Reverb, orthopaedic surgeons measure the 1:1 x-rays to ensure the replacement implant is the same length as the original. They also compare it to the other side and have a range of implant sizes to fit every size hip, knee or shoulder. Any replacement should be identical in size and length. Everything is measured and calibrated to fit each patient.
Hi Huck, my brother is 5’9” and 85 kg (187 lbs) and his only wish is to stand up on any wave again. He’s been without a wave for over a year only due to the shoulder mobility. I think I’m going to have a crack at a 6 inch thick board to see if that will help him to lift that arm high enough to paddle. If not I’ll go to 8 inches thick. If he has to knee paddle, so be it.
Interesting to hear about your hip surgery, I’ve been a part of a surgical team for 15 years that almost exclusively does hip and knee replacements.
Knees are usually easier because they have a single plane of rotation and what you say about changing sleep patterns is interesting.
Some people change their sleep routines and locations due to their post surgery discomfort that then setup up new routines like multiple wake ups, and a changed morning routine. My brother liked to sleep in as long as possible but after his shoulder surgery he gets up at 5 and goes for a beach walk every morning. His sleep is always broken and he can’t find a comfortable mattress so he prefers to sleep in a seperate room to his wife and get up early.
He also has some psychological points to address due to the injury and the surgery. Because he’s no longer the fully surf-fit man he was, and effectively cannot swim to save his own life, he often has nightmares about not surviving calamities that will never occur in reality, the injury and surgery has given him a heightened sense of mortality and loss of control of his life. He won’t walk out in water deeper than his waist because of the fear that he’ll drown so we have to go with him and reassure him that we are always watching him. And are by his side constantly. It’s a shame to see a man lose all confidence in himself but it’s alao completely understandable.
Surfoils , after shoulder surgeries and a hip replacement , I believe that whatever is in the anesthetic cocktail that is given you can seriously fuck with your brain and that can linger on for some time causing lasting problems .
Brett, I think that is is noble that you are trying to help him get back in the water.
I am concerned when you mention that he cannot swim enough to attempt a self-rescue.
Can he tread water? Can he do the non-overhead strokes (side stroke, breast stroke)? If he had treading and a stroke or two that worked for him that may help his confidence.
As much as I too would like to see him out there surfing, if he lacks the ability and/or confidence, then it is not a good idea for him to be in deep water.
Check out EMDR ~ Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It’s been around a long time and now has quite a good data base of research confirming effectiveness for transforming all sorts of mental/emotional trauma. There’s a lot of psychotherapists who’ve quite bothering with everythinng else (too mysterious and iffy) and just use EMDR to treat vetrans with PTSD because it works so well and quickly. Your brother might just be able to become v.2.0
…hello Surffoils, may be those implants are in private clinics but normally here they put universal ones, so they cut to fit I think.
I cannot surf since three years ago or more due to the shoulder, now three months ago a car hit me and the surgeon does not want to make the clavicle surgery; I am wasting my time.
Well, you could always build that super-thick monster and if nothing else, maybe it’ll get him paddling a bit and strengthening his shoulder and improving mobility. I recommend you look into open ocean paddling boards too, just for training purposes. You gotta start somewhere. Probably help him with the mental issues as well. Those are some tough hurdles, I wish him the best. You too Reverb.
…Surffoils, as a shaper I am very interested with the feedback because in reality, nobody has enough experience with those dimensions applied to a functional surfboard (actually for riding not used only as a floatation device)
Personally; I had all the movements (because I really took care) but not the strength to fight for a wave OR and this is the most important factor; fight with the Ocean, like duck diving good waves, currents etc. So that could be the real problem with this board (hence the feedback confirmation) how to manage it WITHOUT hurting the shoulder. He needs to make more force to manipulate that board in the water regarding the conditions mentioned so I am not talking about to riding.
I wish he was as good as you but his range of motion is poor, he can’t touch the top of his head and has almost no strength in that arm. He can’t sleep on that side and can’t lift anything with it. Because of having a bad arm he’s using the other arm for everything and now that arm is giving him the same problems.
And so further downward he goes.
The plan is to get him out on very small days and get him to catch waves in waist deep calm water with his brothers around. If he feels confident with that then we just need to wait for the small days when we wouldn’t go out anyway.
The absolutely hardest thing in surfing on replaced/repaired shoulders is paddling out, encountering oncoming whitewater, and having to wrestle the board, as it puts tremendous torque on the shoulder with the arm in the worse position possible.
When I was ready to get back in the water after a 12 month lay-off following a shoulder rebuiild, I went with a custom 9’6 high-rider with more float then I was used to, and immediately hated how it was straining my shoulders on the paddle out. So I ditched it for a 10’ thinner poly board with low forward rocker, which produced far less strain on my shoulders getting through incoming whitewater as it had far less volume recoil.
Putting your brother on a board that thick might work well for paddling flat water, but it will be a disaster on his shoulder when dealing with oncoming whitewater.
ICC, he won’t be going out in more than waist deep water so he can walk the board back out.
If he can actually paddle the beast the next hurdle will be to see if he can use his shoulder to stand up on the board. There’s a few guys around who can paddle well enough but can’t get to their feet anymore so he might have to be content with prone, but that’s not what he wants so we’ll do our best to help him.
You can see the disappointment in himself at losing such a basic function and a big part of his life.
The solution might be a combo of those webbed paddling gloves, that inflatable chest pad, a massive board and tiny waves.
