Anyone have the problem of pain, or very bad pain, after surfing on your lower ribcage from paddling?
I have found a remedy that works for me that I will take photos of and share. But I’d like to hear others experiences and remedies.
i get it through my wetsuit... if i've been getting in the water regularly, it goes away...
if i've been out of the water for a while, and then surf, it happens... kinda feels like a bruise
that runs along the bottom of my ribcage.
wear a wetsuit
Yes Glenn - Help us out.
I've got KNOTS on the lower edges my rib cage. They hurt like hell sometimes. I've tried those paddle-air vests and when I inflated the vest enough to cushion my ribs, the vest pressed against my diaghragm to where I couldn't breath effectively. To top it off, I now have a benign tumor that the doc says is a "Lipoma" that is sticking out directly below my left rib cage knot. It's not very big but sticks out enough to hurt when I paddle.
I've been thinking about gluing patches of thick neoprene with donut holes cut to fit over the lumps and bumps - like those hemorrhoid cushions for people with... well, you know.
same here but feels kinda like a muscle strain to start off with…cure for me is to surf more 
you will eventually develop calusess, like surfer’s knobs like these except on your ribs.http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AWl8eI0KPoY/RqFJV7qQDvI/AAAAAAAAALU/gYRV1zL9vpo/s400/lab_image_surferknobs.jpg
corky carrol has a really crazy set. looks like he has four man boobs.
Steve Pendarvis in San Diego makes these boards with soft, cushy EVA foam inserts ( www.pendo.com ). I made my version and it was soooo nice. Mine was just in the tail, in lieu of a stomp pad. So much nicer. I’m sure the full deck models are like paddling on a mattress.
Also, maybe CJ3 will chime in. I know he’s had broken ribs and now makes all his boards with concave decks. He says it helps a lot.
You can look on your board to see where your ribs are making contact(usually two black streaks from your wetsuit rubbing there).
Shape two oval concaves in your next board about 8 inches long 3-4" wide and abut 3/16" depth at center tapering out at the ends. This will relieve a lot of the pressure put on your ribs and transfer it to the area between the ribs.
In addition to this you can have your friendly wetsuit repair guy sew in a pocket on the inside of your wetsuit centered between the ribs at 5"x10 with a velcro top. You can put a piece of bubble wrap inside for additional comfort.
Flat decks are the worse
Domed decks next
concaves better
cj
John,
I know all to well about those fatty tumors, due to my father's genes I get them removed about every 2 years, The last one was between my 2 lower ribs that stuck out and hurt like hell from paddling. I had it removed and it was the size of a golfball wedged between my ribs.Very simple procedure, the Doc numbs the area and cuts it open, pulls it out, sews you up off you go, no more pain. If your not squeamish pretty cool to watch.
Tom
I got sore ribs from paddling all the time, so I shaped my last board with much less dome on the deck, (less pressure on the middle of my fat gut), all better now.
I always suffered from pain to some extent. I had surfed hardcore since I was about 13yo, nearly every day up till about 5yrs ago, and I am now 50. I always had larger than normal "knobs" on my lower rib cage. Larger than most surfers I knew anyway. Back during the days of being able to surf all the time, If I took off more than a week I would suffer a bit till I built up some resistance. But I always had a bit of pain. But becoming a single dad about 5yrs ago I am lucky to get in the water once or twice a month at best, sometimes going nearly two to three months. When I do get in the water now after a long layoff it hurts very badly for a few days after. It really was extremely painful and I knew I had to do something if I wanted to surf a few days in a row after a long layoff.
John, If you have problems breathing using a pad I'm not sure my remedy will work for you. Because basically that is what it is. However, I think that is bridges the diaphragm and disperses the load over a large area. Where when I tried softer material it did not feel right. For me it works nearly 100%. I sometimes wish I had this years before, if not all my surfing life. I don't have any problems breathing using this. And it just makes paddling so comfortable.
About 3yrs ago I had this lady Barbara Mau who does wetsuit repair here locally in San Clemente modify a vest for me. I looked into those blow-up vest like you mentioned John but felt they would be too much. I tried them and everything. I considered the surfboard modification but felt for good surfing performance that would not work for me either. But for me this wetsuit vest modification really works. It displaces most of the pressure/weight mostly in a large area just above my diaphram across my upper chest. But because the pad is a wedge shape it also put a little weight in the old area of my lower rib cage too. Yet, there is a slight bit of foam there. And I actually feel that it really helps my paddling posture. It just seems to fill in the natural void in the area above my lower ribcage near perfectly.
It might not be for everyone but it does work for me. I probably get some stares out in the water wondering what I'm wearing but I don't care about that if it keeps me surfing without the very bad pain I was having. I wear this modified vest over my wetsuit. Just thought I’d share it as idea for others that might be dealing with pain like I did.
Barbara Mau made the pouch I put the pad into out of a wetsuit material that has small pin-holes in it for drainage. The foam absorbs no water at all and I just glued three pieces together with contact cement, staggered to make a wedge shape. Sorry I don't know what they call this type of foam but it is just packing foam and it absorbs no water at all. Hope this might help someone else…
I have some fatty masses on my lower ribs that I always thought were form surfing. Never hurt though. Went to the Doctor a couple of years ago at the insistance of my wife and friends, he said it was nothing to worry about unless it was painful. So I just have bumps on my ribs. I figured if I had them removed they would just come back.
cj, do you know someone that has gone this route? I did experiment with the bubble wrap prior to having this vest made up. I just came to the conclusion that I needed to mimic filling the void above my lower ribcage when I paddle. So the wedge shaped pad works for me. It just helps me displace the pressure so it is not solely on my lower ribcage.
This vest is about 3yrs now. It is starting to get a bit loose at the waist. So I’m contacting that lady again to make another one and possibly modify this one by taking it in some and putting a zipper on the back at the same time.
In this picture you can sort of see the wetsuit material that has the small pin-holes for drainage. I don’t have any problems with it filling up at all.
Get a SUP!!!!
Cheers
Bottom of right rib for me, what I do is paddle “canoe” style. Prop up on left elbow paddle right arm, switch, up on right elbow paddle left arm. I alternate every 20 to 30 strokes paddling back out than use regular freestyle take off. This works on a longboard and still lets me get down low for taking off on windy offshore days (like this weekend).
[quote="$1"]
Steve Pendarvis in San Diego makes these boards with soft, cushy EVA foam inserts ( www.pendo.com ). I made my version and it was soooo nice. [/quote]
Where can I get this stuff??
I had a knot/scar tissue on my lower-left ribcage where it made contact with the board. It got so bad that I had to adjust my posture while paddling. I was going to devise a pad for it, but it completely went away this winter. I’m guessing that it was just scar tissue that finally broke up, and the pain is completely gone. I think that cutting a few layers of neoprene into a donut shape and stitching it into a rash guard so that the knots aren’t making contact with the board would be the best solution. Hopefully it’ll go away with time.
your not surfing enough…When I have a long break (usually from injury) I get the pain first couple of surfs then it goes away.
Everyone is different but.
goog luck fixing it - I didn’t read ant other replys.
I used to get those pains when I went too long between surf sessions, then surfed without a shirt or wetsuit top. I almost always wear a light short sleeve wetsuit these days, and that seems to help. I’ve also grown some padding on my frontside and I think that helps as well. I guess that’s one reason to have a little extra padding on your gut.
I’ve had the same problem. And those guys that say “tough it out” will be the guys limping around in their golden years. wykensurf.com makes a padded rash guard that works great. It’s only 40 to 50 bucks retail.