As we progress into the long distance season, training runs and races are getting longer and more intense.

Many paddlers may be starting to develop back pain after a long practice or even worse…while they’re in the boat!

There are many potential origins of back pain in canoe paddlers, but two of the most common are low back muscle strains and lumbar disk injuries. Muscle strains occur when imbalances in the back and hip muscles and core weakness cause repetitive stresses to the lower back. Lumbar disk injuries occur from long periods of sitting in the canoe while repetitively flexing the spine forward, pushing the lumbar disk out of place. Not good. . . especially if the pain starts acting up during a race.

Just because you may be experiencing back pain, doesn’t mean you have to endure it throughout the rest of the season. Here are a few exercises to keep your back healthy and keep you competing at the highest level.

Prone Press Up:

Keeping hips pressed against the floor, extend your back by straightening your arms. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. This exercise is great for lumbar disk health and can reverse the results of repetitively flexing the lumbar spine while paddling.

Figure 4 Stretch:

With knees bent to 90 degrees, cross right leg over left and pull left leg towards your chest. The stretch should be felt in right hip hip area. Hold for 30 seconds, repeat 2 times.

Hamstring Stretch with strap:

With knee slightly bent, pull leg towards head using a towel or strap. Hold for 30 seconds, repeat 2 times. This exercise is great for your back health because having good hamstring flexibility decreases low back strain.

High Prone Plank with Opposite Leg Lift:

Keeping your body and legs as straight as you can, alternately lift legs holding for about 5 seconds. Complete 10 each leg.

High Side Plank:

Keeping shoulder, hip, and ankle aligned, hold position for 30 seconds. Work your way up to 1 minutes holds.

These are great exercises for your back health, but if your symptoms persist or worsen don’t hesitate to come and see us at Jaco Rehab. We are passionate about helping you compete at the highest level! See you in the Kaiwi Channel!

Tim Chang, DP

Pacific Paddler is A MAGAZINE FOR PADDLERS BY PADDLERS: to bring the excitement of outrigger paddling to a larger audience. Pacific Paddler covers all facets of paddling and outrigger racing including OC6, OC1, OC2, V1, O6, V6, OC4, SUP, Surfski, Canoe Surfing and more from all around the world! Our Focus is on paddling and the active lifestyle that goes with it. Paddling is a sport for everyone, any gender any age from 6 to 86. We want to encourage novice paddlers to join clubs and older paddlers to try it out.

http://pacificpaddler.com

Shoulder pain is one of the two most common sources of pain for canoe paddlers along with low back pain.

As training ramps up for the six-man season, it’s important to consider if your shoulders are ready for the demands of paddling over the next six months.

By the time long distance season rolls around, many paddlers have started to develop shoulder pain, but what if that pain could be prevented?

The shoulder joint is unique in that it allows for large degrees of motion in multiple directions, but this increased motion also makes the shoulder more susceptible to injury. The shoulder joint is a “ball and socket” joint, and is often compared to a golf ball sitting on a golf tee. Basically, the ball part of the joint is bigger than the socket which allows for increased motion, but can also lead to instability. Luckily, we have four rotator cuff muscles attached around the shoulder joint to help compress the ball part of the joint into the socket which creates stability. The problem is, most people have underdeveloped or weak rotator cuff muscles which can lead to the ball part of the joint moving around too much during the paddling stroke leading to “impingement” of certain structures and pain.

Consider how many strokes a paddler may take during a one hour pre-season race. Sixty strokes a minute multiplied by 60 minutes comes out to 3600 strokes. If the rotator cuff muscles aren’t doing their job, it can lead to significant “impingement” over the course of 3600 strokes. It’s a recipe for shoulder pain! The good news is that it’s early in the season, and here are a few simple rotator cuff exercises to improve your shoulder joint stability and decrease risk of shoulder pain throughout the season.

Three direction isometric hold: keep shoulder blades pinched down and back. Hold for 2-3 sets of 1 min using 3-5# weight.

Bilateral external rotation with band: rotate arms outward as you pinch shoulder blades down and back.

Side lying external rotation: keep elbow bent at 90 degrees and rotate arm outward. 2 sets of 15 reps with 3-5# weight.

By Tim Chang PT, DPT

 

Pacific Paddler is A MAGAZINE FOR PADDLERS BY PADDLERS: to bring the excitement of outrigger paddling to a larger audience. Pacific Paddler covers all facets of paddling and outrigger racing including OC6, OC1, OC2, V1, O6, V6, OC4, SUP, Surfski, Canoe Surfing and more from all around the world! Our Focus is on paddling and the active lifestyle that goes with it. Paddling is a sport for everyone, any gender any age from 6 to 86. We want to encourage novice paddlers to join clubs and older paddlers to try it out.

http://pacificpaddler.com