oh? hell, i was doing a self-portrait. Been losing a little weight lately…
I’ve been having a great time reading this thread. Not because I’m a sadist, more like misery loves company. Thanks for the advice. I’ve visited suggested web sites and made notes on the exercises…So hopefully the shoulder will respond favorably.
After reading MarkSpindler’s response, I think what would be funny is a thread comparing surfing injuries. Up to a certain extent of course. I’ve had one spinal injury that came close to killing me (not funny)…but the time a wave crushed me so quickly that my shin ended up leaving a knot on my forehead…that was funny (afterwards).
Anyway, thanks for all the great advice. And nice drawings Doc, they got the point across just fine.
Peter
Quote:
After reading MarkSpindler’s response, I think what would be funny is a thread comparing surfing injuries. Up to a certain extent of course. I’ve had one spinal injury that came close to killing me (not funny)…but the time a wave crushed me so quickly that my shin ended up leaving a knot on my forehead…that was funny (afterwards).
Actually…funny you should mention that:
- 1) the Flyaway Kneeboard Kickout - done once and never again. The saying goes that if ya love something set it free and it will come back again. Well, my board did. Right under the eye. Nice shiner, stitches that tore out, and the bugs that got into it when I was living in a leaky tent. They said the scar would be gone in 6 months...well, 32 years later and funny thing about that. Now I do my own stitching, thank you very much.
- 2) Smacked in the moosh by a longboard. Busted tooth. Busted it again diving into the wrong end of a pool. Why that bar had a pool I still don't understand.
- 3) Rotator cuffs. We know about those already.
- 4) Smacked in the elbow while going over the falls- early surgical rubber tubing leash came back right quickly. That was an entertaining little episode, as it was rather large that day and my arm was zinged to the point where it was an ornament and no more. If it wasn't for the leash ...well, no way I was gonna hang onto the board one-handed.
- 5) Fin up the inside of the wrist. Just missed the veins and tendons, people see the scar and wonder if I botched a suicide attempt. In a way, I did.
- 6) Busted hand - Fast Eddie was coming in and I was going out. With great presence of mind he bailed and grabbed his leash at the deck. With somewhat less presence of mind I held my board up to protect my head. Which worked. My hand, however, did a lousy job of protecting the board. The REAL fun was taking off the wetsuit before some cut happy intern sliced the thing to shreds. Ya gotta love endorphins. The four hours waiting in the emergency room before the orthopedic guy called in sick was close, though.
- 7) In Central America you get something called Agua Roja. It's a little plankton of some kind which some people are Very Sensitive to. Hi, I'm Some People. Not shown, the other places the little beggars stung me. 'Jock Itch' isn't in the same league, trust me on this one.
- 8) Ah, wetsuit boots and/or fin socks. Good things to have when the bottom is sandy, bad things to forget. Cos if you do forget, you discover why the call it sand paper. And when ya DO put on socks, they tend to stick.
Gee, that was fun. So much so that you guys can do your own… copy Mister Ding here and have at it.
have fun
doc…
Doc,Regarding the exercises you depicted, a friend described very similar ones that he used to do self-rehab on an injured shoulder, and he reported complete success using almost no weight, just the basic movements.
Definitely - I think a pound or two was around the weight I was using. Probably just helps it all heal clean more than anything else…
Ultimately weight becomes necessary for prevention, if you surf someplace where you need to paddle a lot. The shoulders need to stay stable throughout all the paddling, this requires supplemental exercise from an aging surfer (at least this not really that old but clearly aging surfer). I think I oculd get by with just a few sets of reverse fly’s though.
I’m a member of the once ruined shoulder and Doc’s pictures brought back memories of all the exercises the therapists had me doing after my shoulder surgery. I was only 22 at the time and was still out of the water for six months - these days it would take forever.
They did a good job of putting me back together but range of motion will never be perfect, and I’ve had to kind of baby it over the years in Aikido and surfing. Info on correct paddling and exercises will be very helpful. I’ll file it away in my brain with the exercises I keep telling myself I’m going to start for my lower back. Thanks guys, and keep it coming!
What you said about shoulder stiffness has also happened to me (even many years later). If I push it too hard I can feel it. I was recommended this book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/157954908X/ref=pd_sim_sg_1/104-4714572-4299167?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance by the swim coach of the Nova masters swim program (I’ve never met anybody who better understood the mechanics of swimming). Although I’ve always worked out, I’ve been doing a modified (the author is a little to hard core for me) version of this program for about 9 weeks and its made a complete difference in my surfing. I’ve noticed better range in my shoulder, improved balance, and more strength.
anyone here had frozen shoulders, or adhesive capsulitis [as the doc would have it] I’m now 15 months into a double dose, which blew away my surfing from January 04 until now.
phase 1 - Painful painful painful… 80mg of hydrocortisone injected into each joint helped there, and brufen has kept things in check since. The pain lasted until around august.
phase 2 - then mobility went completely. At it’s worse scratching my bum was a challenge! acupuncture and physio helped some, just trying to keep things pliable.
phase 3 no pain and slow recovery and incresing mobility, now back to around 80% but weak… back in the water soon!
downside - even jogging, biking, walking was painful, it’s surprising how you use your arms for balance… result - I now look like the Pilsbury dough-boy!
funnily enough, I started rowing with local club and that cased no problems at all… so maybe I’ll be back there soon.
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