Re: [Paddlewise] Tumb pain

I have also been experiencing various types of finger joint pain (including
thumb) as I increase my paddling activities.

I have found the following to be of great help:

Warm up exercises: I have taken to warming up my wrists and fingers
extensively before paddling. In fact, I now stretch my hands and fingers
before I get out of bed in the morning. I also frequently stretch my hands
while paddling. I often play the piano before and after I kayak. This is
necessary for the BCU "rock star" rating  ;~ ).

Close attention to technique: As I was paddling, I discovered that I had too
much tension in my hands and was pulling rather than pushing the paddle. I
now try to think of the paddle as is if I were painting on a canvas rather
than pulling a large weight. I try to hold the paddle as delicately as
possible to avoid slipping into a white-knuckled death grip. (I save that
grip for ferry wakes!). As was previously mentioned, I have also found that
opening the hand on the push side decreases the level of tension. In
general, it seems necessary to avoid any sort of locked hand position.

As a trombone player of 40 years, I have some experience with thumb joint
pain as the entire weight of that instrument unfortunately rests on the
thumb-joint while playing. In order to deal with this problem, I have used
accupuncture, massage, Qi Gong exercises, Chinese herbal liniments and
electro-magnetic lamp treatments.

All of these things have helped, but none have alleviated the problems. Not
having access to the fountain of youth, there are still times when I must
resort to Ibuprophen

Jeff. 
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