I am left handed; I've restarted kayak paddling after 15 years of doing very
little exercise, except carrying (too) heavy bags at work, shopping baskets
when I should have used a trolley etc. which sometimes left me with left
sided shoulder pain.

When I paddle at a reasonably fast pace - which isn't all that fast - my
left pinky and ring finger go numb very quickly and my hand feels cold and
my left shoulder, tense and painful.

At first I blamed my old paddle, it has nearly 90 deg feather angle so my
left control hand does a lot of flexing as well as pulling etc., so I
thought maybe I'll get a cranked shaft paddle with less feather and see if
that helps.

However in the meantime I've been exercising on a Concept 2 rowing machine a
lot and guess what, numbness in left hand kicks in a bit as well, even
without major wrist action except pulling that handle ...

- Anyone kayakers out there who've had similar experiences, and preferably,
tales of successful recovery?

I googgled a bit and found all sorts of stuff, rotator cuff problems,
ulnaris nerve compression near elbow, problems with spine of the neck ...

What sort of professionsl will be able to narrow it down, preferably without
breaking the bank?