Shoulder strain

Good physio will acupuncture your shoulder and fix you up in no time

I've got a good physio for my dodgy knees, which is why I ditched the straps and the TT ;) knees feel great for riding directional btw, but that's another story.... ;)
Might give him a buzz


Doesn't hurt to sleep. Hurts the day after a good session, then slowly comes good just in time for the next

Sounds like too much internal rotation, if it was me I would be doing external cable exercises.

Sounds like you have bursitis of your shoulder which is inflammation of the "shock absorber" of the joint. This is caused by too much tightness / in-balance in the muscles from overuse in above shoulder height positions and the humerus gets pulled up into the joint impinging the bursa. This is common in painters and decorators who spend long periods of time with their arms above their heads painting ceilings.

Unfortunately for you rest and avoiding the aggravating activity is the most important thing in the short term. There is a stretch called the "sleeper stretch" which helps stretch the posterior muscle and there's a couple of good YouTube videos on how to do this. Do it every night before going to sleep and before and after every kite session. Physio and internal rotation stretching exercises will help in the long term but you need to let the inflammation begin to settle first.

If it's not getting better with stretching and rest see your GP for a referral for a ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis and if it's getting really bad a steroid injection into the bursa at the same time. If you get the Roids injection the you absolutely must not exercise on it for six weeks as you can do pernament damage without feeling it.

I had it about a year ago and it took a roid injection, 6 weeks stretching and rest and then ongoing stretching and physio over 6 months to get it right. Even now if I forget to stretch my shoulder properly it begins to come back so it's worth keeping on top of. It even started giving me nerve pain down my arm to the point where I found it hard to work - don't let yours get that bad

You should check out glucose injections if it dosnt get any better.
What they do is inject you with glucose in the nerves around the sore spot. This irritates so your body pumps loads more blood in those areas. It speeds up the healing time drastically.

I had tennis elbow really bad a month ago. Couldn't even land my kite because of the pain. I had shots and kited that afternoon and every afternoon since. And the pain has almost gone completely.

That could be an option if you want to nail in on the head. Cost me $60 for the shots

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James01 said..
hi Kemp90,

Where did you get your injections done Q-scan?

I tried Cortisone Injection last year and it did nothing for me.

cheers

Depends a lot on the individual.

There's shots you can get into your knee joints if you've worn out the cartilage (like I have). For some people they work well at stopping pain for up to a year, for others they do nothing. I've had some friends (vascular surgeons) tell me that the shots are actually worse for you in the long term though, so it's all a matter of how much it's actually bothering you as to whether it's worth doing or not.

Physio is almost always the best thing for any injury, something that sounds like a quick fix usually only masks the problem. It's a bit like putting some tape over that rust hole in your car and painting over it, might look ok for a bit but the root of the problem is still there.

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James01 said...
hi Kemp90,

Where did you get your injections done Q-scan?

I tried Cortisone Injection last year and it did nothing for me.

cheers

Iv got a local gp that dose it.

This donsnt mask the issue. It it tricks your body. Your body heels because blood gets pumped through it, giving goodness to the injury. This makes your body pump loads more blood to the injury. Causing it to heal faster. Once you have the shots, you arnt supposed to use anti-inflammatory, because you want the swelling.

It sounds od. But if you want to try something a little different it's worth a shot.

So apart from treatment options,

Is there anything techniques I should be focusing on whist kiting to prevent the strain?
Like how to keep powered up toeside without having to work the kite up and down?
Getting the kite trimmed better so that my arm is not so extended behind me?
Maybe try not edge upwind so hard toeside?

why would you ever go upwind far toe side? being all twisted like that has got to be uncomfortable and causing issues. Tack/jibe and go upwind heal side.

Couldn't agree more. I only ride toeside if I think I'm going to take a wave soon otherwise switching your feet and riding heel side gives your body a rest, balances out the rotation and you can head further up wind comfortably.

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rollo19 said..
why would you ever go upwind far toe side? being all twisted like that has got to be uncomfortable and causing issues. Tack/jibe and go upwind heal side.

Never thought anything of it previously... I really enjoy toeside
On my shinnster I can go upwind just as easy toeside as heel side. Surfboard not so much but...

I better work on switching my my feet from toe to heel, as I normally only do it the other way when Im going heel side in natural stance (Im a goofy footer) to toeside in preperation for a carve turn


Maybe because im using a dynabar, I tend to spend more time toeside, and my arm is extened back further as my body can twist away from the kite more than a fixed hook harness???


Dimi, thanks for the vids. I'll check em out later

No worries.

I can think of one thing you could do to change your technique a little. Instead of letting your arm extend fully out straight and up behind you, try and take a more staunch position with your arm a little more bent and try to pull it down lower and in-front of you a bit more, with the kite also a little lower in the wind window. Obviously this will depend on conditions and how powered you are but I think this will help fix the problem a little as your arm wont be as straight and as vulnerable to flexing too far in the wrong direction.

Also if you have choice of different spots, see if you can find one where the wind is slightly more on-shore to the waves, then it won't stress your joints as hard.

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sir ROWDY said...
No worries.

I can think of one thing you could do to change your technique a little. Instead of letting your arm extend fully out straight and up behind you, try and take a more staunch position with your arm a little more bent and try to pull it down lower and in-front of you a bit more, with the kite also a little lower in the wind window. Obviously this will depend on conditions and how powered you are but I think this will help fix the problem a little as your arm wont be as straight and as vulnerable to flexing too far in the wrong direction.

Also if you have choice of different spots, see if you can find one where the wind is slightly more on-shore to the waves, then it won't stress your joints as hard.

Good advice, cheers

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nikmcc said..
Mainly here to try get some kiting technique advice to help prevent the strain in the first place

OK, some kiting technique advise then:

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nikmcc said..
.. I'm spending close to 50% of my time toeside. Which I actually prefer over heelside.

I assume you never switch feet. Do not do that! Why?
In short term your muscles need to rest and relax. If you change the feet and stance your body will relax and you will be smashing the waves much better.
In long term you will build up your muscles asymmetrically if you spend all your session (1-2 hours probably) in the same stance which is not good for you body. Do not get confused by surfers who ride always in their preferred stance because they spent +95% of the time symmetrically paddling and relaxing their muscles.
My first advice - switch your feet on the upwind tack and ride in comfortable relaxed posture allowing your muscles to relax after the hard wave smashing. I ride toe side on the wave or when 'expecting' the wave and very rarely on my upwind tack.

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nikmcc said..
... But flying the kite one handed in the toeside stance is causing
my right shoulder to really start hurting.

I assume you ride toe side all the time with one hand on the bar. Do not do that. Fly the kite with one hand preferably on the wave only where you need your other hand to do more radical turns.
My advise - on the upwind tack use your both hands to control the kite.

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nikmcc said..
... Working the kite up and down seems to be biggest cause.

Either you are underpowered and you have to change the kite or most probably you have to improve your toe side upwind technique. If you constantly work the kite then there is something wrong either with your:
1. Foot placement - back foot placement is different during wave riding - on the stomp pad and during the upwind tack - more forward.
2. Weight distribution is also different - more on the back foot during turns and more on the front foot during upwind tack and speeding the board.
3. body position/posture - most new strapless riders tend to lean more backward against the kite effectively stalling the board and the kite. Lean more forward!
4. Upwind angle. If you do everything right and you still have to work the kite then you are trying to go too much into the wind. Change your course slightly downwind and you will be able to ride comfortably with the kite parked.
My advice - check your foot placement, weight distribution, posture and upwind angle during the toe side upwind tack. Look at your more experienced fellow strapless kiters or check some videos in Internet and try to improve your toe side upwind technique.

I hope all this makes sense to you but do not underestimate your current shoulder problem which can easily lead to a cascade of problems in other shoulder muscles or in your elbow, neck, low back, etc.

Cheers

Dimi,

Last night I tried the stretch with the golf club in the vid you linked. Only did it for a few seconds to gently get a feel for it. I think there is already some improvement!

Thanks again for your advice