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Wrist Pain After Sea Kayak Paddling?
On 30-Jul-2003, (Bobo) wrote:
(1) Is the location of the pain something that I should be concerned
about or will it work itself out?
In general, you should never ignore pain. A doctor once told me that
in joints, the apparent location of the pain may not be the actual
source, since the your body isn't as good at determining location
inside as it is on your skin. Could be a carpal tunnel type problem
or cartilage etc in the wrist. You'd have to explore this with an
expert - orthopod, sports physio etc.
(2) Am I paddling wrong? I use a high angle paddle stroke that is
common in whitewater kayaking, but I notice that a lot of sea
kayakers use a low angle paddle. The low angle paddle doesn't seem
very efficient, but is it the answer to my wrist pain?
There's not much of a real difference in paddling WW or SK. Low or high
angle is not an issue. Just do what you prefer. I use both, with the high
angle for speed and low for most paddling.
What you have to do is match the feather to the stroke angle and I find that
50-60 is about right for a high angle, with 25-30 for a low angle stroke (I have
a variable feather paddle so I can set any angle.) Yours sounds about right
for high angle.
I really doubt that you're gripping your paddle too tight after 15 years, so let's
ignore that. If your paddle is too long or if you're using a really big blade with
a slow, powerful stroke rate that could stress your joints. If that's the case,
try borrowing a shorter paddle or one with a smaller blade. The big blade may
be fine for WW, because you tend to work in bursts, rather than continuous
as in SK. Smaller blades combined slightly faster stroke rates are better for
old farts in SK - like using lower gears on a bike.
(3) For those who recommend that I go to a non-feathered paddle, it
might be hard since it'll really screw up my whitewater paddling. I
thought about perhaps trying a 45 degree paddle, but I've only been
able to find sea kayak paddles that are either 0 degrees or 60
degrees. Anyone have experience with a crankshaft sea kayak paddle
who had similar wrist pain?
Non-feathered paddles aren't magic - they don't necessarily reduce stress,
even though most people seem to think so. Most paddle makers can make
you a custom feather angle. There are several that supply variable joins that
can be set to any angle 0-360 degrees. Lendal, Epic, and so many others
I can't even keep track.
My variable feather is a crankshaft as well. While of limited value for most
folks, I find that the adjustment of the angle of the wrist reduces joint stress.
I wouldn't sink your money into one unless you try one first. It might be
of no benefit and there are side effects - like slightly wonky behavior in
things like Duffek strokes (if the crank has a trail the paddle tends to twist
on Duffeks and running draws. Werner has a neutral crankshaft that
doesn't do this.)
I also find that a Greenland-style paddle is low stress. It's unfeathered and
you tend to control it with thumb and fingers rather than wrist. The close
hand position means cranks are irrelevant. A little less efficient overall, but
low stress is a useful tradeoff.
I'd recommend getting to the bottom of the cause before looking for a solution
in a new paddle.
Mike
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