Re: Stretching - Before and After paddling

For me personally, I also need to work on stretching around my hips, knees and ankles a lot.

Glutes and hamstrings to help stay in the seated position for extended durations, also reduces sciatica induced numbness.

My ankles (achilles, soleus, etc) get stiff from the leg drive and holding the feet in the same position for so long.

Shoulders (deltoids, biceps, triceps and especially serratus anterior) are the main upper body joint I work around due to past injuries.

Alan

Difficult to describe but I was given a set of stretches to do before (and after) paddling.

Mostly to do with stretching shoulder and back muscles and involve a lot of twisting. Sounds like a good subject for a video clip. I'll try to get one of the top guys to let me film them doing some stretches.

Guys will also warm up for a good 15-20 minutes before a race at about 75-80% effort.

When training they'll warm up for at least 5-10 minutes.

Hi Rob,

While waiting for the video, can you enumerate the list of stretching you do before and after paddling? Thanks

There is an article on stretching including photos in the latest SA Paddler magazine. Written by the physio from the King's Park Sports Medicine practice in Durban. Perhaps the website administrators could approach them to post it on the site?

Will do.

Greg & Oscar's 'Forward Stroke" video has a short section on stretching.

I just finished viewing Brent Reitz Video. He does teach the forward stroke but he always has a bent arm even when catching. He doesnt maximize his reach. He shows a 10 min stretch starting with the lower back and its all static. Isnt it suppose to be dynamic strecth before paddling and then static afterwards? His shoulder stretch with the paddle is dynamic and seems to warm up the rotator cuffs pretty well.

Can those who have seen Oscar and Greg's video comment? I might wanna get that.

Prevent Race Injury
Check out training and rehabilitation info specific to paddlers by Scott Kelly PT; ATC. He will provide regular training tips that will help you get and stay healthy on the water.
www.wavechaser.com/training/stretch.shtml

He's the same guy who brought the pull motion on the foot strap to my attention. : )

I'm wondering if at age 59:
*Overhead shoulder stretches CAUSE IMPINGEMENT and SORENESS.
*Some pain during stretching is necessary.
*Aggressive manipulation to break adhesions works.

I have a long history of shoulder problems including an episode 20 years ago where I did not notice any pain during paddling, but could not do push-ups the next day. Physiotherapy helped a bit, and a ballistic adduction during a volleyball game hurt a lot, but restored the range of motion . Since then both shoulders have spontaneously frozen and mostly thawed with adhesive capsulitis.

Recent chronic shoulder pain limited abduction, and therapists ruled out aggressive manipulation. On bent-elbow abduction, my chiropractor said the scapula was moving much earlier than on the good shoulder. Stretches have helped, and I guess that a bit of impingement on a chronic (rather than acute) soreness is OK. I've needed to develop new stretches as range of motion increases, and actually see what hurts, and gently do that motion. I'll lift a 4-litre jug overhead 12 times, put my hand on a bookshelf behind my back and push down, and lie on my back on a table and dangle a 2-litre jug horizontally overhead and again out to the side. But I still can't comfortably swim butterfly or put a ski onto roofracks; and the soreness has lasted six months.