Wrist tendonitis: The follow-up to the Quadrapus and RoRow

After breaking the mixed tandem course record in the 460-mile Yukon River Quest with Brandon in 2005, I set my sights high for 2006. Not only did I want to win the women’s solo category, I wanted to break the course record and come in top 10 overall. After a year of training and preparation, the race was a huge success. I won my division, crushed the women’s record by over 10 hours, and placed 6th place overall! (Blog post... Two Views of Victory: '06 YRQ, July 10, 2006)

My victory did not come without cost. I paddled the final 90 miles of the Quest with my hand duct taped to my paddle shaft. 370 miles of hard racing had left my wrist so swollen and painful with tendonitis, I could not even wrap my fingers around my paddle, much less race. Duct tape is acceptable once. But, the longevity of my career requires that I take care of my body by minimizing the impact of hard racing and training and stay ahead of injury potentials like tendonitis.

If you recall, my first attempt at a solution was finding a device that would support my wrist, as the duct tape did. But, after testing the Quadrapus and the Rorow, (Blog Post... Ultra-Innovation: Quadrapus and RoRow, August 11, 2006) I decided an awkward extra piece of gear was not what I wanted to rely on when paddling an ultra. I needed to get to the heart of the problem, and fix it.

I started by having my stroke coach film me paddling. We then reviewed the tape; dissecting my stroke. As an ultra marathon paddler, I do not rely on a powerful, vertical wing paddle stroke. I keep my arms no higher than shoulder height, keep my elbow and forearm parallel to the water and rely heavily on my core for power.

Watching the tape, I could see my rotation was good, and my exit was about at my hip where I wanted it to be. I was lifting with my elbows and pushing my paddle forward with my forearm level, as I had been practicing. But, I could clearly see as I reviewed the tape, that just before I planted my left paddle blade into the water, I was twisting my right wrist almost 90 degrees to achieve my desired blade entry.

The mere second I was twisting my wrist every time I speared my left blade into the water, would add up to hundreds of thousands of wrist ‘tweaks’ throughout a training paddle or race. The cumulative effect of this constant twist could easily cause tendonitis.

I tried a few things to correct this. First, I tried to move my grip on the paddle shaft. I typically line my knuckles in a direct line with the top edge of my paddle blade. But, I had heard if you rotate your knuckles forward about 10 degrees, you can flatten out your wrist. I attempted this, but inevitably, the minute I started paddling my grip would float back to it’s original position. I gave up after three unsuccessful sessions.

Second, I changed the feather of my paddle. I typically paddle with a 65-degree feather. This has always worked for me, or is a good angle in the wind. From my 65-degree feather I went to a 45-degree feather. In my first test paddle, I could immediately see that this alone had flattened out my wrist nicely. By adjusting the paddle angle, I no longer had to twist my wrist to create a clean blade entry angle.

But, adjusting the feather and straitening my wrist had not completely solved the problem. My wrist was still feeling stiff, painful and swollen, even after a moderate paddle. I turned my focus to relaxing my wrist and hand while paddling. I am not someone who keeps a death grip on my paddle shaft, but none-the-less, keeping my hand wrapped even gently around my paddle for hours on end, was keeping my muscles and joints locked in an immobile position long enough to create discomfort and swelling.

I decided to incorporate a consistent, active stretch into my paddle stroke. In the ‘push’ phase of my stroke, when I am reaching forward and preparing to plant the blade, I added in a stretching motion with my fingers. I simply open my hand, and extend my fingers fully, pushing the paddle with the palm of my hand.

I don’t do this every stroke. A couple times every few minutes consistently throughout the paddle, long before any stiffness has a chance to move in, seems to keep any pain or swelling at bay.

Focusing on my wrist angel and actively stretching while paddling, I have done up to 15 hour paddles duct tape free since the YRQ. If it sounds simple, that is because it is.

If your shoulders, elbows or wrists are suffering because of kayaking, before you chuck your boat into the sea, or grind through the pain, get a camera and have a friend or coach film you paddling. Have them film you paddling towards the camera, away from the camera and at a side angle. Paddle a normal pace, and paddle at race pace. Sometimes your paddle quirks don’t show up until you ‘turn it on’. By reviewing these tapes, you may be able to find the culprit of your overuse injury.

Remember…resting and allowing injuries to heal plays an important part in working through your overuse type injuries. I allowed my wrist time to mend before starting to work on stroke technique.

Suffering has its place in racing! I wouldn’t change a thing about my performance in the YRQ ’06, duct tape and all! But, in between hard core races and suffer-fests, take the time to slow down, and make yourself a better, stronger paddler. Don’t stop with analyzing your stroke…think about your gear, your nutrition, your fitness, and your training regimen. Constant analysis can go a long way towards, not only your longevity in the sport, but towards making you the best paddler you can be!

~HN~