Surfing Waves

Hi,

I'm currently not surfing at the moment due to my shoulder and I'm going mad!

I'm still a long way from ever going back in the water - after an MRI scan I have tendonitis at the bicep tendon head which is also causing bursitis in the shoulder. Its been 6 weeks of constant rest but it doesn't seem to be getting better - the bursitis ache is gone but the tendon feels sore as always. Got a new great physio and been to see a couple of specialist - basically been told 3 to 6 months and up to a year for I can get back in the water. . I'm going out of my mind - the only *good* thing I suppose is the waves have been flat of late!

Anyone else had this? How long did it take you to get over it? - I'm just turning 40 and it seems this last year my injuries are taking forever to heal - about 4 times as long as they used to.

thanks for any input.

wjp wrote:Hi,

I'm currently not surfing at the moment due to my shoulder and I'm going mad!

I'm still a long way from ever going back in the water - after an MRI scan I have tendonitis at the bicep tendon head which is also causing bursitis in the shoulder.

Anyone else had this? How long did it take you to get over it? - I'm just turning 40 and it seems this last year my injuries are taking forever to heal - about 4 times as long as they used to.

thanks for any input.

The time scale is about right for the injury as you describe it.
There is one area that might helpful to speed up recovery, ask your physio if they can tell whether the tendon has jumped from its groove on the biceps head, I found in my practice that quite often an adjustment ther and the tendon sitting correctly in its groove lessened the bursitis and tendonitis, if however the irritation is coming from paddling then you may need to look a slightly different technique to avoid the mechanical stress you are putting on the joint.

The technique I use is a Chiropractic peripheral technique,not all Chiros or Physio know it but they may well have something in their skill set that does the job.
Make sure you take the time to heal, biggest bug bear is when you go back too early and layer damage on top of injury.

When you are repaired ask your Physio for asset of balancing and strengthen exercises for the entire shoulder area, and make them part of your ongoing body program
The longer healing time is something to,do with date of birth!

Sorry to hear that.

I've never had tendonitis, but I had tendon laceration in February this year. I wiped out, got my right foot badly slashed by the fin, and was taken to hospital for surgery. About 3 months out of water and was told that it could take one year to heal! I didn't believe the doctor though. I got back to surf just after 3 months and now I'm even better!

Be positive. CHEER UP, wjp!

It would be slack Jak
if you weren't back Jak
so I guess the deal
is you healed your heel.
And for this our delight is real
Seriously a good injury to recover from

Honestly, I still surf with my aches and pains, hate to give you bad advice but that's where I'm at. Case in point, I also played indoor soccer on an adult league until three weeks ago. I playing in my over 40 league but my buddies asked me to play in the over 30 league. Well, them younger guys kick harder, so much that I woke up with my hand swollen the next morning, thought I had broken it.

Well, three weeks later, my doctor says I can't play soccer for 6 months. Ok, so much for soccer, but I take three aspirins and hit the surf and then my hand aches afterwards. What can I say, if Bethany Hamilton can surf with one hand, I can surf with a sore one.

Probably bad advice, I'm no doctor, but it is a forum...

To the op, if there's mri evidence to say tendonitis of the long head of biceps, then I'd tend to trust the estimates for recovery from your doc.

I'm also sorry to say that severe tendonitis can lead to tearing of the tendon, then you're in real trouble, because smashed and inflamed worn out tendons tend not to be easy to re attach... so if you do decide to keep using your shoulder before you get the all clear, just be aware that any pain is a clear indication of damage being done.

So best advice is to follow the advice of your doc on this one.

jaffa1949 wrote:It would be slack Jak
if you weren't back Jak
so I guess the deal
is you healed your heel.
And for this our delight is real
Seriously a good injury to recover from

Lol, nice one jaffa1949! Cheers!


By the way, I didn't go easy on my foot as told by the doctor and didn't even go back to see them. I did go to the appointments in the early stage, but a few weeks after I got the cast removed I went back there and was told that I might not need the crutches anymore but still no running and ABSOLUTELY NO SURFING and that I had to see him every 3 weeks. Know what? That was the last time I ever went back to hospital.

However, there's some part of my foot that I can't feel the skin. Not sure because of not going back to the doctor and that's the effect of the anaesthetic, or because some nerves got cut along with the tendon. I don't regret though. One year without surfing? You'd better kill me.

But OP, I can't suggest anything. Besides, you're not 24 like I was. Did the specialist say 3-6 months up to 1 year? 3 months is faster than you may think. Wait and see with positive mind.

jaktequila wrote:
However, there's some part of my foot that I can't feel the skin. Not sure because of not going back to the doctor and that's the effect of the anaesthetic, or because some nerves got cut along with the tendon. I don't regret .

It is probably a nerve that has been damaged, some nerve heal quite well over a period of time others well they don't, to a certain extent, other nerves nearby will organize and take up the service a bit.
To help the recovery, massage the sole of your foot gently t first and then more firmly, use a natural oil or a Chinese Liniment called Zheng Gu Shui rub in along the lines of the tendon.
Practice picking up marbles with your toes and stimulate the bottom of you foot by tapping you fingers all over it this will encourage the foot to redevelop the nerve.

Hi wjp,

You've got my sympathies, have had the same issues for about 4 yrs now (been out of the water this time for about 6 weeks now as well). What I've ended up doing is going for an easliy paddled board (9'8 surftech), walk out as much as possible and importantly just listen to my body. If the shoulder starts aching, I have to call it a day and get out as I know it'll be hell the next day and as I have a physical job its an issue. Have found a new physio who knows I dont want to stop surfing so is trying her best to work with me knowing this.So I do all the exercises she recommends. But unfortunately for me mine isnt really improving significantly, have my periods of less pain than other times but its constantly there. Have seen specialists who recommend operating but its a long recovery time and have heard that shoulder ops dont necessarily have a high success rate. But thats me, I'm sure theres probably lots of people on this forum who have made full recoveries from similiar issues so as I said before just listen to your body with your head and not your heart, because its easy to aggravate the shoulders.
Also I find some anti inflams before and after the surf help and another thing you could consider is something like the paddleair vest. Its a rash vest with an inflatable area in the front which raises your chest a bit when you paddle. I got one a few months ago for back issues and noticed my shoulders felt a bit more relaxed as I paddled. Finally I guess the obvious thing is to try to find out what caused it in the first place...surfing, work etc and see what can be changed or modified. For me I believe it was my work but surfing and swimming definitely aggravate it if I overdo it. Good luck with it

jaffa1949 wrote:

jaktequila wrote:
However, there's some part of my foot that I can't feel the skin. Not sure because of not going back to the doctor and that's the effect of the anaesthetic, or because some nerves got cut along with the tendon. I don't regret .

It is probably a nerve that has been damaged, some nerve heal quite well over a period of time others well they don't, to a certain extent, other nerves nearby will organize and take up the service a bit.
To help the recovery, massage the sole of your foot gently t first and then more firmly, use a natural oil or a Chinese Liniment called Zheng Gu Shui rub in along the lines of the tendon.
Practice picking up marbles with your toes and stimulate the bottom of you foot by tapping you fingers all over it this will encourage the foot to redevelop the nerve.

Thank you so much for your tips Jaffa.

Amazing that no one mentions the certain cause of these problems i.e. bad diet.

Hey Roy, really bad diet? What nutritious food would you advocate to prevent slashed tendons from surfboard fins?


I agree diet is very important as a preventative and removal of foot from mouth will also allow all sorts of natural food to alleviate arthritis, inflammation of tendons.

I'm not an advocate of anti-inflammatories as a first resort as they can create so many GIT and other problems.

A good book to read is foods as medicine.

Slashed tendons from surfboard fins is not tendonitis.

Regarding diet it is mostly a matter of removing items from the diet. the potato/tomato/tobacco family can cause a lot of joint inflammation so I'd start by eIiminating them.. although in my experience most people would rather become crippled than give up potatoes.

Roy Stewart wrote:Slashed tendons from surfboard fins is not tendonitis.

Regarding diet it is mostly a matter of removing items from the diet. the potato/tomato/tobacco family can cause a lot of joint inflammation so I'd start by eIiminating them.. although in my experience most people would rather become crippled than give up potatoes.

Yep the nightshade family certainly come in as inflammatory agents. So many people find it hard to the things that would help their body and mind, sadly many do not even know how to help themselves. Nor do they know what is a good or bad diet.
Malnutrition by over eating and poor food choice is a first world situation and malnutrition by lack of food and little food choice is a second and third world problem.

For everyone.
Tendonitis is a description of a symptom that can have multiple causes a major one of which, is diet.
Posture, motorskills, bony structural problems, injury, poor sport/work practice, weight problems and disease can also give the symptoms of tendonitis. (inflammed sore and painful tendons).
Diet is a good place to start