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

You might consider a removable pedestal/saddle, which is what I use.
For a casual trip, I leave it out, and sit on a regular seat, or install
it for the whitewater, leaving the regular seat in place. I think
Northwater in canada makes them.

Easier to adapt the boat to you than try to correct a long term physical
problem.

Richard


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

"S. Tilts" wrote in message
...
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.

S,

This is why I kayak. It isn't the ankle so much (though I had an ankle
dislocation with the same treatmet plan) as it is the knee. I can sit in my
sea kayak for hours without problems. The foot pegs can be adjusted to meet
the needs of the ankle in most boats and can be frequently taken off same if
rest is required.

But if it is the canoe speaks to your soul, perhaps an outfitter can find a
way to make adjustments.

Rick

I just finished my first WW canoe trip with a local, very
knowledgeable Canoe acquaintance I found on the web. He lent me his
WW canoe. After about 30 minutes my right leg was numb. The Middle
Oconee River, which is on my property in Athens, GA., was luring me.
So I found a local who is a SERIOUS canoe and kayak person. He took me
under his wing and went with me down this river (about 3 hours) after
we put in on my property. I had to stretch out and get out of the
kneeling position after about an hour. Fortunately this is a river
with very little WW. I'm shopping for another type craft, either a
large, flat bottom canoe with seat and back for me the family (3) and
probably a one person kayak for me to tool around.

Don in AThens, GA

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 13:35:31 GMT, "Rick Donnelly"
wrote:


"S. Tilts" wrote in message
...
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.

S,

This is why I kayak. It isn't the ankle so much (though I had an ankle
dislocation with the same treatmet plan) as it is the knee. I can sit in my
sea kayak for hours without problems. The foot pegs can be adjusted to meet
the needs of the ankle in most boats and can be frequently taken off same if
rest is required.

But if it is the canoe speaks to your soul, perhaps an outfitter can find a
way to make adjustments.

Rick

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...

"Bob P" wrote in message
. ..
| 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...

Have to agree with Bob. Sounds like you can't extend your foot, top
side down. So support it at the front of the ankle. make the role
large enough so your toes don't touch the bottom of the canoe.
I would also strongly suggest consultation with a sports injury
physiotherapist.

I have a related question. My wife and I both have bad knees, with
several surgeries each (about 10 years ago, my orthopaedist suggested I
find a new hobby). These days we paddle very easy whitewater (II, some
III), but I like a manuverable boat to play in. For solo we each have
old XL-3's with the old Perception saddles. Despite all the drawbacks
of that saddle design, it gives a comfortable (if high) seat for all
the stretches in between the rapids. Only problem is I can't kneel
anywhere near as low as I used to be able to in order to use the thigh
braces, but they meet our needs, as I can just move back a bit and use
a high kneel and ignore the thigh brace section.

For when one of us tandems with my son, I'd like to sell my ancient
Blue Hole 17A and get a nice, short tandem playboat. Problem is, I'd
like to outfit it for both fairly high kneeling position AND for at
least as much sitting as kneeling.

Am I dreaming? Do I see about just trying to outfit with actual seats,
knee pads, and thigh braces (is this even an option for something like
a Esquif Vertige X or an XL or Probe 14)?

Can a relatively high pedestal work for kneeling? for sitting? If so,
how high?

Are any off the shelf pedestals good for long periods of sitting? Can
they be successfully customized?

Any thoughts, ideas, or better yet, successful experience? There must
be a number of us aging boomer open-boaters out there.

I have similar problems. I'll watch this thread. Or maybe this
merits a new thread?


-Dan V.


On 3 Aug 2005 10:22:10 -0700, "Mike" wrote:

I have a related question. My wife and I both have bad knees, with
several surgeries each (about 10 years ago, my orthopaedist suggested I
find a new hobby). These days we paddle very easy whitewater (II, some
III), but I like a manuverable boat to play in. For solo we each have
old XL-3's with the old Perception saddles. Despite all the drawbacks
of that saddle design, it gives a comfortable (if high) seat for all
the stretches in between the rapids. Only problem is I can't kneel
anywhere near as low as I used to be able to in order to use the thigh
braces, but they meet our needs, as I can just move back a bit and use
a high kneel and ignore the thigh brace section.

For when one of us tandems with my son, I'd like to sell my ancient
Blue Hole 17A and get a nice, short tandem playboat. Problem is, I'd
like to outfit it for both fairly high kneeling position AND for at
least as much sitting as kneeling.

Am I dreaming? Do I see about just trying to outfit with actual seats,
knee pads, and thigh braces (is this even an option for something like
a Esquif Vertige X or an XL or Probe 14)?

Can a relatively high pedestal work for kneeling? for sitting? If so,
how high?

Are any off the shelf pedestals good for long periods of sitting? Can
they be successfully customized?

Any thoughts, ideas, or better yet, successful experience? There must
be a number of us aging boomer open-boaters out there.

I just got back from vacation. Since no new posts, I'm trying a new
thread.

Ankle blocks!!! a two to three inch foam block, slightly contured with a
taper to lift the ankle. It will compress the knee joint, but it will help
relieve the ankle pain. Some streaching of the ankles is ok. Also called "
c-1 disease"