well i'm sure many(most) would not see this as a major problem but as they say only a surfer knows the feeling

after spending the last 35 years of my life engaging in a variety of sport activity and getting the bug for various activities, surfing has always been the consistent "best'" sport, + the lifestyle of travelling OS up north DS etc

Kids have been brought up to surf and its a lifestyle choice etc etc

But I know have Osteoarthritis of both shoulders which makes every paddle stroke painful, with clunks and associated weakness. Got to the point where I actually don't want to paddle a board, never ever thought that day would come.

Have pushed through with various injections, arthroscopies etc, but not willing to have shoulder replacement surgery, mainly coz if I don't surf or swim I can manage the ache with a nurofen or 2.

(shoulder OA not uncommon, don pyke and adam hunter both had early onset OA in their shoulders forcing retirement, causation unclear)

SO what to do?

Give up the ocean life - NO, NEVER
I'm still kiting but surfing clean glassy waves.....
Boogie board - lame in my view
Cant SUP, wouldn't anyway

Kneeboarding seems my final hope until motorised surfboards become realistic. In fact kneeboarding looks vaguely attractive. Sad but true, but I'm not ready to give up on life just yet.

Any comments or suggestions welcome.

Kinda looking down that barrel myself in the future...

Malingerer !!!



But seriously Bolgo:

http://gramlove.com/media.php?id=1074306333122546864_671403634

Although I suspect if it works, everyone will want one and justify their place in the line-up with "my shoulders are stuffed".

who cares what you use to get you back in the water,just as long as you are smiling its all good. I do think its stupid to dismiss other craft you mentioned like 666 or body boards. I know if they were my only option to get back in the water i would not hesitate....

i guess it comes down to how much you really want keep yourself in the ocean.

good luck with whatever choice you make,and please let us know how it goes as im sure there are other crew out there going through the same thing as you.

Yes indeed Chrispy. I ran into a bloke earlier this year who used to be one of the early chargers at a well known Indo spot 20 plus years ago. He was a shadow of his forma glory days - with a busted leg from an accident, stopping him from ever surfing again. He had boggie board, surf mat and a hand ski as his new quiver. He said he never thought he would enjoy his time in the ocean again after the accident as much - but he is just loving all the new experiences again. So anything that can get you out there has got to be a plus.

I feel your pain bolgo and I think most of us have to manage pain/injury as we get older. So from what you said your only real option is joint replacement and you don't want to go there? If that's the case I think a kneeboard would be the way to go, I know they paddle a bit but also wear fins so that should be a lot easier on the shoulders I would think. One advantage they do have is that they can fit into smaller barrels so there's an upside anyway. I surf with one occasionally at a far northern reefy and I've seen a couple more at metro beaches and they all look the same which is pretty funny so I hope you fit the mould: In their 50's, grey/balding and over weight. I think a boogie board would be too slow and boring after riding a SB for so long but if it was that or nothing......

It really doesn't matter what you ride as long as you're out there having fun.

What about a big volumed longboard,easy paddle.

But as the others have said,anything to keep you in the water.

Have had both shoulders rebuilt due to osteolysis (a form of OA). Had similar symptoms to you beforehand. Now I clean and jerk bodyweight 5 days/week. Used to be able to paddle 6+ hours/ before the OL got bad ... now can paddle 6+ hours/day. I resisted with painkillers for 7 years before a bad winter inspired me to go the chop. Big thumbs up from me.

bodysurfing ? with a decent set of fins ? minimal arm involvement?

Select to expand quote

Legion said...
Have had both shoulders rebuilt due to osteolysis (a form of OA). Had similar symptoms to you beforehand. Now I clean and jerk bodyweight 5 days/week. Used to be able to paddle 6+ hours/ before the OL got bad ... now can paddle 6+ hours/day. I resisted with painkillers for 7 years before a bad winter inspired me to go the chop. Big thumbs up from me.

It must be a relief that you can still "jerk"

Become a surf photographer.

I am with a few others here. Don't dismiss other surf craft. I ruined an ankle in 2011 and was eying off kneeboards and boogie boards as I had three months out of the water, got the all clear, reinjured it on my first surf(6' foot bluff may not have been the smartest move), another three months, reinjured after two months and another three months out. It was at that time I gave up on HP shortboards as it was the sharp turns and changes of direction that were tearing it apart. So I got a single fin in 2012. Now, three years later, I have a quiver of single fins going up to 9'6" as I have realised how well they go in solid surf.

I can still paddle, but my point is, find whatever you need to stay in the water. I also have a SUP, but find that makes my shoulder injury flare up way more than surfing. It is, however, a tendon issue and not OA.

Go the kneeboard I reckon. They can turn on a dime and get more vertical more often than I ever did on a shorty. There's also that bloke who frequents Bears and has had both hips replaced - can't say anyone isn't impressed by his performance levels on a kneeboard.

While travelling last year, I met three interesting blokes in Ulladulla. One had broken his back motorcycling and had some weakness in his arms, so he was on a ten foot longboard, but still in he water at 6-8'. Another was old and turned to a booger, but was still in the water. And the last bloke was a 73year old from Tasmania who was prone surfing fibreglass surfboards with channel bottoms in 6-8' at Ulladulla, but showed me pics of himself out at 12-15' Tasmania earlier in the year.

Find what works for you, but have heart that there are options if you really want to keep catching waves.

I feel you pain, literally. I'm 60 and just got into surfing 5 yrs. ago, been kiting for more than 10....both sports hurt due to spondilolysis and acromial impingement. It's about being in the water that matters....you have had your run on a surf board and you should NOT dis. SUP. I'm leaving SUP as the water sport I learn as a final treat in my life. SUP is great for your core and balance....both very important abilities/skills that you need as you age. You can get in the surf with your friends and family as always and have the best view of what's coming etc. I understand your reculctance to SUP coming from an expert surfer, but weigh up your choices. Finally, if you really want to continue traditional surfing, then there is something to be gained from strenthening your scapular stabilizers and rotator cuff muscles......but it's very hard work and you have to keep it up forever....and it gets harder and harder as you fight the degeneration of muscle tissue as you age........good luck bud.

Whatever keeps you in the water I reckon....don't discount anything

I rode a bodyboard for 20 years until about 5 years when I jumped on longboard. Bodyboarding simply became too hard on my body - ankle & back. On a rare occasion I will still bring it out - ie cranking Kirra as I'm a goofy footer or TOS.

Like any type of board they are great fun in the right conditions. If you like tube time you will be amazed at how many you can get and how many you can come out of. Plus you will loose a lot of weight as they are really hard work when there is a lot of water moving around.

Have you thought about a big board ie 10ft & flat. Very easy to paddle & let the board do the work.

I went for a powerslide on the skatey, back foot slid off & I did the splits until my leg went sideways out from my left knee. 22 years old, no cash to get it sorted, long long wait for public patient surgery. I'd be out of the water for weeks until I felt like I was walking around alright, then hurt it again doing a floater on my 3rd or 4th wave. Was like that for about a year, constantly reinjuring myself. Constantly out of the water hearing how good it was that day from friends. I bailed to a little logger town in the SW far away from the ocean so I wouldn't be tempted to go back in the ocean all the time. Did that for about a year & it came good. Still pops out occasionally if I'm stepping down from something a bit high, havta make sure I step down onto my right leg & avoid free fall floaters.

Point I'm making is, short term out of the water would be better in the long run. If there are operations that can get your problem fixed, I'd consider doing that if your young enough to heal up good again. Not just for surfing, but for everything else associated with OA like pain the the increasing stiffness of the joints which will effect other things in your life.

cheers everyone

good to see positive comments, thought I was going to get a flaming,
just read a book - "the dark net", seems a lot of people like the facelessness of the net to be dicks,
OTT the book is really a guide into TOR, silk road and to free/live porn sites, I was quite naive. Maybe the web surfing the answer :-), drugs sex and R'n'R

sup - can't paddle them - over arm action too sore and its the paddling action thats the issue with longer boards too

otherwise agree with the open mind

which brings me to goat boating, and similar to the dark net, I had a "dark period" with a goat boat many many years ago (when a few very high profile aussie cricketers "dominated" Gracetown), and one of my best pits ever was on a GB at north point Ah nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

next question - who sells/makes kneeboards

Dave (Katana) made some nice looking ones for Smicko.

"Dark Period" LOL

Select to expand quote

bolgo said..
one of my best pits ever was on a GB at north point

Just in case anyone missed this.

Holy ****, are you Dennis Lillee?

Or maybe his protege Natalie Fuhrmann?

(showing my age)

Don't succumb to goat boating. Don't ever succumb to goat boating.

Or becoming a crippo.

(trying to offend more than one sb forum seabreezer )

How bad is the arthritis? You mentioned replacement surgery. The shoulder isn't like a knee or hip, I imagine it's got a better prognosis of regaining full motion? I'm curious why you discount surgery. Even if it's 6-12 months out of action that's not a bad price to pay surely? With my minor surgery I was rehab exercising within a couple of weeks and lifting minor weights within a month and paddling within three. A year to full strength (well, better than ever both times given I was at 50% with both before the chop).

Select to expand quote

Legion said..
Holy ****, are you Dennis Lillee?

Or maybe his protege Natalie Fuhrmann?

(showing my age)

We called her Natalie Fur Hole when she was our Phys Ed Teacher

Select to expand quote

bolgo said..

which brings me to goat boating, and similar to the dark net, I had a "dark period" with a goat boat many many years ago (when a few very high profile aussie cricketers "dominated" Gracetown), and one of my best pits ever was on a GB at north point Ah nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

this comment just caused major flashbacks - i saw a bloke (not sure if it was shane or ross graffin - no idea if that name is even right, but heard it was second hand) get one of the heaviest barrels i've ever seen out at northies in mid-late nineties, and it was on a goatie. i was surfing centers at the time and looked over straight into the eye of the beast on a paddle back out - even with the requisite modification due to being a memory it must have been a top to bottom way way over head barrel if standing heaver, and i remember thinking what the f%$k do you do if you come off in that on a goatie?! die?! pure madness


+1 to the katana ones. every now and then a genuine older kneelo article pops up on gumtree etc too. get one, then get your ar$e up to kalbarri and get barrelled off your nut at fallopians in the near future

+1 to dazzler on riding a lid for a while to get barrel sense too. i know surfer mates that find barrels hard to ever make due to getting them so infrequently. watch gene hardy tube ride and it is like he has some kind of 6th sense! not saying all are like that, but it must help in knowing how to fall off at the right time etc as well. ive seen camel get some awesome kamikaze close out sessions in too

good luck with it bolgo

Bolgo was that you that called me the other day chasing a kneelo?
If not, I'll make the same offer to you as I did the other bloke, grab one of my boards and take it for a wave and see what you reckon. I've got five at present and would look at moving along one of two or three. I think Dave has built me six in the last few years and they're getting pretty bloody good now, board design is significantly different from a stand up as they surf off the centre of the board as opposed to the back foot.
Message me if you want a look.

edit* There's not really anyone else in WA shaping kneelos, Neil Bird comes back from Spain most years and shapes out of Oceanline but that's about it. Other than that you're looking at something from the East, have a look at Kneeon on facey, I reckon Harto is shaping some of the nicest looking kneelos in the world at present, if he did compsands I'd pull the trigger on one.

Bolgo, I am lucky, surfed all my life now in my 60s but still surf short boards and can still cope with Tunnels and Cannons in Hawaii provided it's is not too much above overhead. Not sure how much longer I will be able to do this however.

Most of my old surf buddies though have had their bodies fail in a wide range of ways. Some have had successful rebuilds/replacements of joints and some have been less successful. Some have turned to longboards or sups. I bought a yacht about ten years ago and it has been great for all my old buddies because they can all still manage to come for a sail and get an ocean fix. A few have also taken up fishing or diving to keep contact with the ocean. Only a tiny fraction of the current surfing population will be surfing beyond 70 and I guess they will all have to look at other ways to get their surf fix. Not sure about a kneely because you still have a to paddle a bit. Hope you find a way keep involved......

Mazdon-if you thinking of the same Ross Graffin I am.....he was a boogie rider RIP Rosco

It wouldn't have been Ross nor Shane Graffin as they both rode bodyboards and short boards. EDIT: Yes indeed Mocha1...RIP Ross.

funny stuff

no i'm not dennis lillee, but he was one of the crew + bruce laird and others, one or all of them bought houses in GT and showed a general disregard for any surf etiquette and got quite a reputation down there

well the barrel at NP similarly was youthful ignorance and blind good luck,

as Natalie FM, she certainly captured the imagination of a few, unfortunate surname for girl really, (bit like my grade 4 teacher Ms Fortune ( no ****)), there was a guy Paul or Phil Wise from who was pulling aerials on his wave ski around the time

hey storm petrel, I've surfed Tunnels and Cannons on Kauaii, we rented the house over looking Cannons, epic home yard break!! Bit like Jakes at Kalbarri i thought.

as for replacement surgery, i'm well reversed in orthopaedic surgery, was my career path for a while until the call of outdoor life led to separation from hospital work, still assist ortho's and have several ortho friends too

Hip replacement is very good, probably the best ortho op there is, knee good but not as good, shoulder replacement not so successful and much higher failure rate. None of them last for ever and need revisions 10-20 years later, which is a much more difficult prospect 1st time let alone 2nd or 3rd. The glenoid (or scapula) component hard to get solid

i'm 52 yo and in the too young group, plus i'm not willing to risk a potentially worse outcome than what i have got so as to surf

lots happening with joint resurfacing and biologics, but need more years to develop

smicko - no not me, but not disinterested cheers

Dennis the menace. He sucked. It was a nightmare as a grom when he paddled out.

I thought since it's not a traditional ball/socket the shoulder would have a better prognosis. Since it's mostly floating as long as the ligaments can reattach it'd be good. I guess I'm lucky that all I needed was AC resection on both sides. A small resection made a world of difference.

Good luck whatever happens!

Wow. Awesome thread. Some stories il definitely take on board as I age. Hope you get sorted mate.