I cut my bloody finger off, Im sure I'd be a faster paddler if I still had that bit

I bought a Quickblade Kanaha Paddle online from the U.S. Paying careful attention to their size guide below, I ordered to size for the purpose of surfing. Being 6'2 and 235pounds (ie. 107kg), I went with the 110 blade size and 80" length.
Am since struggling with left shoulder issues. My physio reckons a shorter paddle length will help, reasoning I've more power and less joint stress when not reaching so long or high. Seems to make sense, and I know a smaller blade area won't hurt for sure.
Weighing up whether 80 to 73.5inches is too big of a jump, and looking at 110 to 100 on the blade in a QB Slim Jim?

All thoughts and/or opinions very welcome?

www.quickbladepaddles.com/SUP-paddle-sizes/

In my opinion the shaft being a good amount of flex is good
Vs a stiff shaft which I feel is harder on the shoulders but more responsive .

As for blade size I have only used the methane and recently the kialoa gl2 which is a small blade but bloody stiff

anyone have a left hip replaced yet think im close to having one ,im guessing 6 months out the water
any one have advice

May be less, my father in law had both hips done 7 years ago (at the same time) and was kiting within 3 months, he's still kiting and now he's 74, depends on how fit your are prior to surgery and rehab etc.

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Bretto74 said...
I bought a Quickblade Kanaha Paddle online from the U.S. Paying careful attention to their size guide below, I ordered to size for the purpose of surfing. Being 6'2 and 235pounds (ie. 107kg), I went with the 110 blade size and 80" length.
Am since struggling with left shoulder issues. My physio reckons a shorter paddle length will help, reasoning I've more power and less joint stress when not reaching so long or high. Seems to make sense, and I know a smaller blade area won't hurt for sure.
Weighing up whether 80 to 73.5inches is too big of a jump, and looking at 110 to 100 on the blade in a QB Slim Jim?

All thoughts and/or opinions very welcome?

www.quickbladepaddles.com/SUP-paddle-sizes/

Going with a big blade straight off is like going to the gym for the first time and straight away going for the biggest weights in the rack. Something is gonna give. You have to work up to it slowly, starting with smaller blades. I think you should get yourself a more forgiving paddle, which can mean a combination of sorter shaft and smaller blade, and maybe a slightly shorter shaft (but watch your back if you do!). But also, it could be that you are pulling on the blade too hard. Yanking as hard as you can on the paddle isn't the way to go fast, although it feels counter-intuitive not to do so. Try concentrating on good technique rather than pulling so hard.

Also, a lot of injuries occur because people do not allow enough recovery time between sessions. So paddle less, until you have very slowly built up enough physical tolerance to the demands you are making.

Another thing to do is to look at your diet and lifestyle. Injuries can be a sign that something is not right there. Alcohol, for instance, is a good way to acquire an injury. So is not getting enough sleep. Or using painkillers when you train. You are asking a lot of your body, so you need to treat it well or else it will stop you from doing it by giving you pain.

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kev7 said...
anyone have a left hip replaced yet think im close to having one ,im guessing 6 months out the water
any one have advice

Kev,

Had the right one done 4 years ago. Was doing flat water paddling within 6 weeks. It was excellent physio. Wasn't allowed to do anything high impact for six months. If you get a new hip, ensure you do plenty of rehabilitation. One of the keys to making your hip last is to ensure the bone attaches to the device, and exercise does that.

I do anything I want now..but in the back of my head I am mindful about what risks I take..

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Area10 said..

Bretto74 said...
I bought a Quickblade Kanaha Paddle online from the U.S. Paying careful attention to their size guide below, I ordered to size for the purpose of surfing. Being 6'2 and 235pounds (ie. 107kg), I went with the 110 blade size and 80" length.
Am since struggling with left shoulder issues. My physio reckons a shorter paddle length will help, reasoning I've more power and less joint stress when not reaching so long or high. Seems to make sense, and I know a smaller blade area won't hurt for sure.
Weighing up whether 80 to 73.5inches is too big of a jump, and looking at 110 to 100 on the blade in a QB Slim Jim?

All thoughts and/or opinions very welcome?

www.quickbladepaddles.com/SUP-paddle-sizes/

Going with a big blade straight off is like going to the gym for the first time and straight away going for the biggest weights in the rack. Something is gonna give. You have to work up to it slowly, starting with smaller blades. I think you should get yourself a more forgiving paddle, which can mean a combination of sorter shaft and smaller blade, and maybe a slightly shorter shaft (but watch your back if you do!). But also, it could be that you are pulling on the blade too hard. Yanking as hard as you can on the paddle isn't the way to go fast, although it feels counter-intuitive not to do so. Try concentrating on good technique rather than pulling so hard.

Also, a lot of injuries occur because people do not allow enough recovery time between sessions. So paddle less, until you have very slowly built up enough physical tolerance to the demands you are making.

Another thing to do is to look at your diet and lifestyle. Injuries can be a sign that something is not right there. Alcohol, for instance, is a good way to acquire an injury. So is not getting enough sleep. Or using painkillers when you train. You are asking a lot of your body, so you need to treat it well or else it will stop you from doing it by giving you pain.

Technique and power are interesting points, which I'm definitely going to look more into.

Also coupled with a slightly downsized paddle, will be mindful of not over-doing it. While I'd consider myself 7/10 fit, don't drink or regularly use pain killers; I do find paddling touches muscles in places you don't find at the gym.

The nature of my life, like many, is very intermittent paddling. Work/work/work/work for weeks, oooooh, free weekend, lets SUP surf for two days straight. Never was a problem in my twenties and thirties.

Am really interested, if I'm going to go off reservation from the quick blade sizing chart, then how far? Blade size seems a no brainer, 110 to 100 surface area. Am mostly wrestling with paddle length, thought 2-3 inches shorter than they otherwise recommend for my 6'2 height.

www.quickbladepaddles.com/SUP-paddle-sizes/

Hip replacement is no biggy . I had a little surf after a month in tiny waves. After consultation with my Surgeon only did flat water for 3 months. I was very careful after my conversation and put it down to still using mild pain killers. My problem lies with continued encroachment of osteoarthritis in the spine. I had a laminectomy (spinal procedure) 4 years ago. The same problem has now returned in two places above and below the previous place. It's a case of the cure is worse than the disease. Has anyone used the clinics that use your own stem cells? Apparently there are clinics in Sydney and Melbourne. I'm going to explore all alternative options to the operation this time. I've only had about 20 hours decent sleep in the last month. It only flared after having to separate two students fighting. It's a consolation to know that supping had created a musculoskeletal strength that makes it easier than last time with the nagging pain. Unfortunately the gradual loss of feeling in the legs is a bit scary. I must say that after the first operation and 6 months out of the water I have had 4 years of relatively good spinal health. I'm pretty sure most of the problem relates to a pretty severe cycling accident 14 years ago. I'm glad I kept and found the TAC stuff! Please let me know if you have any insight into the Stem cell clinics success.
Cheers Leroy ?

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kev7 said..
anyone have a left hip replaced yet think im close to having one ,im guessing 6 months out the water
any one have advice

I opted for a hip reconstruction using bone grafts a wopping big screw , that was around 7 years ago.At the time doc told me I would need left one done in the next few years , but after going through the re-hab for the reco , which was not much fun , I chose to try help put off another op for as long as I could. Went for the pills , fish oil ,osteo eze shark cartlidge ect ect. None of these really made a difference. What has is a change of diet , try to eat whole fresh foods as much as possible and dropped a lot of weight which makes a big difference. I have been up to 95KG know 83kg. Also stretching by gradually getting deeper into a full sitting squat , working on it every day several times a day. My hips are still sore most days , but its nothing compared to when I was overweight and inflexible.

Came off on a rather large (over head height) closeout set and was smashed on the whitewash.

I was held down by the second set wave and then dragged across a sandbank. In a desperate attempt to get some air, I stood up and found myself in about a foot of water, staring at the third and largest set wave as it barrelled into my torso folding me in half.

I was wearing a calf leash that day and the force of the wave pulling my board back against an already straight leg caused a fracture just below the knee. The resulting surgery left me with this little arrangement of metal. One year later I had the metalwork removed and was back paddling. Two years on, I am pretty much back to where I was albeit with a few balance issues and the odd ache and pain. Plus, I only use an ankle leash.

For what it's worth I have moved to using a waist leash as I have arthritis in my right knee and did some pretty major damage to cartilage and ligaments in a gnarly wipeout 12 years ago. I found using any form of leg leash meant that I would experience pain and fluid around the joint if I got dragged along by the leash in reasonable sized waves. Find cycling is good to build the muscle up around the knee. I was also protecting my knee by pushing up from chairs and using my left leg first on stairs etc. After talking to a physio I have stopped doing this and my knee is a lot stronger as a consequence. Drop knee turns are a killer on knees!

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kev7 said..
anyone have a left hip replaced yet think im close to having one ,im guessing 6 months out the water
any one have advice

Had my left hip replaced 10 years ago when I was still riding a shortboard. Back surfing after 6 months but probably could gone earlier. Main problem was pain when straddling the board but that doesn't apply on a SUP so should easily be less than 6 months if you're pretty fit and build up strength in the pool first.

thanks