[Paddlewise] Torso Trying Too Hard, Or, Slowpoke: A Cautionary Tale

My name is Anne, I am a slowpoke and habitual over-do-er....

I'm often in the slowpoke category when paddling with others.  Most often 
I paddle alone, sometimes with one or two others, and very rarely with 
groups.   On the one occasion last year (June 10) when I paddled with a 
group, I found myself bringing up the rear, and so worked HARDER and 
harder and harder, trying different techniques to get more power into my 
stroke......Here is my cautionary tale:

I recall really digging in, trying to use more gut/torso power, and perhaps 
instead of "levering" my boat forward it was "wrenching" my boat forward. 
(It was an experiment!)  Though there was no *one* moment where it felt 
bad, I ended up severely injuring myself  -- by the end of the trip, the 
upper half of my torso was in spasm.  The slightest movement in the 
"wrong" way caused pain -- kind of like whiplash.  Over the last 8 months, 
there's been an acute phase, a duller phase, a chronic dull pain phase, a 
not-so-bad phase, and now a return to sharp occasional pain/spasm 
phase, all on the right side.

Have been to the regular doctor, the chiropractor, the physical therapist, 
and lastly the physiatrist (MRI normal) who says "I don't know why you 
have pain, maybe you should see our osteopath".  Diagnoses have 
ranged from muscle strain/sprain to torn intercostal muscles to injury of 
the diaphragm to unstable rib.  I think what they write on forms now is 
back pain.  I'm considering the acupuncturist though I'm not at all sure 
this is the kind of thing she can help.

So, to my fellow slowpokes out there:  be a bit careful when 
experimenting with your stroke, and don't try TOO hard!  








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