Repetitive stress injuries

[RobSF]

I'm wondering if others have had to give up surfing for a while because of bad shoulders and/or arms from repetitive stress. Or because of other ambiguous, ill-defined pain. I seem to have somehow done something to my right tricep, and it's depressing me no end to think I'm going to just have to stay out of the water for some weeks to let it rest. Have been ignoring it for over a month, and though I'm not really feeling that much pain while I paddle, any lifting—my board, my bicycle, any boxes—is getting increasingly hard to do, and popping up is a challenge now, too.

Would love to hear that others have been through this and come out the other side, as it will seriously ruin one of the few pleasures I have left in life if I have to quit for good.

[oldmansurfer]

I have a shoulder problem that acutely came from manually sawing a tree down. By the time I recognized I had destroyed my shoulder it was pretty painful. I stopped sawing and changed positions and suddenly felt incredible pain so I finished the tree with my left hand/arm. That has hampered my learning to surf as it flared up when I started. I took to icing my shoulder down after surf sessions and doing shoulder strengthening exercises that didn't aggravate the problem and just to be safe iced my shoulder after those exercises initially. I surf only short session 30 minutes at a time and come in if I am tired (for safety). That slows down the learning curve but it fits my busy life and most likely keeps me from having more repetitive stress injuries. I still do weights (2 times a week) and stretching every day. I am getting stronger. I also have a back problem and a knee problem that are unrelated to surfing but aggravated by surfing previously however I am now at a point where none of those problems bother me surfing or in the rest of my life. I similarly do exercises and stretches for those parts of my body. I think if I were you I would go get a diagnosis for your problem and take it from there.

[Oldie]

Yes, unfortuately a very current situation. I had some shoulder pain for years, on and off and kept it under control with constant physio exercises. But since late this summer, it was constantly there a bit and after my last session 10 days ago, the shoulder suddenly hurt massively. I actually could not pop up at all, the arm was collapsing under me. MRI was done on Thursday and it shows a a combination of several issues - heavily inflamed and worn acromioclavicular joint with intense bone marrow edema on both sides - the joint is heavily swollen; a wrongly formed shoulder top (inverse) with a resulting slight impingment and a calcific tendonitis

The only positive thing is that rotator cuff and tendons are not ruptured yet.

So it means rest for the arms and shoulder (no surfing, no swimming, no golfing...), NSAR and cortisone injections, and shockwave therapy starting tomorrow. If that does not work, surgery will be the only solution. Here is hoping that surfing will be possible again in spring.

Have your arm checked by a specialist. It may be nothing, but also shoulder issues can cause arm pain.

[RobSF]

Yeah, see now, Oldie . . . that is exactly the kind of thing I'm hoping this isn't. Jeez. Already have a root canal coming up. I'm suddenly starting to feel like '93 Corolla.

Best of luck, and all my sympathies.

[BoMan]

Sorry to hear it.

Seeing a doctor is priority one. If you haven't looked into this already, here is info from the Sports Injury Clinic. http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/elbow-pain/tricep-strain

I had a similar injury from trying different pop-ups in the comfort of my living room. Hoping to get to my feet faster, I strained my shoulder and my forearm. The solution was resting for a month and recognizing my limitations. At 66, a slow popup is better than no popup!

[RinkyDink]

I had shoulder pain/rotator cuff problems. Relaxed hanging as well as just taking a break solved my shoulder problems.

You don't really need this, but it goes into more detail on rehabilitating your shoulder.
https://www.amazon.com/Shoulder-Solutio ... 1589096428

Part of my problem was that I was overtraining. Even when I was cautioning others not to overtrain I was overtraining. I get it now . . . don't overtrain. Anyway, my shoulder pain finally disappeared entirely when I went on vacation for 10 days and started an aggressive sitting, talking, and drinking regimen. I still hang on my pullup bar for about 20 seconds every time I walk through my garage.

[Namu]

Golfers elbow, I don’t golf though. Pain on the inside of the elbow when doing a pushing motion like a pop up or push-up. I think weight lifting, specifically barbell bench pressing messed it up initially, then made worse by working, and pop ups when surfing long 3-4 hour sessions on back to back days.

Pain is still there, but is better. I quit lifting weights altogether. I wear an elbow brace when doing anything physical at work, I also limit my surf sessions to once a week for no more than 3 hours but usually 2. I take time to warm up the joints before going into the water. Getting old sucks, I will be 35 years old next week.

If I was to get back into Weightlifting again I would do chest presses with dumbbells instead of barbells so my wrists and elbows would have a free range of motion to rotate to relieve pressure on the elbows.

[RobSF]

RinkyDink, the sitting/talking/drinking regimen sounds just perfect to me, thanks. Actually the hanging idea is great, too. Though the elbow is worse than the shoulder. Exactly what Namu describes, inside of the elbow. And Namu, if you think 35 sucks, just wait.

It gets worse.

[oldmansurfer]

I do a once every 2 weeks session of sitting talking drinking. I do it entirely for the benefits it gives me surfing......Yeah that's my excuse.

[Oldie]

Stitting, drinking and talking is great and helps

I would be careful with the hanging and look for advice from your doctor. This can free up tension, but puts a stress on the ACG and the rotator cuff. My doctor heavily advises against it with my inflamed ACG and calcification.

A friend of mine created his own therapy plan for the shoulder which resulted in 6 month pause from any sport...

[RobSF]

Thanks, Oldie, for the caveat about hanging. I'll talk to someone about it before I try. For the moment I'm icing my arm at night and using arnica cream.

[RinkyDink]

Stitting, drinking and talking is great and helps

I would be careful with the hanging and look for advice from your doctor. This can free up tension, but puts a stress on the ACG and the rotator cuff. My doctor heavily advises against it with my inflamed ACG and calcification.

A friend of mine created his own therapy plan for the shoulder which resulted in 6 month pause from any sport...

Yeah, it's something you have to gauge for yourself. Every body is different and it's best to find out what works for you. Relaxed hanging gave me almost immediate relief from my shoulder pain. You do need to go slow with it, however. Nowadays what I like the most about it is the grip strength I get from it. I especially appreciate the extra grip strength on my turtle rolls.

[tomthetreeman]

I'm a 47 year old arborist and I have been climbing and cutting trees for 25 years. I have a torn labrum in my left shoulder and a rotator cuff impingement in my right shoulder. I was considering surgery, and I was on a regimen of PT, ice and anti-inflammatory meds for months. I also tried light weights for a few months, which just made them worse.

I started practicing yoga about two years ago, which was probably six months after I had given up on the PT & meds route (partly because it wasn't working that well, and partly because my deductible was costing a lot out of pocket). At first I thought I just wouldn't be able to do it, but the progression was low impact enough that i wasn't sore enough to quit, and before too long I was able to do small arm balances and my flexibility was improving by leaps and bounds.

I started surfing in August, and I gotta say, it set me back a bit, and I was scared that I'd wind up back where I was before yoga. After four months of surfing an average of four days a week, I can say that this is not the case. And I paddle hard when I have to, and my most frequent spot is a beach break with an often frustrating battle/paddle.

I kept the anti inflammatory prescription, and I use it when I get sore, because inflammation is a cumulative issue, and if you can nip it in the bud, often it will stay down.

All good advice above, too... I highly recommend a regular yoga practice, at least 3 times per week! I'd also recommend occasional massage therapy if you can afford it!

Tom

[RobSF]

I think I’ve found my solution. Riding home from work last night, I hit a rock, tumbled off my bike, and cracked my helmet and a rib. My arm hasn’t been bothering me nearly as much ever since. Looks like surfing’s out until spring, by which time the arm should be fine. With luck, the rib, too.

[oldmansurfer]

At least you didn't break your neck!

[RobSF]

I’ve done the same thing before, so I guess this still falls under the repetitive stress injury heading.

I can’t preach enough about bike helmets I have been saved three times now from serious head trauma, if not a terminal ventilator.

[oldmansurfer]

And people think surfing is dangerous, cycling is much more dangerous