Knee injury

Hello,

I have over time developed a pain in the inside of both my knees (exactly where they would touch each other). I am pretty sure it is surfski related as the pain disappear if I don´t paddle for a few days.

I have noticed that that I stretch my leg completely ("locking" my knee) every time I push with the heel on the footrest, and was wondering if that could be the reason. Am I doing it wrong? Could that be the reason for the pain? I have studied theoretical technique quite extensively, but I don´t remember seeing any advice from the experts as to whether the leg should be extended all the way or should stop short of it.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Malvina,
I would recommend a visit to your physio for proper assessment. Though I would suggest it is possibly an imbalance between your ITB and vastus medialis muscles in your thighs. As a muscle strengthens it also tends to tighten and with your knees close together while paddling tends to work the ITB muscle on the outside of your thighs more than the vastus medialis on the inside. This muscle then tighten and pull on your knee joint causing discomfort. This is also common in cyclists and runners. Stretching and/or using a foam roller on your ITB should give you relief .
You will find plenty of info re rolling and stretching the ITB with a quick search.
Also a good idea to strengthen the vastus medialis to help with the balance between the 2 muscles.
Of course it could be something else but this imbalance issue is quite common. Best to get it checked.

Ro

Hi Ro,

That sounds like a possibility. Following your advice, I have just made an appointment with a traumatologist and I will check with her whether a muscle imbalance may be the reason behind the pain.

Thank you very much for your input.

Hi Malvina,
A rule of thumb in cycling is to never fully stretch you leg to avoid knee injuries. The same principle applies to surfski paddling. Before consulting expensive doctors and physios, I would change the setting of the footrest (may even the angle if possible) and see if you notice an improvement - works fine in 90% of all cases.

Hello Ole,

Thanks a lot. I was a bit surprised that nobody had offered before an answer on this. I am sure there is a right and a wrong way to do it, but I had never before seen it discussed for paddling technique. The cycling comparison seems very convincing to me. As you suggest, I will play with the foot rest and I will avoid extending the leg fully. As a previous comment suggested, I am also stretching my leg muscles more carefully after each paddle. I am quite hopeful that the combination will solve the problem.

Best