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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Moderator's Note: Content unaltered. Excessive quoting (i.e. headers/footers/sig lines/comments from previous posts, etc.) have been removed. Please edit quoted material in addition to removing header/trailers when replying to posts.] You might try Cinelli cork bike tape, which is designed to be water resistant and is very comfortable. Also, I wonder if the loom shape of a different crankshaft paddle, like the Lendal or Werner Kalliste, would be more comfortable that the AT. Lastly, drugs may be the best bet <grin>: the new Cox-2 NSAID, Bextra, is pretty good for pain control. At 12:41 PM 11/14/2002 -0600, Joyce, Thomas F. wrote: >I'd experiment a little with minicell. > > - - - - - - - > >Any thoughts out there on alternatives to duct tape? ********************************************************* John S. March, MD, MPH Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Duke Child and Family Study Center 718 Rutherford Street Durham, NC 27705 919/416-2404 (P); 919/416-2420 (F) Email: jsmarch_at_acpub.duke.edu Website: http://www2.mc.duke.edu/pcaad ********************************************************* *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Thursday, November 14, 2002, at 11:07:53 AM PST, John March wrote: > Lastly, drugs may be the best bet <grin>: the new Cox-2 NSAID, > Bextra, is pretty good for pain control. The problem with using medication to control pain is that the underlying cause of the injury/condition can continue to worsen without notice. It really is better to try and eliminate the cause rather than simply cover up the symptoms. John B. says that he uses both a Greenland paddle and a *crank shaft* Euro style paddle...and that the problem is much worse with the Euro paddle. While increasing the width of the Euro paddle's shaft can probably make a positive difference, there are more differences between the two than just the width of the shaft. Speculation follows (I'm no hand surgeon!)... I'm wondering if by using the crank shaft paddle, and somehow feeling that it promotes a more "natural" grip just by virtue of the "crankiness" of the shaft, John isn't gripping it too tightly throughout the stroke? Part of a good relaxed technique with a straight shaft paddle is to open up the "pushing" hand a bit, which, in addition to relaxing the hand and promoting greater circulation, puts more of the pressure across the palm rather than into the smaller joint areas. I wonder if by using a crank shaft, a paddler might become somewhat complacent about the little techniques that minimize pressure on the specific joints? -- Melissa *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Yes, I agree. Under the surgeon's principle of no organ, no itis, no thumbs should do the trick just fine <grin>. Seriously, this is much more true for acute pain (e.g. appendicitis covered up by narcotics) than for chronic osteoarthritis, which will bother no matter what remedies are applied. No reason to be miserable unnecessarily. At 12:32 PM 11/14/2002 -0800, Melissa Reese wrote: >>>The problem with using medication to control pain is that the >underlying cause of the injury/condition can continue to worsen >without notice. It really is better to try and eliminate the cause >rather than simply cover up the symptoms.<<< ********************************************************* John S. March, MD, MPH Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Duke Child and Family Study Center 718 Rutherford Street Durham, NC 27705 919/416-2404 (P); 919/416-2420 (F) Email: jsmarch_at_acpub.duke.edu Website: http://www2.mc.duke.edu/pcaad ********************************************************* *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
--- John Blackburn <digipixs_at_erols.com> wrote: > 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 ... > Any thoughts out there on alternatives to duct tape? Hi John, You might try a thin layer of minicell foam, double thick over the oval to "extend" the ovality - this is very comfortable. If you have a 2-piece paddle, I would then cover the mod with heat-shrink tubing. You can also shrink-tube over a duct tape build-up fine. If you don't have a 2-piece, try using a wide electrical tape to wrap over the foam mod (similar to the wrap on a raquette). I would stay away from regular foam that could absorb water. J *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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