple change in my movement could trigger a tendon acute pain in seconds.

Also, as we grow older:
- warm before a session. a full 10 minute for me. No stretching, just go gently through all joints ranges of motion + some cardio to start the blood flowing. See www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Pre-session-warmup?page=1#lastpost
Drink water beforehand.
- stretch after a session
- if you do not SUP for some time, keep your muscle active (e.g. musculation) as described by "drivethebus".

Once damage is done, take it seriously. Healing takes a lot of time.

Thanks Colas

Yeah, had this ...just developed from over use/strain. I've been at this for many years and came out of the blue and can trace it back to being tripped over the edge on a wild day trying to desperately avoid a flogging from walls of white water! Coupled with taking my shortest board which is really slow to paddle. I also got my paddle stroke badly wrong in a panic between two big waves and managed to slice the paddle through the wave causing a tear in my bicep. For me it has taken several months to feel like I can paddle without pain. I had two months off surfing and biked to keep fitter. Then started some physio using light dumbbells and resistance bands.

i think I surfed about 12 times during the last months..back to it now. The bicep tear took the longest to heal ..reckon if it was just tendonitis it is usually two/three months but you have to rest it. Eccentric excercises are the way to strengthen in recovery.

A smaller paddle blade and shorter length helped with my elbow, then dropping in board volume seemed to help, maybe cause how it makes you use paddle, or maybe spurious correlation, but now I get lower back stuff, switch to prone when hurts which is fun

Thanks Ki.
I use a very stiff shaft Trident paddle which I really like because I feel like I get more power out of each stroke. But maybe I might try stepping back to my old, springier shaft paddle for a while. Maybe less power, like with a smaller paddle blade, might help.

A more flexible shaft on my paddle did me wonders

Yup, a shaft with some flex does wonders.

I had shoulder and elbow pain, initially. Seems to have eased off a bit, since cutting my paddle shorter, to eye level, less leaverage? Also, use paddles with small blades and my boards are a lot smaller these days and easier to turn, so again, not as much force being transferred to the joints.

Try a Theraband, it worked for me and a few mates who all had the same thing
T

Also suffered from golfers elbow. Usually from windsurfing with too big sails (I don't do that now) and also caused by dragging my windsurfing gear from the beach to the car. Made it even worse by trying to do chin up's when I really should have been taking it easy.
It took some time to get better as I did not listen to my body in the early stages.
I went to a physio whose remedy was pressured water, electro-shocking the muscle and then using a savage massage gun.
I also watched I think this video (am sure it was bob and brad but just not sure which one of their many videos)
Ended up buying a small massage gun and massaging my elbow every day. I don't have any pain now and I try to be as careful as possible when doing exercise.
Good luck.

I have been getting elbow tendinitis on and off for years. Here's a link to what I do to manage and help speed up the healing process

In August I have bought a marvelous Quick Blade UV full carbon 88 sq. inch. Extremely light and powerful with a concave blade and an incredible scaled conic and iconic "Diamond Elite" shaft with one direction slip very very rigid. Before I have used for years without any problems a Naish Wave LE 95 sq. inch: a bit bigger and heavier but with a very flexible shaft in kevlar. After the first time using the QB i had both the arms painful. Now my arms are OK but my right elbow is often on fire for the first time. I play also tennis. The seller says to me to use the same paddle but reducing the paddle dimension. Probably for the next sessions I return to the old Wave LE to reduce the fire but I don't believe that reducing the blade would be the solution I think that the main problem is only in the too rigid shaft and also my bad paddling technique.