[Paddlewise] Thumb pain

This past year I have been experiencing pain in my thumb joints, the
ones that are at the base of the thumb that you can't see, located
inside the hand.  I've also found that in switching back and forth
between my greenland and euro paddles, the discomfort occurs with the
euro paddle 100% of the time and very much less so with the greenland.
My Euro paddle is an AT crank that I just love and would hate to give it
up.

I had a chance to talk to my Brother in Law this past week who just
happens to be a damn good hand surgeon and he confirmed my initial self
diagnosis that the greater loom diameter of the GP helps.  What doesn't
help is that I've screwed up these same joints sking and it's not going
to get better, but he said the thicker loom will help with the pressure
on the joint and postpone the more radical solution of replacing the
joint.

His recommendation was to build up the diameter of the loom of my Euro
paddle with duct tape.  Granted that this approach  might work, it is,
however, a rather inelegant solution and I am thinking of something less
"red neck" like modifying foam bike hand grips, or using foam pipe
insulation, as a more permanent and lighter solution.

Any thoughts out there on alternatives to duct tape?

Thanks
John Blackburn


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