If you've got painful shoulders, you are not surfing, or at least not for long! Shoulder health is paramount to your time in the water, and also your abilities. If you can't paddle strong, fast or well, you aren't going to be catching waves or going anywhere fast!
Having had some nasty cold spells through Feb and March, not to mention the lack of consistent waves and daylight hours , you may be forgiven for not hitting the water so much since the new year. But no doubt with Spring just around the corner and the longer evenings kicking in this weekend, many of you will be hoping to get in the water as much as possible.
This could be a good time to start getting yourself ready, paying your shoulder and back mobility some attention so as not to be on the side lines injured again quicker than you raced back in!!!
The shoulders really are the engine room for every surfer… The demands placed upon the shoulder and shoulder girdle while surfing are extreme, and that coupled with improper postures and lifestyles that create improper postures will wreak havoc on your shoulders. The over head shoulder motion in paddling is repeated thousands of times in a good session. When this motion is constantly repeated with bad posture and mobility, microtraumas occur in the rotator cuff structures, which inevitably will lead to a frustrating time in the water! Our shoulders will generally feel happier when other parts of our body engage well to aid their movement.
If you are feeling really stiff and achey in the upper back, tight across the neck, shoulders and chest and have been inactive these last months (Yes, you know who you are!)… perhaps you should book in for a session where we can help to get you moving better preventing these common problems.
Or maybe you already are suffering feeling restricted in the upper back, finding it more comfortable to stare at your board whilst paddling out rather than where you are going along with some shoulder pain that rapidly sets you back to a ‘Doggy’ paddle after the first paddle out! This can have a knock on effect into the lower back too - how does that feel after a long paddle out arched up on your board? Do you look forward to sitting back up on your board? Take action today rather than think it will just go away as you surf more.
The same can be applied to a lot of outdoor sports that involve repetitive movement of the shoulders. For example, Stand up paddling has become very popular as a way to get out on the water and enjoy the nice weather OR open sea swimming where our back mobility can often be hindered by a wetsuit.
If you’d like to book in for a treatment session, either call 736317 or visit www.rebalance.gg today
Good luck to everyone in the Cold Water Classic this weekend , the forecast is looking good 🙂
see you on the water...
Ian Bisson, Osteopath