Hi Y'all,


As y'all know, shoulder injuries are among the most common disabilites
suffered by paddlers. I personally used to suffer rather constant
shoulder pain during months I was paddling, especially when I was working
a lot on rolls and deep braces. While your first line of defense against
shoulder injury should be proper paddling form, I've found that
strengthening my rotator cuff muscles has brought blessed relief.


I found an article in the "Health and Fitness" column of Canoe & Kayak
magazine a few months ago entitled "A Stronger Rotator Cuff". After
several months of conditioning exercises using an old bicycle inner tube,
I've gone from wondering if I would be able to continue paddling as a
sport to rarely experiencing shoulder pain at all.


Since the article is short, I will just type it in. If anyone would like
the figures that show the three exercises, I'd be happy to fax or mail
the article.
______________________________________________
A STRONG ROTATOR CUFF
by Edward G. Lilly III, M.D.


Maintaining mobility and tone of the shoulder is vital to participation
in paddlesports. Many familiar shoulder-strengthening exercies
concentrate on or isolate the outer grouping of shoulder muscles.
Push-ups or bench presses are great for the pectorals, dumbbell flies get
the deltoids, and lateral pulls strengthen the latissimus. Although
strenghtening this outer grouping of muscles is important, ignoring the
inner rotator cuff muscles is like putting new tires on a car whose front
end is out of alignment.


The rotator cuff muscles are critical for keeping the ball (or humeral
head) centered in its shallow socket (the glenoid). The primary exercise
to strengthen the rotator cuff isolate internal rotation, external
rotation, and initiation of abduction. Although this may sound confusing,
it is really very simply.


Physical therapists often issue a product called Theraband to provide
elastic resistance, but bungee cords or any type of rubber tubing may
already be available in your home. Internal rotation is performed by
attaching the tubing to a fixed table or door knob and sweeping the hand
toward the abdomen while keeping the elbow bent at the side (figure 1).
External rotation is just the opposite (figure 2). To perform abduction,
grasp the tubing with one hand at the hip and elevate the other hand aout
45 degrees from the other hip (figure 3).


In each case the tubing should be held in the stretched position for a
couple of seconds and the slowly released. Start with a low number of
repetitions and slowly work up to greater numbers or more sets. Do not
increase your total number of repetitions by more than about 15 percent
each week.


These simple off-water exercises will keep your shoulder and rotator cuff
ready for the rigors of your next paddling trip.
____________________________________________________________


Mike Pitzrick
w:257-8378
h: 272-2129
fax:257-1586