yep diagnosed with rotator cuff issues...tear in the supraspinatus+bursitis+tendonitis... anyone can recommend a physio in melbs bayside who's familiar with SUP shoulder injuries?

Olympic park sports medicine

Physiosports Brighton on Nepean Hwy. Excellent IMO, think there is a physio that specializes in shoulders. They also have sports physicians that can help guide the whole process through surgery if you need it. Bummer about the shoulder.

Hey Free sailor, who diagnosed you with the rotator cuff issue, was it physio or a specialist? Mine's playing up too

crack straight on into the physio of your choice. Hopefully you find one who understands SUP! If it was all diagnosed by ultrasound have a really good chat to the physio about how a large proportion people over the age of 30 have supraspinatus tears and are asymptomatic. Shoulder pain is much more related to the mechanics of how your shoulder works - so conservative management usually works really well! Good luck

Sounds like a good idea CarterSUPhysio, how long before I can start SUPing again, my gp said 2-4 wks... also I'm a keen windsurfer...itchy not to go out I have to say as the shoulder doesn't bother me on the water only at night after... will the tear heal overtime?

sinky had an x-ray and a usg and diagnosis via my gp... now headed for a usg guided cortisone injection and after physio


Fun and games...

Jayce Gilbert at PeakMSK in Hampton
He's a bayside SUP'er, and actually takes the time to understand your injury and diagnose it properly.
You've probably windsurfed past him at Green Point when we've been on our downwinders

www.peakmsk.com.au/

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micksmith said..
Olympic park sports medicine

Another tick for them, had both elbows done. Split tendons after too much windsurfing/ SUPing

Currently using QB paddles V Drive and Trifecta, resp 2" and 4" above my height (I'm mainly SUPsurfing)

Question - QB too stiff? And would it help to go shorter?

Bloody shoulder...

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freesailor said..
Currently using QB paddles V Drive and Trifecta, resp 2" and 4" above my height (I'm mainly SUPsurfing)

Question - QB too stiff? And would it help to go shorter?

Bloody shoulder...

Having both a flexible shaft, and a small narrow blade will help a lot.
A too flexible shaft is not very pleasant in the surf, the small blade is perhaps a better compromise.
I don't know the QB line to tell you if yours are too rigid, and I think their offer different stiffnesses in their shafts.

On the length, a good rule of thumb is that your upper hand should not be higher than your shoulder when pulling on the paddle. 2" should definitely be OK.

I got a a shorter blade and it
made the difference between surfing and not surfing. Torn left and right last year. Supthhecreek says his are ****ed and he still surfs, so all hope isn't lost.

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freesailor said..
Sounds like a good idea CarterSUPhysio, how long before I can start SUPing again, my gp said 2-4 wks... also I'm a keen windsurfer...itchy not to go out I have to say as the shoulder doesn't bother me on the water only at night after... will the tear heal overtime?

sinky had an x-ray and a usg and diagnosis via my gp... now headed for a usg guided cortisone injection and after physio


Fun and games...

yeah look good physio's are now trying to move away from time frame based rehab - they can be a guide and certainly 2-4 weeks sounds in the ball park, but a criteria based rehab i'd tend to use for paddlers would be pain free and full range of motion overhead before paddling, equal rotator cuff endurance between sides, and equal control / proprioception between sides and then i'd progress people back through flat water sessions at say max 50% efforts, building from there and then back to surfing provided all pain free. In terms of the tear healing that depends on heaps of stuff like age, size, location of tear etc etc. Usually if there are about 1cm or more they won't heal - buttttt your pain can improve. Remember after cortisone to fix your shoulder mechanics with the physio - a bursa is literally like a blister, if you rub it too much it will come back, so you need to address why you are rubbing it (how your shoulder moves)

I assume most tears come from repetitive strain issues and poor technique / wrong size paddle issues rather than trauma,
If so it would make sense that shoulder injuries are more prone in SUP racing rather than SUP surfing as thee are more rest periods.

Freesailor,
I had shoulder soreness like that. I didn't feel it when I was paddling, only at night after paddling.
I modified my technique after watching a Youtube video by a bio-mechanic. When I paddle now I ensure, with my top arm, that my elbow is never higher than my wrist. It worked for me. No more shoulder pain.

I hear you guys. But only thing this is my left shoulder in pain. As a goofy, left hand is used to pull and right hand on the handle (of course), and yes elbow below shoulder... I have no issues with my right shoulder.
Also blade sizes 86 and 81, rather small with paddle length 2" and 4" overhead...
Same thing HotdogH, no pain whilst paddling, only at night...pfff
Keen to get more thoughts on technique though, that would be a great solution to my issues

Freesailor,

Have some warning signs myself and working to cure them. Windsurfing and occasional Sup'ing and modest lifting.

For windsurfing, using a seat harness should force you to lower the boom so your arms are less raised?

As a windsurfer, your lats/upper back should be very powerful compared to the opposing muscles. If you could learn to stretch the lats without pain? Using overhead bar in sagittal plane (fore and aft) gently load one arm with that hand on the bar by leaning the body, to the right for the right arm and v.v., and moving the arm as far aft as you need to feel the side stretch. You can feel a stretch from the underarm, upper side of the back all the way down the side.

Or, just bow by bending at the hip, and placing hands thumbs up on a high table and moving one of them medially and bowing lower until you find the right stretch.

Or, on a mat in Child's Pose, but with arms out in front thumbs up.

The various rotator cuff exercises are easy to do.

Studying the youtube videos by ATHLEANX.com can help as well, with some prevention and also awareness of what causes Shoulder Impingement Syndrome. Internally rotated arm, high elbows, shoulder blades rounded, elbows back, etc.

Hi freesailor, I've had/have bursitis in my left shoulder. Get to the GP for some good anti inflammatories and I've been using Chris Seville at Healthy Bodies Physio in Cheltenham. Chris has been great with a program to strengthen the shoulder.

I've been diagnosed with similar injuries add to that a frozen shoulder. Suffered since December and had 2 months of massage and physio . Went to specialist and had 2 injections , one in the capsule of the joint and one in the tendons. A day later and I've improved 90% , almost full range of movement where as before I couldn't raise my arm above shoulder! ! Having physiotherapy now to help the process.

Update - 2wks after injection and physiology things are getting better - slowly getting back on the water and so far so good. Now keep the discipline of the shoulder strengthening exercises!!! Bring on that next SUPsurf sesh!!! Aloha!

once got handed a short wide paddle when SUPing, and felt strange in the shoulder for 3 or so weeks, a mild pain when sleeping, then recovered.

Other day just sitting at work, moved my shoulder a bit and felt a click, like the joint moved out and back a bit. Then felt sharp pain for days, all I did was sit around all day. WTF. Felt like I fell on it.