S. Tilts wrote:
I badly sprained an ankle in my early 20ies, with ruptured ligaments etc.
and it was 'conservatively' treated, i.e. not treated at all. This left me
with reduced flexibility but it didn't bother me at the time as I could
still walk, or more to the point drive the car.

I recently attended a WW canoeing course, they used boats with kneeling
thwarts just aft of center. I was in agony all the time because I lacked
any sort of ankle flexibility that would allow me to kneel, couldn't tuck
under toes let alone kneel with tops of feet close to the floor.

I'd be keen to be able to kneel in a hired WW canoe for at least an hour;
ordinary seats just don't seem to connect you to the boat positively enough
in moderate white water and pedestal seats tend to only be found in more
etreme WW canoes, which is not what I am aiming for.

I am wondering has anyone in the NG managed to REGAIN kneeling flexibility?
And how would I go about doing that?

I tried stuff like sitting on my heels in front of the TV (causing great
hilarity) but after 20 seconds or so I feel like I am doing myself an
injury, and who knows if its scarred ligaments maybe they aren't designed to
be stretched ...

Maybe there are folks here who know about canoeing AND sports physio stuff?

Or do I need to post at rec.letsfaceityouroverthehill ...

S


That you can sit on your heels at all is a good sign. When I started
C-1'ing, I'd have to crawl out of the boat after 45 minutes. After a
couple of years, I became comfortable for a couple of hours at a time,
even with a 6" high seat.

Have you tried foam blocks underneath your ankles?

You might try going to a Physical Therapist that specializes in sports
injuries. It's amazing how someone who knows what they're doing can
improve things...